In an event that heralds the birth of modern Japan, patriotic samurai from Japan's outlying domains join with anti-shogunate nobles in restoring the emperor to power after 700 years. The impetus for the coup was a fear by many Japanese that the nation's feudal leaders were ill equipped to resist the threat of foreign domination. Soon after seizing power, the young Emperor Meiji and his ministers moved the royal court from Kyoto to Tokyo, dismantled feudalism, and enacted widespread reforms along Western models. The newly unified Japanese government also set off on a path of rapid industrialization and militarization, building Japan into a major world power by the early 20th century.
Also on This Day
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- American Revolution
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- Automotive
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- Civil War
- Delaware rejects secession, 1861
- Cold War
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- Crime
- The husband did it: The controversial Stuart case, 1990
- Disaster
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- General Interest
- Martin Luther excommunicated, 1521
- Meiji Restoration in Japan, 1868
- King Tut's sarcophagus uncovered, 1924
- Alaska admitted into Union, 1959
- Jack Ruby dies before second trial, 1967
- Hollywood
- Dragnet TV show debuts, 1952
- Literary
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- Music
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts first woman, 1987
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- Presidential
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- Sports
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- Vietnam War
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- World War I
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- World War II
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Jan 3, 1868:
Meiji Restoration in Japan
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This Week in History, Jan 3 - Jan 9
- Jan 03, 1521
- Martin Luther excommunicated
- Jan 03, 1868
- Meiji Restoration in Japan
- Jan 03, 1924
- King Tut's sarcophagus uncovered
- Jan 03, 1959
- Alaska admitted into Union
- Jan 03, 1967
- Jack Ruby dies before second trial
- Jan 04, 1896
- Utah enters the Union
- Jan 04, 1974
- President Nixon refuses to hand over tapes
- Jan 04, 1987
- Segovia begins final U.S. tour
- Jan 04, 1995
- 104th Congress under Republican control
- Jan 05, 1643
- First divorce in the colonies
- Jan 05, 1895
- Dreyfus Affair in France
- Jan 05, 1945
- Kamikaze pilots get first order
- Jan 05, 1968
- Prague Spring begins in Czechoslovakia
- Jan 05, 1976
- Pol Pot renames Cambodia
- Jan 05, 1994
- Former Speaker Thomas P. Tip O'Neill dies
- Jan 06, 1066
- Harold II crowned king of England
- Jan 06, 1912
- New Mexico joins the Union
- Jan 06, 1925
- Nurmi breaks two world records
- Jan 06, 2001
- Congress certifies Bush winner of 2000 elections
- Jan 07, 1785
- Across the English Channel in a balloon
- Jan 07, 1979
- Pol Pot overthrown
- Jan 07, 1989
- Emperor Hirohito dies
- Jan 07, 1999
- Clinton impeachment trial begins
- Jan 08, 1642
- Astronomer Galileo dies in Italy
- Jan 08, 1815
- The Battle of New Orleans
- Jan 08, 1867
- Congress expands suffrage in nation's capital
- Jan 08, 1916
- Allies retreat from Gallipoli
- Jan 08, 1918
- Wilson announces his 14 Points
- Jan 08, 1962
- Mona Lisa exhibited in Washington
- Jan 09, 1768
- First modern circus is staged
- Jan 09, 1806
- Nelson buried at St. Paul's Cathedral
- Jan 09, 1972
- Queen Elizabeth destroyed by fire
- Jan 09, 2007
- Steve Jobs debuts the iPhone
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