Dashed left edge = started before January 1868 ·
Dashed right edge = ongoing beyond January 1868
Events in January 1868 2
1868Meiji RestorationImperial rule restored in JapanEmperor Meiji was proclaimed sovereign ruler of Japan, ending over two centuries of Tokugawa shogunate rule. The restoration triggered sweeping modernization reforms that transformed Japan into an industrial power. It also sparked the Boshin War against shogunate loyalists.
1868Battle of Toba-FushimiOpening battle of the Boshin WarForces loyal to the new Meiji government defeated troops of the Tokugawa shogunate near Kyoto. The battle marked the start of the Boshin War, a civil conflict that ended shogunate rule entirely by 1869. It confirmed the imperial court's military superiority over the old regime.