Maiji Restoration

The Maiji Restoration is a transfer of authority from the bakufu (samurai administration) to modern government centering Tenno. 



It is renarkable that this power transfer was done without major battles between the new and old authorities, and there is a obvious reason of that peaceful revolution ーforeign countries were attempting to intervene making use of confusion of the revolution. 

To avoid this, both parties had some meeting sessions and decided that instead of not killing the shogun and his family, shogun was to give up the authority to the emperor (tenno) that was just a mere symbol of authority at that time . Thus, the revolution was accomplished peacefully with some little battles between the new government and some factions that could not accept the new government.

the main figures who played important roles in the Maiji restoration are below. 

1) Tokugawa Yoshibobu

The last shogun of Edo bakufu who made the decision of gave up the authority to the emperor. He consitently avoid military confrontations throughout the revolution to prevent the foreign interventions. 

2) Skamoto Ryoma

He payed a role of mediator to made an alliance between Satsuma clan and Choshu clan both of them were the most powerful clans and had been in a confrontation with each other. This allies became a decisive factor to accomplish the Maiji Restration. Also, he advocated that bakufu should return the authority to the emperror to avoid the civil war, and that claim realized. 

3) Katsu Kaishu

Katsu Kaishu is a important person of the Edo bakufu. He recognized the power and innovativity of foreign countries and were insisting the risk of civil war that must be made use of by them as an ppportunity of intervention.  His foresight influenced even Satsuma and Choshu including Sakamoto Ryoma, which led to the peaceful transfer of the power. Katsu kaishu is the one who actually appeared the meeting session in which bloodless revolution was decided. 

4) Saigo Takamori

A leader of the Satsuma clan, and because he didn't like photograph, there are only some portraits of him.
He decided to stop attacking the Edo castle, head quaters of Edo bakufu, in the meeting session with Katsu Kaishu, just before the attack was conducted. 

Boshin war

However, the Maiji restration was not conducted perfectly bloodlessly. After the peaceful power transfer was decided, radical factions in both factions began to confront, leading to battles that lasted 16 months. This series of local battles are called Boshin war.