Empire of Japan

The Japanese state ruled by emperors from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the postwar constitution took effect in 1947. It combined rapid modernization with imperial expansion and, especially after 1931, military domination of government.

Meiji Constitution: The 1889 constitution that established Japan’s imperial government and defined institutions including the Diet and cabinet. It gave the state its formal framework while placing the armed forces under the emperor’s command.
Meiji Restoration: The 1868 political transformation that ended Tokugawa rule and restored governing authority to the emperor. It marks the founding transition from shogunal government to the modern imperial state.
Taiwan under Japanese rule: The period of Japanese colonial rule in Taiwan from 1895 to 1945. Taiwan became Japan’s first major overseas colony after the First Sino-Japanese War.
Surrender of Japan: Japan’s acceptance of Allied terms in August 1945 and formal surrender on September 2, 1945. The surrender ended the empire’s war and began Allied occupation.
Imperial Japanese Army: Japan’s land forces from the Meiji era through the end of World War II. Its direct relationship to the emperor and control over army ministers strengthened military influence over cabinets.
Boshin War: The 1868–1869 civil war between forces supporting the imperial restoration and the Tokugawa shogunate. The imperial coalition’s victory secured the political settlement behind the new state.
Korea under Japanese rule: The period of Japanese colonial rule in Korea from 1910 to 1945. Colonial administration, cultural suppression, and forced mobilization shaped Korea’s experience of the empire.
Allied occupation of Japan: The Allied military occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1952, led by the United States. Occupation authorities dismantled imperial institutions and directed extensive political and social reforms.
Imperial Japanese Navy: Japan’s naval forces from the Meiji era through the end of World War II. Its rivalry with the army shaped strategy, budgets, and the state’s approach to expansion.
Iwakura Mission: A Japanese diplomatic mission that toured the United States and Europe from 1871 to 1873. Its investigations informed reforms intended to strengthen Japan and revise unequal treaties.

Linked from 5 pages