Ten Minute History - The Meiji Restoration and the Empire of Japan (Short Documentary)

The next episode is 'The Thirty Years' War (1598-1648)'. Vote for the next episode here: www.strawpoll.me/13379470 Also, feel free to make more recommendations below.

All of this happened in less than 100 years.

Japan: “acknowledge all races as equal”, also japan: “hm Chinese people looking like a real good source of free labor”

Can you imagine living in that era, where only a couple decades earlier you had samurai and stuff and going from that to factories and railroads a couple decades later.

knock knock It's the United States, with huge boats, with guns. Gunboats "Open, the country. Stop, having it be closed."

I love the signs that your people hold. "The Irony isn't lost on us either" at 4:31 was my favorite.

It still amazes me how quickly Japan went from a Feudal country into a world power.

I love the thought of Matthew Perry landing on Japan being like “Could Japan BE anymore closed?”

So Victoria II got it right. The Japanese use the Meiji Restoration to modernize, and build "regular" army units. Then they use them to invade Korea and curbstomp the Chinese irregulars . Good job Paradox, a grand strategy mechanic that actually works the way it's supposed to!

Fun fact: Australia also opposed the racial equality clause at Versailles.

This video helped me HIRE A SAMURAI

The U.S.: "Congratulations. You are being traded with. Please do not resist."

Japan: tries to be a 1900's boi. Sacks a city like the 1300's.

The Japanese really pulled themselves together in less than 70 years! Incredible

You forgot an important part of the military's involvement in the civilian government. Those clans that supported the Meijii restoration were handed control of the army, while those who supported the rebellion, got control of the navy; which resulted in competing foreign policy goals. Being rivals before they existed, the army and its supporters wanted nothing to do with the goals of the navy and its supporters, and vice versa. The army wanted China, and the navy the colonies of the US, UK, France and Nederland. So, fierce was this disagreement that the Japanese army and navy routinely assassinated each other's politicians and even prime ministers. At one point the two services had a three-day war with each other over their differences. The Emperor and the foreign ministry did not control foreign policy, but the military did ... but at the platoon level! The Marco Polo Bridge Incident was initiated by the local army captain in charge of the detachment guarding the bridge. The Japanse-Soviet Boarder War of 1939, was carried out by two army generals and one air force commander, without either the commanding general of Manchuria, the foreign minister, or the emperor knowing about it. The USS Panay incident on December 12, 1937 was carried out by the local naval commander and the naval air force commander, who wanted Japan to go to war with the U.S. per the desires of the Japanese navy. In other words Imperial Japan was the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but on steroids.

7:07 that guy in the middle is my spirit animal

Japan wasn't completely closed off during Sakoku just 99.9% of it was; basically (for the west) there was 1 trading outpost on an island (Nagasaki Port) in a bay that was controlled by the Dutch, and they couldn't leave that island (supposedly the only women allowed on said island were Geisha) . There was some trade with China, Korea, and possibly nearby Russia, but it was very controlled and NO FOREIGNERS ALLOWED IS, NO JAPANESE ALLOWED OUT very much applied (oh you got shipwrecked on Japan, and you're not Japanese, congratulations on your pending execution, better leave before you're fount).

5:18 we have to appreciate how hilarious it is that all those countries, some of them lethal enemies to eachother, still agreed on one thing: milking China

The dude smiling while hitting the rail with a stick is hilarious

America started & destroyed the Japanese empire? top 10 anime betrayals