A Date for your Diary: JSNW – Online Talk on 17th September 2021

Friday 17^th September
7 pm (BST)

The Japan Society North West
In association with JET Alumni Association UK
FREE event on Zoom.

The Meiji Restoration and the British

The Meiji Restoration and the part the British played in making sure it went ahead.

In 1868 the feudalistic shogunate, which had kept Japan set in aspic for 250 years, was toppled by a group of heroic young samurai who brought Japan into the modern world … Or was it? Is that what really happened? Is this the full and only story?

What was the role of the great powers? Britain was busy empire building across China, India, Central Asia and Africa. Were the British also busy in Japan?

For over a century the story of the so-called ‘Meiji Restoration’ and the events that preceded it has been as told by the winners. But recent studies have shed new light on the vanquished. What is the true story – and what was the British role in shaping Japan’s destiny?

In her talk Lesley Downer will describe the dramatic events that led up the Meiji Restoration and its far-reaching consequences. It’s a swashbuckling tale of swords, samurai and regime change – and the pivotal role of the British.