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110 struggle, culminated in 1868 in the complete triumph of the Imperialists. This event is what is called by some "the Restoration," and by others "the Revolution." This was, in fact, the climax of all the civil commotions of the period; the anti-foreign spirit and policy were only secondary to the prime purpose of overthrowing the usurpation of the Tokugawa Shōgunate and restoring the one legal Emperor to his lawful authority. And thus fell, not only the Tokugawa Dynasty, as had fallen other dynasties, of Shōguns, but also the whole system of a Shōgunate; and thus the Emperor of Japan became, not ruler in name and fame only, but sovereign in act and fact. From 1868 to the middle of 1912 Mutsuhito was Emperor both de jure and de facto.

1868. Opening of Hyōgo (Kōbe) and Ōsaka. Emperor's audience of foreign ministers. Yedo named Tōkyō and made capital. 1869. Opening of Yedo and Niigata. The "Charter Oath" of Japan. 1870. Light-houses, telegraphs. 1871. Postal system, mint, and dock. Feudalism abolished. Eta and hinin (outcasts) admitted to citizenship. Colonization in Yezo [Hokkaidō]. 1872. First railway, newspaper, church, and Missionary Conference. Imperial University in Tōkyō. Iwakura Embassy to America and Europe.