Keiō Reform

The nihongo|Keiō Reform|慶応の改革|Keiō no kaikaku, instituted in 1866, was a set of reforms created in reaction to the rising violence on the part of Satsuma and other domains; it became a key part of the reforms and changes made during the rule of Emperor Meiji.

When Shogun and Emperor happened to both die at the same time, the "bakufu" (shogunate government) created the Keiō Reform to keep Japan from falling into disunity or disarray. It Westernized many aspects of the system of bureaucracy, the military, and the economy, focusing on governmental promotions by merit (not by birth) and trade policies with other nations.

The "bakufu" hoped that these Reforms would somehow end the Rebellions of Satsuma and Chōshū, but they did not. The rebels did not wish to see the "bakufu" profit from these changes which were so close to the core of what the rebels had been fighting against all along.

References

*McDougall, Walter (1993). "Let the Sea Make a Noise: Four Hundred Years of Cataclysm, Conquest, War and Folly in the North Pacific." New York: Avon Books.