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How did Emperor Meiji become Japan’s ruler in 1868?

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Map showing the territorial expansion of the Japanese Empire from 1870 to 1942 across East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The map uses color codes to indicate the original Japanese territory in 1870, subsequent acquisitions, and the farthest extent of Japanese occupation and conquest by 1942, including parts of China, Korea, Manchuria, Southeast Asia, and numerous Pacific islands. An inset map displays the broader reach of Japanese control at its peak. — Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, 1870–1942.

Emperor Meiji became the ruler of Japan in 1868 through a political coup d’état that ended the centuries-long rule of the Tokugawa shogunate.1

By the mid-19th century, the Tokugawa regime faced severe internal instability and external pressure, particularly following the arrival of Commodore Matthew C. Perry in 1853, which forced Japan to end its policy of national isolation. This perceived weakness triggered a crisis that led reformist leaders—primarily young samurai from the Chōshū and Satsuma domains—to seek the restoration of direct imperial rule as a means to unify and modernize the country.12

On January 3, 1868, these leaders executed a coup in Kyoto, announcing the ouster of the last shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, and proclaiming the young emperor Meiji as the supreme ruler. While the restoration was nominally a return to imperial authority, actual political power was exercised by this small group of reformist leaders who initiated rapid modernization to preserve Japan's independence.12