In 1868, Japan appeared to be period of triumph of tradition over change, but Japanese leaders realized that Japan needed to modernize to survive (pg. 652). They begin enforcing a policy of comprehensive reform that would lay the basis for a modern industrial nation within the generation (pg. 652). A new young emperor by the reign name of Meiji symbolized the new era that was beginning (pg. 652). Meiji, (which means “enlightened rule”), took the throne in 1867 after the death of his father (pg. 652). This post-Tokugawa era was called a “restoration” by the Meiji ruler (pg. 652). The Meiji Reformers were the ones that set Japan on its way to reach economic and political development (pg. 661). They also managed to remove the unequal treaty
