The Boshin War and Modern Japan

Japan's last samurai war lasted only eighteen months but it completely destroyed the old

world and created modern Japan. The Boshin War of 1868 to 1869 was a brutal civil conflict

between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those who sought to restore political power

to the Emperor Meiji. This conflict led to the end of Japan's feudal system and the establishment

of a modern, centralized state during the Meiji Restoration. where samurai with

swords charged into Gatling gun fire and lost everything. That killed Around 8,000–12,000 people.

For over 250 years, the Tokugawa shogunate had ruled Japan with an iron fist. The emperor was

just a figurehead locked away in Kyoto while the shogun held all real power. Japan was isolated