Reinterpretation of the Meiji Restoration in light of the downfall of court nobles and trends in political participation at the end of the Edo period

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K13110
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 03020:Japanese history-related
• Research Institution: Kokushikan University (2023); International Research Center for Japanese Studies (2021-2022)
• Principal Investigator: SAITO MOMIJI 国士舘大学, 文学部, 講師 (00785529)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 公家 / 幕末 / 対外認識 / 王政復古

Outline of Final Research Achievements

One of the factors that contributed to the Meiji Restoration through the court nobles' conception of domestic and foreign politics at the end of the Edo period as follows. In doing so, I include the court nobles who lost power after the Meiji period, which has not been sufficiently examined in the past.
The change in the external situation since the beginning of the 19th century has heightened a sense of crisis within the court nobles regarding foreign affairs, creating a common understanding of the need to avoid civil war. While this awareness facilitated the implementation of the Meiji Restoration, the division within the court nobles over the domestic system posed a challenge to the inclusion and cooperation after the Meiji Restoration.

Free Research Field

日本近代史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の学術的意義は、明治維新という近代日本の始まりの一要因を、これまで多くは検討されてこなかった明治後に力を落とす公家も含めて考察し、公武関係を通して再検討して明らかにしたことである。明治維新という国際環境が急変する中での変革期における公家と武家の関係は、厳しい国際環境の中での国内外問題への対応と変革期の二大勢力のあり方を考察しうるという社会的意義がある。