The Real Reason Japan Became a World Power — The Meiji Restoration

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 08:07:42 +0200

How did a feudal island nation with swords and wooden ships transform itself into a modern world power capable of destroying European empires — all in a single lifetime?

In this video, we uncover the real story behind Japan's Meiji Restoration — the most radical national transformation in recorded history. From the humiliation of Commodore Perry's Black Ships in 1853 to the stunning destruction of the Russian Baltic Fleet at the Battle of Tsushima in 1905, Japan rewrote the rules of power, industry, and warfare in barely a generation.

We explore how a small group of young samurai overthrew a 260-year-old military dictatorship, sent their top leaders on an 18-month spy mission across the Western world, dismantled feudalism overnight, built factories, railroads, and a modern navy from scratch, and shocked the entire planet by defeating both China and Russia in back-to-back wars.

But this story isn't just about triumph. It's about the brutal costs of transformation — the samurai who lost everything, the farmers crushed by new taxes, and the imperial ambitions that would eventually lead Japan down a much darker path.

This is the story of how capital, industry, and ruthless pragmatism turned a small island into a global superpower — and what it reveals about the true nature of power in the modern world.

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