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69-667: Toyohashi is located in southeastern Aichi Prefecture, and is the capital of the informal "Higashi-Mikawa Region" of the prefecture. It is bordered by Shizuoka Prefecture to the east, and by Mikawa Bay and the headlands of the Atsumi Peninsula to the west. To the south is the Enshū Sea of the Pacific Ocean . The presence of the warm Kuroshio Current offshore gives the city a temperate climate. The Katahama Jusan-ri Beach ( 片浜十三里 ) stretching in adjacent city of Tahara to

138-467: A Confucian -based educational background which stressed loyalty and service to society. Finally, most either had first-hand experience in travel overseas, or second-hand experience through contacts with foreign advisors in Japan . As a result, they knew of the military superiority of the western nations and of the need for Japan to unify, and to strengthen itself to avoid the colonial fate of its neighbors on

207-615: A clan fief . The domain was assigned to several different fudai daimyō clans until coming into the possession of the Matsudaira (Nagasawa-Ōkōchi) clan in 1752, which remained in residence at Yoshida until the Meiji Restoration . The final daimyō of Yoshida, Matsudaira Nobuhisa , surrendered the domain to the Meiji government in 1868. In 1869, the name of the domain was formally changed from Yoshida to Toyohashi. With

276-456: A National Assembly). Although the government was not opposed to parliamentary rule, confronted with the drive for "people's rights," it continued to try to control the political situation. New laws in 1875 prohibited press criticism of the government or discussion of national laws. The Public Assembly Law (1880) severely limited public gatherings by disallowing attendance by civil servants and requiring police permission for all meetings. Within

345-680: A highly contested zone between the Imagawa clan based in Suruga Province and various local warlords, who built a number of fortifications in the area, including Yoshida Castle . The rising power of the Matsudaira clan and its alliance with Oda Nobunaga eventually neutralized the threat posed by the Imagawa, and the area became part of the holdings of Tokugawa Ieyasu . Following the Battle of Odawara in 1590, Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered

414-452: A new constitution was introduced. The Jiyūtō and Kaishintō parties had been revived in anticipation of the election and together won more than half of the seats. The House of Representatives soon became the arena for disputes between the politicians and the government bureaucracy over large issues, such as the budget, the ambiguity of the constitution on the Diet's authority, and the desire of

483-585: A new phase of political development. Itō and his protégé, Saionji Kinmochi finally succeeded in forming a progovernment party—the Rikken Seiyūkai (Constitutional Association of Political Friendship) —in September 1900, and a month later Itō became prime minister of the first Seiyūkai cabinet. The Seiyūkai held the majority of seats in the House, but Yamagata's conservative allies had the greatest influence in

552-639: A number of things in common; according to Andrew Gordon, “It was precisely their intermediate status and their insecure salaried position, coupled with their sense of frustrated ambition and entitlement to rule, that account for the revolutionary energy of the Meiji insurgents and their far-reaching program of reform”. most were in their mid-40s, and most were from the four tozama domains of western Japan (Chōshū, Satsuma, Tosa and Hizen ). Although from lower-ranked samurai families, they had risen to military leadership roles in their respective domains, and came from

621-451: A powerful leader of Tosa forces who had resigned from his Council of State position over the Korean affair in 1873. Itagaki sought peaceful rather than rebellious means to gain a voice in government. Such movements were called The Freedom and People's Rights Movement . He started a movement aimed at establishing a constitutional monarchy and a national assembly . Itagaki and others wrote

690-493: A pro-government party, in 1882. Numerous political demonstrations followed, some of them violent, resulting in further government political restrictions. The restrictions hindered the political parties and led to divisiveness within and among them. The Jiyūtō, which had opposed the Kaishintō, was disbanded in 1884, and Ōkuma resigned as Kaishintō president. Government leaders, long preoccupied with violent threats to stability and

759-473: A secret meeting during which it was decided to proceed with abolition of the han domains entirely. Later that year, all of the ex- daimyō were summoned to the Emperor, and he issued a decree converting the domains to prefectures headed by a bureaucratic appointee from the central government. The daimyō were generously pensioned off into retirement, and their castles became the local administrative centers for

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828-764: A subsidiary of Toyohashi Railroad . Toyohashi has many parks, including the Natural History Museum and Zoological Park, the Imou swamp, Mikawa Seaside Forest, Kamo Iris Garden, and the Mukaiyama Ume Garden. It also has what is considered one of the best surfing beaches in Aichi and the surrounding region. Toyohashi Festival, Spring Festival, Iris Flower Festival, Gion Festival, Demon Festival (February), and traditional marionette performances (Akumi joruri). At some of these festivals, especially

897-458: Is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu . As of September 2023, Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of 7,777.42 km (3,002.88 sq mi). Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northeast, Nagano Prefecture to the north, and Aichi Prefecture to the west. Shizuoka

966-587: Is best known, Itagaki helped found the Jiyūtō ( Liberal Party ), which favored French political doctrines. In 1882 Ōkuma Shigenobu established the Rikken Kaishintō (Constitutional Progressive Party), which called for a British-style constitutional democracy . In response, government bureaucrats, local government officials, and other conservatives established the Rikken Teiseitō (Imperial Rule Party),

1035-782: Is on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen and the Tōkaidō Main Line . Hikari shinkansen services stop at Toyohashi Station approximately once every two hours, and Kodama services stop twice an hour. Toyohashi Station is also the terminus of the Iida Line , Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line , Toyohashi Railroad Atsumi Line , and the Toyohashi Railroad Azumada Main Line , making it an important transportation hub. Almost all services are operated by Toyotetsu Bus,

1104-536: Is the capital and Hamamatsu is the largest city in Shizuoka Prefecture, with other major cities including Fuji , Numazu , and Iwata . Shizuoka Prefecture is located on Japan's Pacific Ocean coast and features Suruga Bay formed by the Izu Peninsula , and Lake Hamana which is considered to be one of Japan's largest lakes. Mount Fuji , the tallest volcano in Japan and cultural icon of

1173-569: The 1944 Tōnankai earthquake , and even more damage during the Toyohashi Air Raid , which destroyed more than 60% of the city in June 1945. In 1955, Toyohashi's geographic extent was expanded again with the annexation of neighboring Maeshiba Village (Hoi District), Futagawa Village, Takatoyo Village, Oitsu Village (Atsumi District) and Ishimaki Village (Yana District). Toyohashi achieved core city status in 1999 with increased autonomy from

1242-514: The Tokugawa clan to relocate to the Kantō region and assigned the castle to Ikeda Terumasa . Ikeda developed the surrounding castle town and embarked on a massive and ambitious plan to rebuild Yoshida Castle. However, following the Battle of Sekigahara , he was relocated to Himeji Castle . After the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate , Yoshida Castle became the center of Yoshida Domain ,

1311-558: The Tosa Memorial in 1874 criticizing the unbridled power of the oligarchy and calling for the immediate establishment of representative government. Dissatisfied with the pace of reform after having rejoined the Council of State in 1875, Itagaki organized his followers and other democratic proponents into the nationwide Aikokusha (Society of Patriots) to push for representative government in 1878. In 1881, in an action for which he

1380-676: The United States Constitution as "too liberal" and the British system as too unwieldy and having a parliament with too much control over the monarchy; the French and Spanish models were rejected as tending toward despotism . On Itō's return, one of the first acts of the government was to establish the kazoku peerage system with new ranks for the nobility. Five hundred persons from the old court nobility, former daimyō, samurai and commoners who had provided valuable service to

1449-605: The Yayoi and Kofun periods have also been found, including many kofun burial mounds. During the Nara period , the area was assigned to Atsumi , Hoi and Yana Districts of Mikawa Province and prospered during subsequent periods as a post town on an important river crossing of the Tōkaidō connecting the capital with the eastern provinces. During the Sengoku period , the area was

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1518-714: The Asian continent. However, immediately after the resignation of Tokugawa Yoshinobu in 1867, with no official centralized government, the country was a collection of largely semi-independent daimyōs controlling feudal domains, held together by the military strength of the Satchō Alliance , and by the prestige of the Imperial Court in Kyoto . In early March 1868, with the outcome of the Boshin War still uncertain,

1587-665: The Diet to interpret the "will of the Emperor" versus the oligarchy's position that the cabinet and administration should "transcend" all conflicting political forces. The main leverage the Diet had was in its approval or disapproval of the budget, and it successfully wielded its authority henceforth. In the early years of constitutional government, the strengths and weaknesses of the Meiji Constitution were revealed. A small clique of Satsuma and Chōshū elite continued to rule Japan, becoming institutionalized as an extraconstitutional body of genrō (elder statesmen). Collectively,

1656-416: The Emperor on the basis of his divine ancestry. The new constitution specified a form of government that was still authoritarian in character, with the Emperor holding the ultimate power and only minimal concessions made to popular rights and parliamentary mechanisms. Party participation was recognized as part of the political process. The Meiji Constitution was to last as the fundamental law until 1947, when it

1725-616: The Empire of Japan (the Meiji Constitution ) provided for the Imperial Diet (Teikoku Gikai) , composed of a House of Representatives and a House of Peers . The House of Representatives was popularly elected with a very limited franchise of male citizens who paid 15 yen in national taxes (about 1 percent of the population) being eligible candidates. The House of Peers was composed of nobility and imperial appointees. There

1794-469: The House during his first term. When Itō returned as prime minister in 1898, he again pushed for a government party, but when Yamagata and others refused, Itō resigned. With no willing successor among the genrō , the Kenseitō (Constitutional Party) was invited to form a cabinet under the leadership of Ōkuma and Itagaki, a major achievement in the opposition parties' competition with the genrō . This success

1863-462: The House of Peers, forcing Itō to seek imperial intervention. Tiring of political infighting, Itō resigned in 1901. Thereafter, the prime ministership alternated between Yamagata's protégé, Katsura Tarō and Saionji. The alternating of political power was an indication of the two sides' ability to cooperate and share power and helped foster the continued development of party politics. In 1911, Japan ended all unequal treaties. The Meiji period ended with

1932-459: The House to 369 members, and provisions for secret ballots won Diet support for Yamagata's budgets and tax increases. He continued to use imperial ordinances, however, to keep the parties from fully participating in the bureaucracy and to strengthen the already independent position of the military. When Yamagata failed to offer more compromises to the Kenseitō, the alliance ended in 1900, beginning

2001-465: The Meiji government. This administrative code was drafted by Fukuoka Takachika and Soejima Taneomi (both of whom had studied abroad and who had a liberal political outlook), and was a mixture of western concepts such as division of powers, and a revival of ancient structures of bureaucracy dating back to Nara period . A central governmental structure, or Daijōkan , was established. The Daijōkan had seven departments: A separate Justice Ministry

2070-531: The Ministry of Finance to head the Home Ministry when it was established. One of the pressures on the early Meiji government was the division between those members of the oligarchy who favored some form of representative government, based on overseas models, and the more conservative faction who favored centralized, authoritarian rule. A major proponent of representative government was Itagaki Taisuke ,

2139-526: The Taishō era was marked by a political crisis that interrupted the earlier politics of compromise. When Prime Minister Saionji attempted to cut the military budget, the army minister resigned, bringing down the Seiyūkai cabinet. Both Yamagata and Saionji refused to resume office, and the genrō were unable to find a solution. Public outrage over the military manipulation of the cabinet and the recall of Katsura for

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2208-509: The armies of Satsuma and Chōshū into a combined force, Ōkubo and Kido Takayoshi convinced the daimyō of Satsuma , Chōshū , Hizen and Tosa to surrender their domains to the emperor. Other daimyō were forced to do the same, and all were reappointed as “governors” to their respective domains, which were now treated as sub-divisions of the central government. In the spring of 1871, Ōkubo, Kido, Inoue Kaoru , Yamagata Aritomo , Saigō Takamori , Ōyama Iwao , Sanjō Sanetomi and Iwakura held

2277-425: The central government were sent to each of the domains to work towards administrative uniformity and conformation to the directives of the central government. In early 1869, the national capital was transferred from Kyoto to Edo , which was renamed Tokyo (Eastern Capital). In March 1869, the central government led by Ōkubo Toshimichi of Satsuma felt strong enough to effect further centralization. After merging

2346-445: The central government. This decree resulted in 305 units of local administration, which were reduced to 72 prefectures and 3 municipalities by the end of the year through various mergers, so that by the end of 1871, Japan had become a fully centralized state. The transition was made gradually, so that there was no disruption to the lives of the common people, and no outbreaks of resistance or violence. The central government absorbed all of

2415-521: The country, is partially located in Shizuoka Prefecture on the border with Yamanashi Prefecture. Shizuoka Prefecture has a significant motoring heritage as the founding location of Honda , Suzuki , and Yamaha , and is home to the Fuji International Speedway . Shizuoka Prefecture was established from the former Tōtōmi , Suruga and Izu provinces. The area was the home of the first Tokugawa shōgun . Tokugawa Ieyasu held

2484-732: The current 35 by 2010. Home to a shogun, cherry shrimp, and Japan's green tea heartland. Situated along Suruga Bay between Tokyo and Nagoya on the historic Tokaido route, the Pacific coast city of Shizuoka is famed for supplying most of Japan's tea and maguro tuna. Shizuoka-based companies are world leaders in several major industrial sectors. Honda , Yamaha , and Suzuki all have their roots in Shizuoka prefecture and are still manufacturing here. Thanks to this, Shizuoka pref. accounts for 28% of Japanese motorcycle exports . Yamaha and Kawai are both global piano brands . Yamaha has

2553-610: The death of the Emperor Meiji in 1912 and the beginning of the Taishō era (1912–1926) as Crown Prince Yoshihito became the new emperor ( Emperor Taishō ). The end of the Meiji era was marked by huge government domestic and overseas investments and military programs, nearly exhausted credit, and a lack of foreign exchange to pay debts. But, the "Meiji regime" lasted until the end of the World War II in 1945. The beginning of

2622-407: The debts and obligations of the domains, and many former officials in the domains found new employment with the central government. In 1871, the central government supported the creation of consultative assembles at the lowest levels of government, at the town, village and county level. The membership of the prefectural assemblies was drawn from these local assemblies. As the local assemblies only had

2691-540: The emperor, were all abolished. In their place, the Privy Council was established in 1888 to evaluate the forthcoming constitution and to advise the emperor. To further strengthen the authority of the state, the Supreme War Council was established under the leadership of Yamagata Aritomo a Chōshū native who has been credited with the founding of the modern Imperial Japanese Army and was to become

2760-579: The establishment of a national assembly in 1890 and his dismissal from government. Rejecting the British model, Iwakura Tomomi and other conservatives borrowed heavily from the Prussian constitutional system. Itō Hirobumi , one of the Meiji oligarchy and a Chōshū native long involved in government affairs, was charged with drafting Japan's constitution . He led a Constitutional Study Mission abroad in 1882, spending most of his time in Germany. He rejected

2829-676: The establishment of the modern municipalities system under the Meiji government in 1879, Toyohashi Town was created within Atsumi District, Aichi Prefecture . Toyohashi Zoo was established in 1899. The town achieved city status in 1906. A tram system (the present-day Toyohashi Railway Asumadai Main Line) was established in 1925. In 1932, Toyohashi expanded its borders by annexing Shimoji Town (Hoi District), Takashi Village, Muroyoshida Village (Atsumi District), and Shimokawa Village (Yana District). Toyohashi suffered considerable damage during

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2898-672: The fictional Harry Potter universe , Toyohashi is the hometown of the professional Quidditch team, the Toyohashi Tengu . In the Takeshi Kitano movie Kikujiro , the story revolves around the characters' trip from Tokyo to Toyohashi. Toyohashi is the setting of the light novel series Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! , the anime television adaptation of which premiered in July 2024. Shizuoka Prefecture Shizuoka Prefecture ( 静岡県 , Shizuoka-ken )

2967-401: The first constitutional Prime Minister. The Supreme War Council developed a German-style general staff system with a chief of staff who had direct access to the emperor and who could operate independently of the army minister and civilian officials. When finally granted by the Emperor as a sign of his sharing his authority and giving rights and liberties to his subjects, the 1889 Constitution of

3036-402: The genrō made decisions reserved for the Emperor, and the genrō , not the Emperor, controlled the government politically. Throughout the period, however, political problems were usually solved through compromise, and political parties gradually increased their power over the government and held an ever larger role in the political process as a result. After the bitter political rivalries between

3105-433: The government were organized in five ranks: prince, marquis, count, viscount, and baron. Itō was put in charge of the new Bureau for Investigation of Constitutional Systems in 1884, and the Council of State was replaced in 1885 with a cabinet headed by Itō as prime minister . The positions of chancellor, minister of the left , and minister of the right , which had existed since the seventh century as advisory positions to

3174-418: The inception of the Diet in 1890 and 1894, when the nation was unified for the war effort against China , there followed five years of unity, unusual cooperation, and coalition cabinets. From 1900 to 1912, the Diet and the cabinet cooperated even more directly, with political parties playing larger roles. Throughout the entire period, the old Meiji oligarchy retained ultimate control but steadily yielded power to

3243-411: The introduction of modern municipalities in 1889, Shizuoka consisted of 337 municipalities: 1 (by definition: district-independent) city and 23 districts with 31 towns and 305 villages . The Great Shōwa mergers of the 1950s reduced the total from 281 to 97 between 1953 and 1960, including 18 cities by then. The Great Heisei mergers of the 2000s combined the 74 remaining municipalities in the year 2000 into

3312-1250: The largest share in the global piano market. Kawai has the second largest share. They both got their start in Shizuoka pref. in the early twentieth century. Yamaha and Roland are major brand for electronic musical instruments . In the electronic piano world market, Yamaha has the world's largest share. Roland and Kawai have the second and third place share. Roland and Yamaha also manufacture high-quality synthesizers and drum machines for professional musicians. In addition, various instruments such as wind instruments and guitars are manufactured in this prefecture. There are about 200 companies that manufacture musical instruments, in this prefecture. Most of these musical instruments are especially produced in Hamamatsu City. National universities Public universities Private universities The sports teams listed below are based in Shizuoka. Motoo Kimura (木村 資生, 1924–1994), biologist and theoretical population geneticist, died in Shizuoka Prefecture Meiji government The Government of Meiji Japan ( 明治政府 , Meiji seifu )

3381-519: The new Meiji government summoned delegates from all of the domains to Kyoto to establish a provisional consultative national assembly. In April 1868, the Charter Oath was promulgated, in which Emperor Meiji set out the broad general outlines for Japan's development and modernization. Two months later, in June 1868, the Seitaisho was promulgated to establish the new administrative basis for

3450-404: The opposition parties. The two major figures of the period were Yamagata Aritomo , whose long tenure (1868–1922) as a military and civil leader, including two terms as prime minister, was characterized by his intimidation of rivals and resistance to democratic procedures, and Itō Hirobumi, who was a compromiser and, although overruled by the genrō , wanted to establish a government party to control

3519-519: The population of Toyohashi has grown steadily over the past 60 years. The area around present-day Toyohashi has been inhabited for many thousands of years. Archaeologists have found human remains from the Japanese Paleolithic period, which have been carbon dated to more than 10,000 BC along with the bones of Naumann elephants . Numerous remains from the Jōmon period , and especially from

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3588-407: The power of debate, and not legislation, they provided an important safety valve, without the ability to challenge the authority of the central government. In August 1869, during abolition of feudal domains and redrawing of local administrative boundaries, the central government itself was restructured to reinforce centralized authority. The idea of division of powers was abandoned. The new government

3657-529: The prefectural government. Toyohashi has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 36 members. The city contributes five members to the Aichi Prefectural Assembly . In terms of national politics, the city is part of Aichi District15 of the lower house of the Diet of Japan . Industrial production is centered around

3726-496: The production of automotive-related components for Toyota , Mitsubishi , Suzuki Motors , and Honda , all of whom have factories in the region. Mikawa Port is a major port for worldwide trade , and its presence has made Toyohashi the largest import and export hub in Japan for automobiles, in volume terms. Compared to other ports around the world, Mikawa is roughly on a par with the German port of Bremerhaven . Toyohashi Station

3795-504: The region until he conquered the lands of the Hōjō clan in the Kantō region and placed land under the stewardship of Toyotomi Hideyoshi . After becoming shōgun , Tokugawa took the land back for his family and put the area around modern-day Shizuoka City under the direct supervision of the shogunate. With the creation of the Shizuoka han from the Sunpu Domain in 1868, it once again became

3864-543: The reorganization of government with an independent judiciary and an appointed Council of Elders tasked with reviewing proposals for a constitution. The emperor declared that "constitutional government shall be established in gradual stages" as he ordered the Genrōin to draft a constitution. In 1880, delegates from twenty-four prefectures held a national convention to establish the Kokkai Kisei Dōmei (League for Establishing

3933-589: The residence of the Tokugawa family. Shizuoka Prefecture is an elongated region following the coast of the Pacific Ocean at the Suruga Bay . In the west, the prefecture extends deep into the Japan Alps . In the east, it becomes a narrower coast bounded in the north by Mount Fuji , until it comes to the Izu Peninsula , a popular resort area pointing south into the Pacific. As of April 2012, 11% of

4002-463: The ruling circle, however, and despite the conservative approach of the leadership, Ōkuma continued as a lone advocate of British-style government, a government with political parties and a cabinet organized by the majority party, answerable to the national assembly. He called for elections to be held by 1882 and for a national assembly to be convened by 1883; in doing so, he precipitated a political crisis that ended with an 1881 imperial rescript declaring

4071-506: The serious leadership split over the Korean affair, generally agreed that constitutional government should someday be established. Kido Takayoshi had favored a constitutional form of government since before 1874, and several proposals that provided for constitutional guarantees had been drafted. The oligarchy, however, while acknowledging the realities of political pressure, was determined to keep control. The Osaka Conference of 1875 resulted in

4140-427: The summer festivals, the use of traditionally handcrafted fireworks is showcased, and include hand-held bamboo-tube fireworks known as tezutsu hanabi . Chikuwa (a type of baked sausage roll made from fish), Gohei rice cake ( 五平餅 , Gohei-mochi ) , beach fermented soybeans , food boiled in goby fish and soy, top producer of quail eggs in Japan, Toyohashi calligraphy brush ( 豊橋筆 , Toyohashi-fude ) . In

4209-514: The total land area of the prefecture was designated as natural parks , namely the Fuji-Hakone-Izu and Minami Alps National Parks; Tenryū-Okumikawa Quasi-National Park ; and four Prefectural Natural Parks. In Shizuoka prefecture, the temperature , over the course of the year, typically varies from 34 °F to 87 °F and is rarely below 28 °F or above 93 °F. The summers in Shizuoka are warm, oppressive, and mostly cloudy;

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4278-744: The west, Toyohashi, and the city of Hamamatsu to the east is a sea turtle nesting spot. The city has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters ( Köppen climate classification Cfa ). The average annual temperature in Toyohashi is 16.3 °C (61.3 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,651.3 mm (65.01 in) with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.5 °C (81.5 °F), and lowest in January, at around 5.4 °C (41.7 °F). Per Japanese census data,

4347-482: The winters are very cold, windy, and mostly clear. On 15 March 2011, Shizuoka Prefecture was hit with a magnitude 6.2 earthquake approximately 42 km (26 mi) NNE of Shizuoka City . It is said, that throughout history, Shizuoka area has experienced a large earthquake every 100 to 150 years. 3,635,220 people live in Shizuoka Prefecture, according to the 2020 census. Since 2010, Shizuoka has consisted of 35 municipalities : 23 cities and 12 towns . After

4416-405: Was also the provision for the creation of a Cabinet composed of ministers of State directly responsible to the Emperor and independent of the legislature. Functionally, the Diet was able to approve government legislation and initiate laws, make representations to the government, and submit petitions to the Emperor. Nevertheless, in spite of these institutional changes, sovereignty still resided in

4485-482: Was based on a national assembly (which met only once), an appointive Council of Advisors ( Sangi ), and eight Ministries: Decision-making in the government was restricted to a closed oligarchy of perhaps 20 individuals (from Satsuma, Chōshū, Tosa, Hizen, and the Imperial Court). The Home Ministry, which appointed all prefectural governors and controlled police apparatus, was the most powerful, and Ōkubo left

4554-475: Was established to create a form of separation of powers in imitation of the western countries. The government instigated Fuhanken Sanchisei , dividing territory into urban prefectures or municipalities ( fu ) and rural prefectures ( ken ). Local government in Japan consisted of area confiscated from the Tokugawa, administered from the Department of Civil Affairs, and 273 semi-independent domains. Agents from

4623-449: Was short-lived: the Kenseitō split into two parties, the Kenseitō led by Itagaki and the Kensei Hontō (Real Constitutional Party) led by Ōkuma, and the cabinet ended after only four months. Yamagata then returned as prime minister with the backing of the military and the bureaucracy. Despite broad support of his views on limiting constitutional government, Yamagata formed an alliance with Kenseitō. Reforms of electoral laws , an expansion of

4692-424: Was supplanted by Japan's current constitution . The first national election was held in 1890, and 300 members were elected to the lower house . Voting was restricted to males over twenty-five who paid income tax of minimally fifteen yen , a qualification to be lowered in 1900 and 1919 with universal male suffrage passed after much debate in 1925. Women never obtained the franchise until after World War II when

4761-474: Was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan . Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji oligarchy , who overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate . After the Meiji Restoration , the leaders of the samurai who overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate had no clear agenda or pre-developed plan on how to run Japan. They did have

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