Editing Edo period (section)

===Bakumatsu modernization and conflicts===
{{main|Bakumatsu}}

During the last years of the ''[[Tokugawa shogunate|bakufu]]'', or ''[[bakumatsu]]'', the ''bakufu'' took strong measures to try to reassert its dominance, although its involvement with modernization and foreign powers was to make it a target of [[anti-Western sentiment]] throughout the country.

The army and the navy were modernized. A naval training school was established in Nagasaki in 1855. Naval students were sent to study in Western naval schools for several years, starting a tradition of foreign-educated future leaders, such as Admiral [[Enomoto Takeaki|Enomoto]]. French naval engineers were hired to build naval arsenals, such as [[Yokosuka]] and Nagasaki. By the end of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868, the Japanese navy of the ''shōgun'' already possessed eight Western-style steam warships around the flagship [[Japanese battleship Kaiyo Maru|''Kaiyō Maru'']], which were used against pro-imperial forces during the [[Boshin War]] under the command of Admiral [[Enomoto Takeaki|Enomoto]]. A [[Jules Brunet|French military mission]] was established to help modernize the armies of the ''bakufu''.[[File:Kanrinmaru.jpg|thumb|[[Japanese warship Kanrin Maru|''Kanrin Maru'']], Japan's first screw-driven steam warship, 1855|left]][[File:Modern Costumes of Japanese Officers Shogunate Army 1866.png|thumb|Samurai in western clothing of the Tokugawa Shogunate Army (1866)]]Revering the emperor as a symbol of unity, extremists wrought violence and death against the Bakufu and Han authorities and foreigners. Foreign naval retaliation in the [[Anglo-Satsuma War]] led to still another concessionary commercial treaty in 1865, but Yoshitomi was unable to enforce the Western treaties. A ''bakufu'' army was defeated when it was sent to crush dissent in the [[Satsuma Domain|Satsuma]] and [[Chōshū Domain]]s in 1866. Finally, in 1867, [[Emperor Kōmei]] died and was succeeded by his underaged son [[Emperor Meiji]].

[[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]] reluctantly became head of the Tokugawa house and ''shōgun''. He tried to reorganize the government under the emperor while preserving the ''shōgun''{{'}}s leadership role. Fearing the growing power of the Satsuma and Chōshū ''daimyo'', other ''daimyo'' called for returning the ''shōgun''{{'}}s political power to the emperor and a council of ''daimyo'' chaired by the former Tokugawa ''shōgun''. Yoshinobu accepted the plan in late 1867 and resigned, announcing an "imperial restoration". The Satsuma, Chōshū, and other ''han'' leaders and radical courtiers, however, [[rebellion|rebelled]], seized the [[Japanese imperial palace|imperial palace]], and announced their own restoration on January 3, 1868.

Following the [[Boshin War]] (1868–1869), the ''bakufu'' was abolished, and Yoshinobu was reduced to the ranks of the common ''daimyo''. Resistance continued in the North throughout 1868, and the ''bakufu'' [[navy|naval forces]] under Admiral [[Enomoto Takeaki]] continued to hold out for another six months in [[Hokkaidō]], where they founded the short-lived [[Republic of Ezo]].

Although the Edo Period would soon end, [[Bushido]] values would continue to influence Japanese society long after the samurai ceased to exist.

The Edo Period would also have a lasting impact on modern art and culture. The Edo Period lives on in plays, books, anime, and especially [[jidaigeki]] (historical period dramas), such as the classic samurai films of [[Akira Kurosawa]]. Kurosawa's films would influence Spaghetti Westerns, and even Star Wars.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jpbound.com/what-was-the-edo-period-era-in-japan/|title=An Overview of the Edo Period (Era) in Japan -|date=August 22, 2023|website=JPbound |first=James |last=Fujita}}</ref>