Historedia
Episode 2 of 2

Proclamation of the Meiji Era

When
23 October 1868
Where
Tokyo
Part of
Edo period ends as the Meiji era is proclaimed

The era name was changed from Keiō to Meiji on 23 October 1868, marking the end of the Edo period.

On 23 October 1868, the era name was officially changed from Keiō to Meiji, meaning 'enlightened rule.' This change signified the end of the 265-year Edo period and the beginning of the Meiji era under Emperor Meiji.

Sources

  1. Emperor Meiji Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-03
  2. Meiji era Wikipedia

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.