Peasant unrest.
According to the source below, groups such as peasants, samurai and urban workers demonstrated and rebelled about the changes the country was facing.
Satsuma Rebellion.
This movie was loosely based on the Satsuma Rebellion, particularly the Battle of Shiroyama in 1877.
There are a few historical inaccuracies, the lead character is actually not American nor look like Tom Cruise and the battle was not rifles v swords as the samurai had some modern weapons, but there is some truth behind the storyline. The following is more accurate:
- Why did the Meiji Government abolish the samurai order?
- Why were the samurai, particularly Saigō Takamori, eventually opposed to the decisions of Emperor Meiji’s government even though he had initially been in support of him?
- How was the Meiji Government able to overcome the samurai?
Foreign Relations and imperialism.
A key point to make about the Meiji Restoration was that prior to it, in 1853, Japan was powerless to reject the US demands. Fast forward to 1904/5 and their fleet was powerful enough to defeat one of the great powers of the world, Russia in the Russo-Japanese War.
- Why did Japan and China agree a trade treaty in 1871 and what was agreed? 0:40-1:10
- Which two areas of land caused flashpoints between the two nations? 1:10-1:52
- How did the issue of Korea cause war between the two? 2:38-4:08
- Why did Japan win the first Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95? 4:08-5:10