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External sources (not reviewed)

According to the law, Li Huang had to report what had happened and explain the reason why he got lost to the government.

Imperial troops mainly belonging to the Western feudal provinces took control of Kyoto.

Such an action of Bakufu during the Kobu-Gatti (公武合体) revealed the sign of decline of Tokugawa and the Tenno was recalled into the scene of active politics, thus paving the way for its eventual restoration.

It is strange enough in any case to have a neck on a bottle of this type, but in adding one it would seem improbable that a centre other than the palace workshops would have chosen to put such a distinctly palace neck onto the form.

Shogunal council made direct appeal to Emperor at Kyoto for imperial sanction to treaties.

To the early Meiji leaders, consolidating the political power and gaining wider support was most important in the early 1868, when the imperial power was still shaky while threat from daimyo and pro-Bakufu forces remained. in order to rally support and consolidate power.

Choshu/Satsuma differences over the union problems: Choshu: extreme, though some called for union, majority sought to protect imperial residence from outside threats with all the strength at its command; Satsuma, moderate and in support of union-advocating strengthening of Court and Shogunate to make way for alliance.

Perry’s arrival forced the Bakufu into opening a Pandora’s box that brought the imperial court as well as the daimyo and its retainers into the decision-making process...... Without the crisis engendered by this situation, the Bakufu would not have collapsed as soon as it did.

[...] represents astandard courtlyform thatoccurs [...]

These years were in actually the crucial time for the Meiji government as many serious problems such as the existence of resistant force, the disunity of the whole nation due to the feudal system,the lack of imperial force greatly hindered the consolidation and centralization of imperial power which was the prerequisite for the survival of the new government.

But in this case the glaze is distinctly yellow and accompanies an unquestionably imperial five-clawed dragon.

Without firm leadership, it led to the reversal of Shogunal policy that made more cooperation with the court and daimyo such as the relaxation of Sankin-Kotai of 1862 and the policy of Kobu-Gatti in 1863, all showed the sign of the doom of Tokugawa.

Although titles and official ranks of the former feudal lords andcourt nobles had been abolished, the nobility was restored by the created of a new peerage specified by titles used in ancient China.

Motivation varied with individual or with groups and often transcended han boundaries; many Sonno-joists were loyalists, others were intellects; still others supported the movement because of the rigidity of the social system which deprived them of opportunities to display their talents and others wanted to show their military skill.

The lesser bottle may represent a nineteenth-century decline in standards within the imperial workshops, whether at Beijing or elsewhere (Suzhou, Guangzhou, or wherever the court ordered hardstone bottles made over the years); or there may simply have been wide variation in quality produced on a regular basis to accommodate different levels of gift.

At the beginning of the Meiji period, the power of the government was in the hands of court aristocrats such as Iwakura Tomomi and Sanjo Sanetomi, and members of those han that had played decisive roles in the overthrow of the Bakufu including Saigo Takamori, Okubo Toshimichi from Satsuma; Kido Koin, Ito Hirobumi, Inoue Kaoru, and Yamagata Aritomo from Choshu; Okuma Shigenobu from Hizen; and Itagaki Taisuke and Goto Shojiro from Tosa.

As further snippets from these archives are published by such scholars as Yang Boda, who enjoys a unique combination of access and interest in the subject, we are already scrambling to correct past misinterpretations of the evidence.