Abolition of the han system

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/abolition-of-the-han-system

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the year of abolition decree?1871
2. What is the preceding event?Meiji Restoration (initiated 1868)
3. What was the han system in Japan before 1871?It was a feudal system with many domains, each ruled by a daimyo who could tax, raise armies, and judge people.
4. Why did Japan decide to abolish the han system?To create a strong, united government that could modernize and protect Japan from foreign powers.

Haihan-Chiken: The Japanese term for the abolition of feudal domains and the establishment of prefectures.
Daimyo: Feudal lords who held hereditary control over vast territories in pre-Meiji Japan.
Meiji Restoration: A political revolution that restored practical imperial rule to Japan and advanced the modernization of the country.
Prefectures: The administrative divisions of Japan, established to replace the former feudal domains.