Who was the final shogun of Japan before the 1868 Meiji Restoration?

Tokugawa Yoshinobu was the final shogun of Japan before the Meiji Restoration.

Yoshinobu became the fifteenth and last shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1866. His tenure unfolded during intense political pressure from imperial loyalists, powerful domains, and foreign powers. In 1867, he returned governing authority to Emperor Meiji, an act known as the taisei hōkan.

The transfer did not immediately end all conflict. The Boshin War followed, and pro-Tokugawa forces were defeated by imperial forces by 1869. Yoshinobu himself withdrew from political life and spent much of his later life in seclusion.

The phrase “Meiji Restoration” describes a wider political transformation, not only Yoshinobu’s resignation. The imperial government reorganized administration, military institutions, taxation, and social status, including the former samurai order.