Book excerpt: Like the French Revolution, the Meiji Restoration transformed a whole society. Japan was never the same after 1868. The meaning of the events that led to the restoration has therefore profoundly concerned historians, but most Western accounts probe only the dimension of political leadership, largely ignoring the common people. In this book, George Wilson argues that the restoration was a total national event--a revolution to redeem the whole realm of Japan--accomplished by samurai and commoners alike. This study foregrounds the classic contest of agency versus structure, focusing on the actors in Meiji Restoration history rather than the institutions through which they acted. Wilson argues that the samurai who triumphed sought not only the patriotic goal of defending the realm against the external threat of Western imperialism but also the redemptive goal of rescuing the realm from the bakufu's failures. The common people no less than the samurai elite wanted to save Japan in its time of troubles. According to Wilson, redemption complemented patriotism as a motive for both the elite and the general public, contributing a double force to Japan's rising nationalism.