During the era from around the end of the Edo period to the Meiji Restoration, modern European history, such as history of civilization, had been brought to Japan rapidly, and in particular, progressive views of history and evolutionary views of history had rapidly become well known.
幕末から明治維新にかけて、文明史など西欧の近代歴史学が一気に流入したが、特に進歩史観・進化史観が日本で急速に広まった。