The Meiji Restoration was the historic change from the feudal system of the Edo Shogunate to the system of direct Imperial rule by the Meiji government through the overthrow of the Shogunate, and the accompanying series of wars (the Boshin War) and reforms.
明治維新（めいじいしん）は、江戸幕府による幕藩体制から、明治政府による倒幕運動および天皇親政体制の転換と、それに伴う一連の戦争（戊辰戦争）・改革をいう。