The Boshin War was a civil war fought in Japan from 1868 to 1869 between the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition from the domains of Chōshū, Satsuma and Tosa, who sought power in the name of the Imperial Court. Frustration with the shogunate's handling of foreign powers after Japan opened to the West had spread among nobles and young samurai. The shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu handed power to the emperor, but the Tokugawa were still attacked and he launched a campaign to seize Kyoto. The imperial forces, better modernised, won a series of battles, culminating in the surrender of Edo. Tokugawa loyalists held out in Hokkaido, where they founded the Republic of Ezo, until the defeat at Hakodate. About 8,200 of roughly 69,000 mobilised men were killed, and the new government chose modernisation over expelling foreigners.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.