This is a huge question to ask that scholars of modern Japan have been grappling with for years now. As I'm sure your professors might tell you, your question is incredibly broad! Also, you might want to clarify what you mean by "Meiji Restoration" and "Imperial Japan." The restoration could be considered a single moment when the emperor was "restored" or it could be considered an ongoing process from Perry's arrival through mid-Meiji of "restoring" something else in Japan. And, from 1868-1945, Japan was known as the Japanese Empire, so what do you mean by "Imperial" Japan? I assume you mean the chauvinist and expansionist Japan that is characterized by its Manchurian exploits and ultranationalist kokutai.

That being said, given that I'm writing my (undergraduate) thesis on a topic related to this, I've got a bibliography that can point you in some great directions. If you reply, I'll see if I can point you in some more specific directions, but for starters:

• Changing Japanese Attitudes Towards Modernization ed. Marius Jansen
• Japan's Modern Myths by Carol Gluck
• "The Triple Intervention: Japan's Lesson in the Diplomacy of Imperialism" by Frank Iklé in Monumenta Nipponica
• Political Development in Modern Japan ed. Robert Ward

I'd definitely suggest going after Changing Attitudes and Political Development because they contain 10-15 essays each that are about various topics under the book's title. And, they're part of a 6 volume series, each with several essays in them. They're a great starting point! Good luck.