Unrest and Accession : 1
Japanese Trade Dollar, Meiji 9 – 1876 By the early 1860s, the shogunate was under several threats. Representatives of foreign powers sought to increase their influence in Japan. Many
daimyōs were increasingly dissatisfied with
bakufu handling foreign affairs. Large numbers of young
samurai, known as
shishi or "men of high purpose", began to meet and speak against the shogunate. The
shishi revered Emperor Kōmei and favored direct violent action to cure societal ills. While they initially desired the death or expulsion of all foreigners, the
shishi would later begin to advocate the modernization of the country. The
bakufu enacted several measures to appease the various groups in an effort to drive a wedge between the
shishi and
daimyōs. File:meiji tenno3.jpg|Emperor Meiji wearing the
sokutai, 1872 File:Emperor Meiji Photograph in 1872.jpg|Emperor Meiji wearing konoshi (小直衣), 1872 File:Emperor Meiji 1872.jpg|Emperor Meiji in western clothes, 1872 File:Emperor Meiji on horseback 1872.jpg|Emperor Meiji on horseback, 1872 Kyoto was a major center for the
shishi and the shishi had influence over the Emperor Kōmei. In 1863, the
shishi persuaded him to issue an "
Order to expel barbarians". The Order placed the shogunate in a difficult position since they had no intention of enforcing the order because they did not have the power to carry it out. Several attacks were made on foreigners or their ships, and foreign forces retaliated.
Bakufu forces were able to drive most of the
shishi out of Kyoto, and an attempt by them to return in 1864 was driven back. Nevertheless, unrest continued throughout Japan. During this time, he studied
waka poetry, first with his father, then with the court poets. In 1866, a new shōgun,
Tokugawa Yoshinobu, took office as the prince continued his classical education. Tokugawa Yoshinobu was a reformer who desired to transform Japan into a Western-style state. Yoshinobu was the final
shōgun and met with resistance from among the
bakufu, even as unrest and military actions continued. In mid-1866, a
bakufu army set forth to punish rebels in southern Japan. The army was defeated. Emperor Kōmei fell seriously ill at the age of 36 and died on 30 January 1867. British diplomat Sir
Ernest Satow wrote, "it is impossible to deny that [Emperor Kōmei's] disappearance from the political scene, leaving as his successor a boy of fifteen or sixteen [actually fourteen], was most opportune". In a brief ceremony in Kyoto, the crown prince formally
ascended to the throne on 13 February 1867. The new emperor continued his classical education, which did not include matters of politics. In the meantime, the
shōgun, Yoshinobu, struggled to maintain power. He repeatedly asked for the emperor's confirmation of his actions, which he eventually received, but there is no indication that the young emperor was himself involved in the decisions. The
shishi and other rebels continued to shape their vision of the new Japan, and although they revered the emperor, they had no thought of having him play an active part in the political process. The political struggle reached its climax in late 1867. An agreement was reached by which Yoshinobu would maintain his title and some of his power, but the lawmaking power would be vested in a bicameral legislature based on the British model. The agreement fell apart and on 9 November 1867, Yoshinobu officially tendered his resignation to the emperor and formally stepped down ten days later. The following month, the rebels marched on Kyoto, taking control of the Imperial Palace. and the following month, documents were sent to foreign powers:
Consolidation of power Despite the ouster of the
bakufu, no effective central government had been put in place by the rebels. On 23 March the Dutch Minister-Resident
Dirk de Graeff van Polsbroek and the French Minister-Resident
Léon Roches were the first European envoys ever to receive a personal audience with the new Emperor Meiji in Edo (Tokyo). This audience laid the foundation for (modern) Dutch diplomacy in Japan. Subsequently, De Graeff van Polsbroek assisted the emperor and the government in their negotiations with representatives of the major European powers. For the first time since early childhood, the emperor left the Imperial precincts in Kyoto in mid-May to take command of the forces pursuing the remnants of the
bakufu armies. Traveling in slow stages due to through roads being lined with crowds, he took three days to travel from Kyoto to Osaka. There was no conflict in Osaka; the new leaders wanted the emperor to be more visible to his people and to foreign envoys. At the end of May, after two weeks in Osaka (in a much less formal atmosphere than in Kyoto), the emperor returned to his home. Shortly after his return, the emperor began to preside over all state business, reserving further literary study for his leisure time. Only from 1871 onward did the emperor's studies include materials on contemporary affairs. to Tokyo at the end of 1868 On 19 September 1868, Mutsuhito changed the name of the city of Edo to Tokyo, meaning "eastern capital". He was formally crowned in Kyoto on 15 October (a ceremony which had been postponed from the previous year due to the civil unrest). Shortly before the coronation, he introduced a new
nengō (era) called
Meiji ("enlightened rule"). Heretofore the
nengō had often been changed multiple times in an emperor's reign; from now on there would only be one
nengō per reign. Soon after his coronation, the emperor journeyed to Tokyo
by road, visiting it for the first time. He arrived in late November and began an extended stay by distributing
sake among the population. The population of Tokyo was eager for an Imperial visit. Tokyo had been the site of the
shōguns court and the city's population feared that with the abolition of the shogunate, the city might fall into decline. It would not be until 1889 that a final decision was made to move the capital to Tokyo. While in Tokyo, the emperor boarded a Japanese naval vessel for the first time, and the following day gave instructions for studies to see how Japan's navy could be strengthened. Soon after his return to Kyoto, a
rescript was issued in the emperor's name (but most likely written by court officials). It indicated his intent to be involved in government affairs. And indeed he attended cabinet meetings and innumerable other government functions, though rarely speaking, almost until the day of his death.
Political reform on 1 January 1872 The successful revolutionaries organized themselves into a Council of State, and subsequently into a system where three main ministers led the government. This structure would last until the establishment of a prime minister, who would lead a cabinet in a western fashion, in 1885. Initially, not even the retention of the emperor was certain; revolutionary leader
Gotō Shōjirō later stated that some officials "were afraid the extremists might go further and abolish the Mikado". Japan's new leaders sought to reform the patchwork system of domains governed by the
daimyōs. In 1869, several of the
daimyōs who had supported the revolution gave their land property to the emperor and were reappointed as governors, with considerable salaries. By the following year, all other
daimyōs had followed suit. In 1871, as Japan was organized into 72
prefectures, the emperor
abolished domains entirely. The
daimyōs were compensated with annual salaries equal to ten percent of their former revenues (from which they now did not have to deduct the cost of governing), but were required to move to the new capital, Tokyo. Most
daimyōs retired from politics.
, published in the New-York Tribune'' (1905) The new administration gradually abolished most privileges of the samurai, including their right to a stipend from the government. However, unlike the
daimyōs, many samurai suffered financially from this change. Most other class-based distinctions were abolished. Legalized discrimination against the
burakumin ended. However, these classes continue to suffer discrimination in Japan to the present time. The
1889 constitution created a new
parliament, although it had no real power. Power had passed from the Tokugawa into the hands of those
daimyōs and other samurai who had led the Restoration. Japan was thus controlled by the
Genrō, an
oligarchy which comprised the most powerful men of the military, political and economic spheres. The emperor showed greater political longevity than his recent predecessors, as he was the first Japanese monarch to remain on the throne past the age of 50 since
Emperor Ōgimachi's abdication from the throne in 1586. The Japanese take pride in the Meiji Restoration, as it and the accompanying industrialization allowed Japan to become the preeminent power in the Pacific and a major player in the world within a
generation. Yet, Emperor Meiji's role in the Restoration, as well as the amount of personal authority and influence he wielded during his reign, remains debatable. He kept no diary, wrote almost no letters (unlike his father) and left "no more than three or four" photographs. The accounts of people who had met or were close to him usually contain little substantial information or are mutually contradictory. Due to the lack of reliable sources of the period, mysteries surrounding Emperor Meiji's personality and role in the Restoration remain a matter of historical dispute. James C. Baxter argues that the emperor was a figurehead without real power who rarely interfered with what had been agreed upon in advance by the
Meiji oligarchy. Conversely, Herbert Bix describes Meiji as a powerful autocrat whom the Genrō struggled to restrain while accommodating his anti-democratic inclinations. R.Starr characterizes Meiji as a highly individualistic and forthright person who was no puppet to any group in his government, and although progressive, not 'liberal' or 'democratic'. Yet another group of historians contend he was never a full dictator, but remain divided on whether his personal power was "far closer to the absolutist end". or he merely played a mediating role in the Genrō's decision making. He composed the following poem in
waka form: : : : :Yomo no umi :mina harakara to :omofu yo ni: :nado, namikaze no :tachi sawaguramu? :The seas of the four directions— :all are born of one womb: :why, then, do the wind and waves rise in discord? This poem was later recited by his grandson,
Emperor Shōwa in an Imperial Conference in September 1941 before the
attack on Pearl Harbor to tell that he wanted to avoid the war.
The Illustrated London News published an article with a cover illustration of Emperor Meiji in the
New-York Tribune on 19 March 1905. The description text said: The victorious Emperor of Japan - beloved ruler of a new world power. The Emperor, who was born on 3 November 1852, succeeded to the throne on 3 February 1867, on the suppression of the Shogun dynasty, which had for generations wielded the power which the imperial family held only in name. Mutsuhito has proved the most practical of modern monarchs, for in less than forty years he has brought his country from semi-barbarism to the status of a first class power.
Senior life and death Near the end of his life several leftists, including
Shūsui Kōtoku, were executed (1911) on charges of having conspired to murder the sovereign. This conspiracy was known as the
High Treason Incident (1910). Emperor Meiji, suffering from
diabetes,
nephritis, and
gastroenteritis, died of
uremia at 22:40 on 29 July. He was succeeded by his eldest son,
Emperor Taishō. By 1912, Japan had gone through a political, economic, and social revolution and emerged as one of the
great powers in the world.
The New York Times summed up this transformation at the emperor's funeral in 1912 as: "the contrast between that which preceded the funeral car and that which followed it was striking indeed. Before it went old Japan; after it came new Japan." After the emperor's death in 1912, the
Japanese Diet passed a resolution to commemorate his role in the
Meiji Restoration. An iris garden in an area of Tokyo where Emperor Meiji and the Empress had been known to visit was chosen as the building's location for the
Shinto shrine
Meiji Jingū. The shrine does not contain the emperor's grave, which is at
Fushimi-Momoyama Castle south of
Kyoto. ==Family and issue== Soon after Meiji's ascension, the emperor's officials presented
Ichijō Haruko to him as a possible bride. The future Empress was the daughter of an Imperial official, and was three years older than the groom, who would have to wait to wed until after his
genpuku (manhood ceremony). The two married on 11 January 1869. Known posthumously as
Empress Dowager Shōken, she was the first Imperial Consort to receive the title of
kōgō (literally, the emperor's wife, translated as
Empress Consort), in several hundred years. Although she was the first Japanese Empress Consort to play a public role, she bore no children. However, the Meiji Emperor had fifteen children by five official ladies-in-waiting. Only five of his children, a prince born to
Lady Naruko (1855–1943), the daughter of Yanagiwara Mitsunaru, and four princesses born to
Lady Sachiko (1867–1947), the eldest daughter of
Count Sono Motosachi, lived to adulthood. Although Meiji was the last emperor to have
concubines, this function was not officially
abolished until 1924.
Spouse Concubines Issue Emperor Meiji had thirteen children (four of them were sons and nine were daughters), five of them (a son and four daughters) reached adulthood. He had eighteen grandchildren (eleven grandsons and seven granddaughters). ==Honours==