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[[Image:Meiji-naminoue.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Statue of Emperor Meiji at [[Naminoue Shrine]] in [[Okinawa]], identified as ''kokka'', or, "The State."]]
[[Image:Meiji-naminoue.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Statue of Emperor Meiji at [[Naminoue Shrine]] in [[Okinawa]], identified as ''kokka'', or, "The State."]]
[[Image:Meiji-tomb.jpg|right|thumb|350px|The tomb-mound of Emperor Meiji, at the former site of [[Fushimi castle]] in [[Kyoto]].]]
[[Image:Meiji-tomb.jpg|right|thumb|350px|The tomb-mound of Emperor Meiji, at the former site of [[Fushimi castle]] in [[Kyoto]].]]
*''Born: [[1852]]''
*''Born: [[1852]]/9/22''
*''Died: [[1912]]''
*''Died: [[1912]]''
*''Reign: [[1867]]-1912''
*''Reign: [[1867]]-1912''
*''Other Names'': 睦仁 ''(Mutsuhito)''
*''Other Names'': 睦仁 ''(Mutsuhito)'', 祐宮 ''(Sachinomiya)''
*''Japanese'': 明治天皇 ''(Meiji tennou)''
*''Japanese'': 明治天皇 ''(Meiji tennou)''
The Meiji Emperor was the great-grandfather of the current [[Emperor]] of Japan. Following the fall of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] in [[1868]], he was the first Emperor since [[Emperor Go-Daigo]] in the 1330s to rule the country in the absence of a [[shogunate]]; he was also the last Emperor to reign in [[Kyoto]], doing so briefly before the move to [[Tokyo]].
The Meiji Emperor's reign, known as the [[Meiji period]] ([[1867]]-[[1912]]), saw the fall of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] and the establishment of the modern, imperial, nation-state of Japan. It was marked by dramatic, rapid modernization and Westernization, as the country industrialized, militarized, began colonial/imperial expansion, instituted a system of rule based around a constitutional/parliamentary monarchy, nationwide public education, and a myriad of other reforms and developments.
He was the last [[Emperor]] of Japan to rule from [[Kyoto]], and the first to rule from [[Tokyo]]. Following the fall of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] in [[1868]], he was the first Emperor since [[Emperor Go-Daigo]] in the 1330s to rule the country in the absence of a [[shogunate]].
==Life & Reign==
==Life & Reign==
Emperor Meiji, known by his personal name Mutsuhito during his life, was the son of [[Emperor Komei|Emperor Kômei]] and [[Nakayama Yoshiko]], an imperial concubine. His wife, Ichijô Haruko, came to be known as [[Empress Shoken|Empress Dowager Shôken]].
Emperor Meiji, known by his personal name Mutsuhito during his life, was the son of [[Emperor Komei|Emperor Kômei]] and [[Nakayama Yoshiko]], an imperial concubine. His wife, Ichijô Haruko, came to be known as [[Empress Shoken|Empress Dowager Shôken]]. At seven days old, he was initially named Sachinomiya.<ref>Ishin Shiryô Kôyô 維新史料綱要, vol 1 (1937), 378.</ref>
Meiji took the throne on 1867/1/9, less than a year before [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]] stepped down as [[Shogun]], marking the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, and the "[[Meiji Restoration|restoration]]" of Imperial rule.
Meiji took the throne on 1867/1/9, less than a year before [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]] stepped down as [[Shogun]], marking the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, and the "[[Meiji Restoration|restoration]]" of Imperial rule.
Among the many other significant events of his reign, the emperor received numerous foreign heads of state, royals, and other dignitaries who came to Japan on formal and informal visits, including US President [[Ulysses S. Grant]], King [[Kalakaua]] of Hawaii, Tsarevitch [[Nicholas II]] of Russia, and a number of British royals, among others. The emperor never learned to speak any English, and is said to have never been able to relax in conversation with foreigners, showing little personality and instead playing the part of Imperial host.<ref>[[Sir Hugh Cortazzi]], "Royal Visits to Japan in the Meiji Period, 1868-1912," in ''Collected Writings of Sir Hugh Cortazzi'', Edition Synapse (2000), 111.</ref>
Among the many other significant events of his reign, the emperor received numerous foreign heads of state, royals, and other dignitaries who came to Japan on formal and informal visits, including US President [[Ulysses S. Grant]], King [[Kalakaua]] of Hawaii, Tsarevitch [[Nicholas II]] of Russia, and a number of British royals, among others. The emperor never learned to speak any English, and is said to have never been able to relax in conversation with foreigners, showing little personality and instead playing the part of Imperial host.<ref>[[Sir Hugh Cortazzi]], "Royal Visits to Japan in the Meiji Period, 1868-1912," in ''Collected Writings of Sir Hugh Cortazzi'', Edition Synapse (2000), 111.</ref>