Changes

[[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)''

==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.

==Image==

==Image==

In the first years of his reign, the Meiji Emperor [[Clothing|dressed]] as his predecessors did. A written description by [[Ernest Satow]] of a meeting with the emperor in 1868, as well as [[:File:Meiji-1872.jpg|the first]] of his two official photographs by [[Uchida Kuichi]], taken in [[1872]], reveal the emperor in long, flowing ''sokutai'' robes (classical court dress), with his long hair pinned up, and a tall court cap. His face was whitened, and eyebrows shaved off, then painted back in a few inches higher, as was the classical style.

In the first years of his reign, the Meiji Emperor [[Clothing|dressed]] as his predecessors did. A written description by [[Ernest Satow]] of a meeting with the emperor in 1868, as well as [[:File:Meiji-1872.jpg|the first]] of his two [[Imperial portraits|official photographs]] by [[Uchida Kuichi]], taken in [[1872]], reveal the emperor in long, flowing ''sokutai'' robes (classical court dress), with his long hair pinned up, and a tall court cap. His face was whitened, and eyebrows shaved off, then painted back in a few inches higher, as was the classical style.

By [[1871]], however, the emperor declared in an imperial rescript a reform of court dress, on the basis that the traditional modes "gave the impression of weakness." Indeed, Satow's account describes the emperor as "bashful or timid," and as needing "to be assisted."<ref name=fuji174>Fujitani, 174.</ref> [[:File:Meiji Emperor.jpg|The second]] of his official portrait photographs, taken by the same Uchida Kuichi in [[1873]], shows a dramatic transformation. In this, another of the most famous and most widely familiar images of the Meiji Emperor today, the emperor is seen in Western-style military dress uniform, complete with epaulets and numerous frills; a formal hat in the style most stereotypically associated with Napoleon sits on a table next to the emperor, who sits in a Western-style chair and holding a sheathed saber. His hair is cut short and parted, and bears a thin mustache and beard.

By [[1871]], however, the emperor declared in an imperial rescript a reform of court dress, on the basis that the traditional modes "gave the impression of weakness." Indeed, Satow's account describes the emperor as "bashful or timid," and as needing "to be assisted."<ref name=fuji174>Fujitani, 174.</ref> [[:File:Meiji Emperor.jpg|The second]] of his official portrait photographs, taken by the same Uchida Kuichi in [[1873]], shows a dramatic transformation. In this, another of the most famous and most widely familiar images of the Meiji Emperor today, the emperor is seen in Western-style military dress uniform, complete with epaulets and numerous frills; a formal hat in the style most stereotypically associated with Napoleon sits on a table next to the emperor, who sits in a Western-style chair and holding a sheathed saber. His hair is cut short and parted, and bears a thin mustache and beard.