Kinkazan

• Born: 1869
• Died: 1895/6/22
• Japanese: 金華山 (Kinkazan)

Kinkazan was the favorite horse of Emperor Meiji. His taxidermied body is on permanent display at the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery, near Meiji Shrine in Tokyo.

Obtained in Miyagi prefecture in 1876 specifically for the Emperor, Kinkazan served Emperor Meiji on some 130 occasions between 1880 and the horse's death in 1895. Though not possessing of a particularly beautiful coat or bone structure, Kinkazan is described as being self-possessed and alert, never shying from his duty, and remaining unfazed by, for example, gunshots fired as salutes at national ceremonies.

References

• Gallery labels, Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery.