Promulgation of the Meiji Constitution

• Date: 1889/2/11

The promulgation of the Meiji Constitution on February 11, 1889, was accompanied by a series of official ceremonies which have been described as "Japan's first modern national ceremony," setting standards and precedents for national ceremonies from that time forward, particularly those held up until the end of World War II.

The events were held on kigensetsu, or National Foundation Day, the supposed anniversary of Emperor Jimmu's accession to the throne in 660 BCE, thus establishing that national holiday as being from then on also the anniversary of the promulgation of the Constitution, and thus in a sense the anniversary of the establishment of the modern Japanese nation-state.

Though one might expect the promulgation of a Constitution, and for a modern state no less, to be a purely secular political matter, the ceremonies associated with the promulgation were intimately intertwined with State Shinto and Emperor-centered ritual.