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Miyatake Gaikotsu was a [[Meiji period]] political critic, known for his satirical writings in journals such as the ''Tonchi kyôkai zasshi'' ("Journal of the Society of Ready Wit").
A satirical piece published by Miyatake in the February 28, [[1889]] issue of the ''Tonchi kyôkai zasshi'', accompanied by political cartoons by [[Adachi Ginko|Adachi Ginkô]], resulted in both being imprisoned, for one and three years respectively, for the crime of ''lèse majesté''. The piece was a parody of the [[Promulgation of the Meiji Constitution]], which took place several weeks earlier. Entitled "promulgation ceremony for the sharpening of the ready wit law," a phrase which in the Japanese was only a few syllables different from "promulgation ceremony for the Meiji Constitution," the piece included a number of humorous, almost nonsensical, parodies of individual articles of the Constitution. It was accompanied by an image parodying those depicting the promulgation ceremony, in which the [[Meiji Emperor]] was replaced with a skeleton (J: ''gaikotsu'').
Miyatake later wrote that his imprisonment for this crime only hardened his resolve to be critical of the government.
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==References==
*Takashi Fujitani, ''Splendid Monarchy'', University of California Press (1996), 198.
[[Category:Meiji Period]]
[[Category:Artists and Artisans]]