Changes

*Genro, etc.

*Genro, etc.

*Iwakura Embassy

 

A number of the chief government officials took part in a two-year [[Iwakura Mission|mission]] in [[1871]]-[[1873]], in which they toured the United States and a number of European countries, in order to learn about Western modes of government, industry, and education, among other fields, and to consider which to potentially implement in Japan.<ref>Schirokauer, et al, 171.</ref>

[[File:Yoshitoshi-kumamoto.jpg|center|thumb|800px|"Battle before [[Kumamoto castle]]," by [[Tsukioka Yoshitoshi]], [[1877]], depicting one key battle of the 1877 [[Satsuma Rebellion]]. Los Angeles County Museum of Art.]]

[[File:Yoshitoshi-kumamoto.jpg|center|thumb|800px|"Battle before [[Kumamoto castle]]," by [[Tsukioka Yoshitoshi]], [[1877]], depicting one key battle of the 1877 [[Satsuma Rebellion]]. Los Angeles County Museum of Art.]]

After much discussion and debate, the first [[Meiji Constitution|Japanese Constitution]] was [[Promulgation of the Meiji Constitution|promulgated]] on February 11, 1889. The promulgation was accompanied by extensive ceremonies, beginning with very private rites performed by the Emperor alone deep within the palace, ostensibly continuing an ancient tradition, followed by a modern/Western-style political ceremony in which the Constitution was formally promulgated with many government officials and journalists in attendance; this was then followed in turn by a public procession and celebration in the streets of Tokyo. All three combined, as reported in newspapers, participated in by the public, and otherwise noted as a national holiday and significant historical moment, have been described as "Japan's first modern national ceremony." Fashioned after modern state ceremonies in the West, this displayed to the Japanese people and the world that Japan was a modern country, and it served as precedent and model for many national ceremonies later in the Meiji period, all the way down to the 1940s.<ref>Takashi Fujitani, ''Splendid Monarchy'', University of California Press (1996), 107-111.</ref>

After much discussion and debate, the first [[Meiji Constitution|Japanese Constitution]] was [[Promulgation of the Meiji Constitution|promulgated]] on February 11, 1889. The promulgation was accompanied by extensive ceremonies, beginning with very private rites performed by the Emperor alone deep within the palace, ostensibly continuing an ancient tradition, followed by a modern/Western-style political ceremony in which the Constitution was formally promulgated with many government officials and journalists in attendance; this was then followed in turn by a public procession and celebration in the streets of Tokyo. All three combined, as reported in newspapers, participated in by the public, and otherwise noted as a national holiday and significant historical moment, have been described as "Japan's first modern national ceremony." Fashioned after modern state ceremonies in the West, this displayed to the Japanese people and the world that Japan was a modern country, and it served as precedent and model for many national ceremonies later in the Meiji period, all the way down to the 1940s.<ref>Takashi Fujitani, ''Splendid Monarchy'', University of California Press (1996), 107-111.</ref>

Under this Constitution, which remained in force until 1945, the Emperor wielded ultimate sovereignty, and all political power and land ownership stemmed from him. The Emperor had the power to declare war, conclude treaties, make policy in a wide range of fields, to dissolve the legislature and call for new elections, and to veto the decisions of the legislature at his discretion. The Privy Council and Cabinet ministers, a group which included many ''[[genro|genrô]]'' ("senior statesmen," chiefly the architects of the Restoration and of the Constitution), were thus able to rule as oligarchs, making many decisions themselves, and simply seeking the Emperor's official approval. The only power reserved exclusively to the legislature was the power to approve the annual government budget; however, even this power was weakened by stipulations that if the legislature failed to approve a new budget, the current year's budget would simply be re-adopted for the next year.<ref name=schiro180>Schirokauer, et al, 180. </ref> The [[Imperial family]] themselves were not bound or governed by the terms of the Constitution, but rather by a separate document, the [[Imperial House Law]].<ref>Fujitani, 109.</ref>

Under this Constitution, which remained in force until 1945, the Emperor wielded ultimate sovereignty, and all political power and land ownership stemmed from him. The Emperor had the power to declare war, conclude treaties, make policy in a wide range of fields, to dissolve the legislature and call for new elections, and to veto the decisions of the legislature at his discretion. The [[Privy Council]] and Cabinet ministers, a group which included many ''[[genro|genrô]]'' ("senior statesmen," chiefly the architects of the Restoration and of the Constitution), were thus able to rule as oligarchs, making many decisions themselves, and simply seeking the Emperor's official approval. The only power reserved exclusively to the legislature was the power to approve the annual government budget; however, even this power was weakened by stipulations that if the legislature failed to approve a new budget, the current year's budget would simply be re-adopted for the next year.<ref name=schiro180>Schirokauer, et al, 180. </ref> The [[Imperial family]] themselves were not bound or governed by the terms of the Constitution, but rather by a separate document, the [[Imperial House Law]].<ref>Fujitani, 109.</ref>

Based on borrowings from Prussian, British, and US forms of government, the Constitution created a national imperial government with the Emperor at the top, and a bicameral legislature called the [[Imperial Diet]]. The Upper House, the House of Peers, consisted of members of the newly formed [[kazoku|hereditary aristocracy]], most of whom were former ''daimyô'' or [[kuge|court nobles]]. The Lower House, the House of Representatives, was popularly elected, with the first elections being held in [[1890]]. Initially, however, as in many Western countries, suffrage was limited to wealthy landowners, who it was believed could be trusted to be well-informed enough, politically engaged enough, to vote responsibly. In the first set of elections, some 450,000 men, or 1.1% of the total Japanese population, were eligible to vote. Universal male suffrage would not be extended in Japan until 1925, and women's suffrage not until 1946.<ref name=schiro180/>  

Based on borrowings from Prussian, British, and US forms of government, the Constitution created a national imperial government with the Emperor at the top, and a bicameral legislature called the [[Imperial Diet]]. The Upper House, the House of Peers, consisted of members of the newly formed [[kazoku|hereditary aristocracy]], most of whom were former ''daimyô'' or [[kuge|court nobles]]. The Lower House, the House of Representatives, was popularly elected, with the first elections being held in [[1890]]. Initially, however, as in many Western countries, suffrage was limited to wealthy landowners, who it was believed could be trusted to be well-informed enough, politically engaged enough, to vote responsibly. In the first set of elections, some 450,000 men, or 1.1% of the total Japanese population, were eligible to vote. Universal male suffrage would not be extended in Japan until 1925, and women's suffrage not until 1946.<ref name=schiro180/>