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The government of the [[Meiji period]] consisted primarily of the [[Meiji Emperor]], a series of officials and apparatuses that governed in his name, and the [[National Diet]].
The government of the [[Meiji period]] consisted primarily of the [[Meiji Emperor]], a series of officials and apparatuses that governed in his name, and the [[National Diet]].
==Early Experiments==
Following the fall of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] in [[1868]] and the officially declared restoration of power to the Emperor, [[Saigo Takamori|Saigô Takamori]], [[Kido Koin|Kido Kôin]], and other leaders of the Restoration appointed themselves heads of a provisional government. Later that year, they established a new Council of State (''[[Dajokan|Dajôkan]]'' to serve as the highest governmental body.<ref name=gordon64>Andrew Gordon, ''A Modern History of Japan'', Oxford University Press (2013), 63-64.</ref>
In [[1871]], the same year they [[abolition of the han|abolished the ''daimyô'' domains]], the new government replaced the Council of State with an arrange of ministries, covering [[Ministry of Finance|Finance]], [[Naimusho|Home Affairs]], [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs|Foreign Affairs]], [[Ministry of Public Works|Public Works]], and so forth, grouped under three umbrella ministries: the [[Ministry of the Left]], [[Ministry of the Center]], and [[Minister of the Right]].<ref name=gordon64/>
The government was then reorganized again in [[1885]], with a prime minister presiding over a cabinet made up of the heads of the various ministries. Though there was a Diet (a representative elected legislature), the Ministries were answerable not to the Diet, but only to the Emperor. A civil service examination system was introduced in [[1887]] to replace the previous system of the Satsuma, Chôshû, and Tosa leaders simply selecting officials based on personal connections.<ref name=gordon64/>
==1889 Constitution==
The Diet (from Latin ''dieta'' for "public assembly"), as established by the [[Meiji Constitution]] in [[1889]], consisted of two houses: The House of Peers, and the House of Representatives. The upper house was composed of members of the ''[[kazoku]]'' aristocracy, while the lower house was elected by a group of tax-paying landowners who numbered roughly 450,000 men, or roughly 1.1% of the total Japanese population.
The Diet (from Latin ''dieta'' for "public assembly"), as established by the [[Meiji Constitution]] in [[1889]], consisted of two houses: The House of Peers, and the House of Representatives. The upper house was composed of members of the ''[[kazoku]]'' aristocracy, while the lower house was elected by a group of tax-paying landowners who numbered roughly 450,000 men, or roughly 1.1% of the total Japanese population.
==Elections==
==Elections==
The first elections were held in [[1890]]. The ''[[Jiyuto|Jiyûtô]]'' ("Freedom Party") and ''[[Kaishinto|Kaishintô]]'' ("Progressive Party"), both of which were opposed to the basic structure of the government, won 130 and 47 seats respectively; those in favor of the structure of government and rule by the ''genrô'' won only 79 seats. Considerable conflict resulted within the Diet, leading to a budget being passed only when [[Yamagata Aritomo]] resorted to force and bribery; the Diet was subsequently dismissed.
New elections were held in [[1892]]. Police forces were deployed to intimidate the opposition, but the ''genrô'' and their government still failed to secure a supportive Diet. The Imperial institution intervened in [[1893]], but this only achieved temporary stability; elections in [[1894]] once again resulted in a majority in the Diet opposed to the government as it stood. This Diet was dismissed after only a month and a half. It was only with the nationalism surrounding the [[Sino-Japanese War]] that the government was able to achieve a considerable degree of support, and unity of purpose.
==References==
==References==
*Conrad Schirokauer, David Lurie, and Suzanne Gay, ''A Brief History of Japanese Civilization'', Wadsworth Cengage (2013), 180.
*Conrad Schirokauer, David Lurie, and Suzanne Gay, ''A Brief History of Japanese Civilization'', Wadsworth Cengage (2013), 180.
<references/>
[[Category:Political Institutions]]
[[Category:Political Institutions]]
[[Category:Meiji Period]]
[[Category:Meiji Period]]
