by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

• Unofficial Royalty: Japanese Naming Conventions

Emperor Meiji was born November 3, 1852, at the palace compound or Gosho in Kyoto, Japan. His mother Nakayama Yoshiko, was a concubine to his father Emperor Kōmei and was the daughter of a noble courtier, Lord Nakayama Tadayasu. Given the childhood name Sachi-no-miya, or Prince Sachi and the personal name Mutsuhito, he was the only child of his mother and one of the two children of his father to reach adulthood.

Emperor Meiji had five half-siblings:

Two daughters born to Principal Consort: Kujō Asako (1835 – 1897), given the title Empress Eisho by Emperor Meiji in 1867

• First Daughter: Imperial Princess Junko (1850–1852)
• Second Daughter: Fuki-no-Miya (1858–1859)
• Adopted Son: Imperial Prince Mutsuhito (Emperor Meiji)

One son born to Lady-in-waiting: Bojo Nobuko (1830–1850)

• First Son: Myōkōgein (born and died 1850)

One son born to Lady-in-waiting: Nakayama Yoshiko (1836 – 1907)

• Second son: Imperial Prince Mutsuhito (Emperor Meiji)

Two daughters born to Lady-in-waiting: Horikawa Kiko (1837–1910)

• Third Daughter: Suma-no-miya (1859–1901)
• Fourth Daughter: Rie-no-miya (1861–1862)

On August 16, 1860, 7-year-old Sachi-no-miya was proclaimed an Imperial Prince and heir to the throne and was formally adopted by his father’s principal consort. In November 1860, he was given the adult name Mutsuhito and proclaimed Crown Prince. He spent most of his childhood with the Nakayama family, his mother’s family in Kyoto. It was customary to entrust the education of the imperial children to prominent families of the court. He was not a good student and later regretted that he had not applied himself more in his schoolwork.

Emperor Kōmei had always been healthy but in January 1867 at the age of 36, he suddenly became seriously ill and he died on January 30, 1867. His 14-year-old son succeeded him as Emperor and formally ascended to the throne on February 3, 1867, in a brief ceremony in Kyoto. Since 1185, a shogun, a military dictator appointed by the Emperor, had been the de facto ruler of Japan. In 1868, the last shogun lost power, and in the name and with the support of the young emperor, a new, more Western-oriented upper class initiated the modernization of Japan known as the Meiji Restoration.

Soon after his accession, Ichijō Haruko was suggested to the Emperor as a possible bride. The future Empress was the daughter of a courtier and was three years older than the Emperor. The couple was married on January 11, 1869. Known posthumously as Empress Shōken, she was the first Empress Consort of Japan to play a public role but she had no children.

Emperor Meiji had fifteen children by five official ladies-in-waiting but only five children survived to adulthood:

A prince born to Lady Yanagihara Naruko (1855–1943)

• • Third Son: Crown Prince Yoshihito, later Emperor Taishō (1879 – 1926), married Lady Sadako Kujō (Empress Teimei), had four sons including Emperor Showa (Hirohito)

Four princesses born to Lady Sono Sachiko (1867–1947)

• Sixth Daughter: Princess Masako (1888 – 1940), married Prince Tsunehisa Takeda, had one son and one daughter
• Seventh Daughter: Princess Fusako (1890 – 1974), married Prince Naruhisa Kitashirakawa, had one son and three daughters
• Eighth Daughter: Princess Nobuko (1891 – 1933), married Prince Yasuhiko Asaka, had two sons and two daughters
• Ninth Daughter: Princess Toshiko (1896 – 1978), married Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni, had four sons

In 1868, Emperor Meiji welcomed the first European ambassador to Japan, the Dutch diplomat Dirk de Graeff van Polsbroek.  de Graeff assisted the Emperor in his negotiations with representatives of the European powers. Under Emperor Meiji’s reign, Japan started to become an industrial and naval power. The old feudal system was abolished and public state schools were introduced along with the Gregorian calendar. In 1890, the Emperor made the greatest contribution to the modernization of Japan with the enactment of a constitution.

Emperor Meiji moved the capital of Japan from Kyoto and Edo (later Tokyo). Although he had little political power, he was an important symbol of the country’s unity. During Emperor Meiji’s reign, there were two successful military conflicts: the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) and the Russo- Japanese War (1904-1905). During Emperor Meiji’s reign, the population of Japan doubled from about 25 million to about 50 million.

Emperor Meiji died on July 30, 1912, at the Meiji Palace in Tokyo at the age of 59. He had suffered from diabetes, nephritis, and gastroenteritis, and died of uremia. He was buried at the East Mound of the Fushimi Momoyama Ryo in Kyoto, Japan.

The Japanese Diet (legislature) passed a resolution to commemorate the Emperor’s role in the Meiji Restoration. The Meiji Shrine, a Shinto shrine dedicated to the deified souls of Emperor Meiji and his wife Empress Shōken was built in an iris garden in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan.

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State of Japan Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• State of Japan Index
• Japanese Emperors
• Japanese Imperial Burial Sites
• Japanese Imperial Dates
• Japanese Imperial FAQs
• Japanese Imperial Weddings
• Line of Succession to the Chrysanthemum Throne
• Profiles of the Japanese Imperial Family

Works Cited

• De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Meiji. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiji [Accessed 21 Oct. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Emperor Kōmei. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_K%C5%8Dmei [Accessed 21 Oct. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Emperor Meiji. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Meiji [Accessed 21 Oct. 2018].
• Ja.wikipedia.org. (2018). 明治天皇. [online] Available at: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%98%8E%E6%B2%BB%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A%87 [Accessed 21 Oct. 2018].