Emperor Meiji

Emperor Meiji (明治天皇, Meiji-tennō?, 3 November 1852 – 30 July 1912), or Meiji the Great (明治大帝, Meiji-taitei?), was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 3 February 1867 until his death. He presided over a time of rapid change in Japan, as the nation rose from a feudal shogunate to become a world power.

His personal name was Mutsuhito (睦仁?), and although outside of Japan he is sometimes called by this name or Emperor Mutsuhito, in Japan deceased emperors are referred to only by their posthumous names.

At the time of his birth in 1852, Japan was an isolated, pre-industrial, feudal country dominated by the Tokugawa Shogunate and the daimyo, who ruled over the country's more than 250 decentralized domains. By the time of his death in 1912, Japan had undergone a political, social, and industrial revolution at home (See Meiji Restoration) and emerged as one of the great powers on the world stage.

A detailed account of the state funeral in the New York Times concluded with an observation: "The contrast between that which preceded the funeral car and that which followed it was striking indeed. Before it went old Japan; after it came new Japan."