Monarch Profile: Emperor Komei of Japan

The Meiji Restoration is rightly regarded as one of the pivotal events in Japanese history. It was a turning point after which everything would be different and a critical shift away from the centuries-long rule of the shogunate in favor of the restoration of imperial power. Japan modernized, abandoned isolationism, became wealthy, powerful and one of the major world powers. However, these events have largely overshadowed the reign of the father of Emperor Meiji, the Emperor Komei, whose reign was almost just as pivotal. To a large extent, the events of the Meiji Restoration were set into motion during the reign of Emperor Komei. It was Emperor Komei who had to deal with the return of foreign peoples to the shores of Japan in a major way and it was the process of dealing with that which led directly to the restoration of imperial power and the downfall of the last shogun. The events of the Meiji era would likely have surprised Emperor Komei, but a careful inspection shows that his actions were critical in shaping those events.

Palace gate, Kyoto

Komei was born on July 23, 1831 to His Majesty Emperor Ninko, by tradition the 120th Emperor of Japan, and one of his concubines but who was, by tradition, regarded as the child of the Empress. Being the fourth son, he would not have been expected to inherit the Chrysanthemum Throne but, at a time when the imperial court at Kyoto relied solely on traditional Chinese medicine, sickness often took a heavy toll on the Imperial Family. By the time the future Emperor Komei was born, all of his older brothers had predeceased him and so he, Osahito (his given name) was crown prince. In fact, of the fifteen children of Emperor Ninko, only three lived beyond their third birthday. Emperor Komei would have six children and only one (Mutsuhito, the Meiji Emperor) would survive and of the fifteen children of the Meiji Emperor, only five would reach adulthood. Emperor Meiji himself might not have lived were it not for him being secretly vaccinated for smallpox with Dutch medicine smuggled into the Gosho in the imperial capital of Kyoto.

In keeping with tradition, Crown Prince Osahito (Komei) was raised on the Gosho, 220-acres enclosed by high walls in the city of Kyoto, dominated by the Heian Palace. The Emperor and his family were kept isolated, out of public view, regarded as too lofty, too sacred to be exposed to ordinary people or mundane affairs. They lived a cloistered life of ritual. Little Prince Osahito was taught by private tutors, an education dominated in those days by the “Classic of Filial Piety” by Confucius and traditional Japanese literature. Basic history and geography of the region were virtually the only other subjects deemed worth knowing anything about. There was leisure in the form of traditional entertainments but the Imperial Family lived a fairly austere life for such lofty individuals. They did not live lavishly like wealthy, powerful people but, while they certainly wanted for nothing, rather like members of a religious order in simple but beautiful confinement, though certainly with plenty of time for romance. Given the high mortality rate of Japanese princes and princesses, it was important that the Emperor father as many children as possible.

Emperor Komei

It came as a great shock when HM Emperor Ninko suddenly died in the morning, as the sun was rising, on February 23, 1846. He was only 46-years old, had always been healthy and had been bothered by what seemed no more than a cold. Then, one day, he found he could not walk and he died soon after. This was announced on March 13 and the following week Crown Prince Osahito was formally enthroned as His Majesty the Komei Emperor of Japan. The usual rituals followed but before the year was out, events would be set in motion that would result in dramatic changes. By the middle of October, word reached the new Emperor Komei that foreign ships had arrived at the Japanese capital. This was alarming but not too serious and the Emperor sent a formal message to the shogun about improving the naval and coastal defenses of the country. The Emperor then went to Iwashimizu Shrine to pray for peace and for the gods to spare Japan from anymore foreign ships.

These ships were most likely the American vessels of Commodore James Biddle who tried, and failed, to negotiate a trade agreement with a local Japanese official. A French warship also visited Japan the same year and in each case the response of Emperor Komei was the same, to go to Iwashimizu Shrine and pray for the gods to blow the foreign barbarians far away from ‘the Land of the Gods’. This would prove to be a lifelong concern for Emperor Komei and he never changed his position on it. Foreigners did not belong in Japan and their presence would not be tolerated. Occasionally, some circumstance would strand a foreigner on Japanese shores and the Emperor was not without compassion but they would be allowed to remain only until the first available opportunity to send them away. For Emperor Komei, other than a few bad omens and the usual, occasional, fires, floods or outbreaks of sickness, life carried on as before but the sighting of foreign ships seemed to be increasing and this was a growing concern.

For a time, life went on as usual, there were family matters to deal with, rituals to be observed and so on and then, on July 8, 1853, the “Black Ships” of U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in the port of Uraga, near Edo (Tokyo). The standing order that all foreign ships must be expelled from Japanese waters was shown to Perry, but he refused to leave until he had delivered the message he carried from the President of the United States to a sufficiently high-ranking Japanese official. After being put off for a time, Perry threatened to send an armed landing party to deliver the message to the shogun himself if something was not done. This caused consternation in the Japanese hierarchy where the existing law forbid receiving any foreign communications. Told that the shogun was too ill to receive him, Perry was finally convinced to leave but promised to return for an answer the following year. None of this was immediately known in Kyoto but it caused an uproar in Edo among the Shogun and his advisers. Some favored opening relations with the Americans and other foreigners while others favored continued isolation.

Commodore Perry arrives in Japan

It was not until July 15, 1853 that an official announcement of these events was sent from the Shogun to the Emperor who immediately ordered seventeen days of prayers in seven shrines and seven temples for protection from the gods from the foreign devils. The local daimyos were also informed, given copies of the presidential letter but they had different opinions about how best to proceed. The daimyo of Fukuoka, Kuroda Nagahiro, advised opening up trade but only with America and the Russian Empire while strengthening Japanese coastal defenses and navy. At the moment, he warned, Japan was far too lacking in modern weaponry to risk the wrath of the major powers in Europe and America. If Japan did not open up a little, and modernize, they would be conquered. It was not until August that Emperor Komei himself was given the text of President Fillmore’s request for trade and diplomatic relations and, while some advised opening up only to America (perhaps in a similar way to their long-standing, arms-length relations with the Netherlands) the consensus was against it.

However, what was significant was that the imperial court asked that they be informed by the Shogun prior to his taking any action and the Shogun also asked for the advice of the imperial court which was something that had not happened in 250 years in Japan. This, seemingly small, interaction was the beginning of the shift toward the restoration of the imperial power. The Shogun would not be acting alone but would inform and take advise from the imperial court. The following month, Russian ships arrived in Nagasaki with a note from the Czar and threatened to go to Edo harbor (as the Americans had done) if they were not dealt with. The Japanese officials could not decide what to do and so simply delayed answering the Russians as long as possible. They were finally told that the Japanese government would have an answer in 3 to 5 years. These events caused more Japanese officials to decide that the country had to be opened, particularly after the Russians threatened to annex all of the northern islands if they received no satisfactory answer. The local officials finally convinced the Russians to leave but everyone was convinced that the situation was now serious.

The Shogun agreed that Japan at least needed to take naval defense more seriously and lifted the ban on the building of large ships and even went so far as to order several steam ships from the Dutch and authorized an official flag for Japanese ships to fly, of course, a red sun on a white field. When the Shogun died, Emperor Komei appointed his heir, Tokugawa Iesada, to succeed him along with the urging to drive away all the foreign ships. The new Shogun asked the Emperor to be free with his advise and promised to act according to the Emperor’s wishes at all times. The power shift was well underway. Afterward, Emperor Komei was annoyed that more was not being done to keep the foreigners away for good and sent inquiries about the state of the coastal and naval defenses. When a treaty was subsequently signed with the United States, the Emperor would likely have been outraged when he was informed but a major fire at the palace took up his attention. He was more alarmed when the Russians arrived at Osaka and Emperor Komei ordered the usual prayers as well as fasting which alarmed the public and local daimyos assembled forces to defend the area in case the Russians made a move.

A large earthquake and tsunami which occurred during the negotiations with Russia over opening trade and their northern border was seen by many as another sign of divine disfavor at dealing with the foreigners. Unknown to Emperor Komei, the shogun signed a treaty with the Russians, granting them even more concessions than they had to America, and the Emperor was furious when he found out. He wanted no concessions made to the foreigners at all, no interaction with them and objected to any foreign presence on Japanese soil at all. Still, foreigners continued to come and a Dutch commissioner warned the shogun that the old Japanese attitude was likely to lead to war if things did not change. He advised making trade agreements and lifting the ban on Christianity in the country. At a subsequent meeting of the shogun and his top officials, almost all agreed that Japan had to deal with the outside world. Isolationism would come to an end.

In 1857 the same Dutch commissioner who had warned of trouble if Japan continued to shun foreign contact, informed Japanese officials that the Great Qing Empire had just been defeated in the Opium War by the British, and rather humiliatingly so. Obviously a warning, the commissioner also told of how Shanghai, Canton, Fuchow and other port cities were prospering after being opened to trade. There were, of course, scholars in Japan who had studied information from the west, obtained by their limited contact with the Netherlands, that Japan was woefully behind in the latest technology, medicine, transportation, weaponry and industry and had long urged the government to adapt in order to survive. Emperor Komei, however, saw things in more spiritual terms. The very presence of the foreign barbarians was disturbing the peace of the “land of the gods” and continued to pray that they would all leave and never return. Despite being annoyed at the agreements signed by the shogun without his prior knowledge, the Emperor was given a generous allowance and was not looking to take government into his own hands. While others began to shout, “Respect the emperor and drive out the barbarians!”, Komei himself desired no change with the shogunate, he simply wanted life to go on as it had before the worrisome White demons had appeared off their shores.

Nonetheless, on December 7, 1857 the Shogun Tokugawa Iesada, received an envoy from U.S. President Franklin Pierce who had come to negotiate a permanent trade agreement. The envoy, Harris, warned that France or Britain might make a colony of Japan but that America had no desires beyond trade and diplomatic relations and offered to support Japan against the French or British if they started to become acquisitive. To further differentiate America from Britain, he also promised that American merchants would never sell opium in Japan. When word reached Emperor Komei of these happenings, he was less than pleased and became quite angry when he heard that one official was coming to bring him a large monetary gift. Clearly offended, he said that he could not be bribed, that he would lose the love of the people if he allowed interaction with the foreign devils and warned the other elites of the country not to allow themselves to be influenced by the promise of rewards for accepting relations with alien races.

Ise Grand Shrine

This, finally, led to an outright disagreement as the Shogun decided it would be best to sign a treaty with the United States but Emperor Komei refused to agree, saying it would be detrimental to Japan to have any further interaction with the foreign barbarians. The Emperor still left this political matter up to the Shogun but there were many powerful aristocrats in the country who also opposed any further interaction with the White demons. In 1858, Emperor Komei sent envoys to pray at the Grand Ise Shrine and other major shrines, asking the gods to send another “Divine Wind” to wipe away the foreigners if conflict should erupt and calling down divine retribution on the “disloyal” who favored opening Japan to interaction with the foreign nations. In fact, when Emperor Komei learned that a treaty had been signed with the United States without his prior knowledge or approval (the Shogun saying that there had not been time), he threatened to abdicate the throne, the most drastic act of which he was capable.

Emperor Komei was adamant that the presence of foreigners in Japan was unacceptable, that it was an affront to the gods and that all means necessary had to be employed to expel all foreign elements from the country. He even cast doubts on the imperial system itself, though, from the available information, it seems that this letter never reached the Shogun. Nonetheless, powerful officials in Japan began to align with the Emperor against the Shogun, furthering the division that would ultimately result in the restoration of the imperial power. Ultimately, Emperor Komei relented that the treaty with America had been necessary but he continued to express his displeasure with this state of affairs with the next shogun, Tokugawa Iemochi. He became increasingly free with his opinions and interacted more with the government than any emperor had done in centuries. He tried to intervene in judicial matters but was thwarted by the fact that he had no actual power and the shogun even carried out something of a purge against those who had been in sympathy with the emperor and opposed to the policies of the shogunate.

Shogun Tokugawa Iemochi

It is worth reiterating that the Emperor had never been opposed to the existing political system, still regarding his position as being above government and policy making, however, it was becoming increasingly clear that he could do nothing to change or halt government policies which he regarded as detrimental to the ‘national spirit’. A political marriage was arranged between an imperial princess (Kazu-no-Miya Chikako) and the Shogun Tokugawa Iemochi and during the negotiations for this, the Shogun agreed that the foreigners would be expelled eventually but that greater unity was needed first and Japan had to upgrade and strengthen its military capability. Again, there was a threat of abdication if the Emperor did not gain greater input in national affairs and the bride-to-be backed up her brother in asserting conditions of her own. The result was an agreement that amounted to almost a sharing of power between the Shogun and the Emperor, another significant step in the process of restoring the imperial power.

Dissidents still associated themselves with the emperor, bemoaning the treaties the Shogun had signed with the foreign powers and the poor, backward state of the Japanese armed forces after such a long period of peace and isolation. Some began to go farther and urge Emperor Komei to take command of the country himself and even to demand tribute from the “five continents” of the rest of the world. This culminated, in 1863, with an imperial order from Emperor Komei to ‘expel the barbarians’. The Shogun had no intention of following such an order, fearing that it would result in immediate war with a number of countries that Japan could not hope to defeat in her current state, however, a number of ronin samurai took action on their own, attacking and assassinating foreigners in Japan as well as officials loyal to the Shogun.

One of those killed was Charles Lennox Richardson, an English merchant. When a Royal Navy squadron arrived in Kagoshima demanding reparations for this, the loyal daimyo attacked them and the British ships bombarded the area (which was in the Satsuma domain), destroying property and killing five people who had not been evacuated with the rest. Although, oddly enough, the Satsuma had not been generally anti-foreign and would, in the later Boshin War, be unofficial allies of the British. All the same, this incident caused great alarm that the shogun was unable to maintain effective control of the country to stop actions contrary to its policy, nor was it able to defend Japan from the superior military forces of the foreigners. The stage for the Meji Restoration had clearly been set.

Emperor Komei

It was, though, the Meiji and not the Komei Restoration as the Emperor Komei, after a life of robust health, suddenly became very ill and was diagnosed with smallpox in January of 1867. His condition worsened and Emperor Komei passed away on January 30, 1867 at the age of only 35. This was immediately seized upon by some factions who claimed that he had been assassinated by sympathizers of the Choshu and Satsuma domains who opposed the shogun since the Emperor had continued to support the shogunate and oppose any change to the existing order even while he strenuously disagreed with shogunate policies. In truth, however, he had died of natural causes which, as mentioned at the outset, were far from uncommon among the members of the Imperial Family with their isolation and opposition to modern medicine. He was immediately succeeded by his son, the Meiji Emperor and, as they say, the rest is history.

In conclusion, a final point that must be addressed is the accusation of those who claim that as Emperor Komei had vehemently opposed all foreign contact and that the restoration of the imperial power during the Meiji era result in Japan firmly joining the international community, modernizing and even becoming the first (and only) non-European member of the “Great Powers” of the time, that this represents a sort of repudiation of Emperor Komei or that, to put it even more harshly, the restored imperial power had brought about exactly the state of affairs he had most feared. This, in my view, is incorrect and the result of an overly narrow view. The Meiji era represented a coming together of the valid views of both the shogun, who realized that Japan as it was would be easy prey, offending and provoking wars it could not possibly win, and that interaction and modernization were necessary; as well as those of Emperor Komei who wished to maintain the Japanese ‘national spirit’. Foreigners were never accepted into Japan in any appreciable numbers, nor are large numbers of foreigners allowed into Japan even today. Additionally, the moral arguments of Emperor Komei, his heartfelt concern for the Japanese ‘spirit’ did prevail and Japan, going forward, always maintained traditional Japanese customs and values, the traditional Japanese culture, even while adopting and even improving on western learning and technology. Emperor Komei was, in my view, vital to the survival of Japan as a nation and his fears were not unfounded.

Monarch Profile: Emperor Meiji of Japan

Few other monarchs in world history presided over such a crucial period for their country as the Meiji Emperor of Japan. Few lived through such dramatic changes and fewer still managed to master such changes and successfully direct them to the benefit of their country as a whole. Emperor Meiji did all of these things. Born into a land of feudalism and isolation, very advanced in traditional ways but which had fallen increasingly behind the rest of the world in others, Emperor Meiji presided over the end of Japanese isolationism, the end of the shogunate and the restoration of power to the monarchy, a period of rapid political, economic, military and educational modernization and the rise of Japan to be the preeminent regional power of East Asia, soon to become a major player on the world stage. This pivotal period of Japanese history was certainly not something that the Meiji Emperor himself would have ever expected. In most cases, the changes that occurred, even the famous “Meiji Restoration” itself, was not something he personally directed but his influence and his actions or inaction was absolutely central to exactly how things turned out, creating the Empire of Japan as it existed from the restoration until the end of the Second World War.

His Imperial Highness, Prince Mutsuhito was born on November 3, 1852 in the old imperial city of Kyoto, the only surviving son of His Majesty Emperor Komei. His mother was the imperial consort Nakayama Yoshiko though it was many years until he was aware of who his real mother was. Known as Prince Sachi, he was carefully looked after by his grandmother until, as a young child, he was taken to the Imperial Palace (Gosho) to be raised and educated in traditional fashion. Only a year later the “Black Ships” of U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry arrived and demanded that Japan open ports to trade with the United States and establish diplomatic relations. The ruling Shogun realized that the previous policy of isolationism was no longer tenable but delayed making any agreement with the Americans. The Emperor was opposed to any trade or friendship with foreign powers but by consulting the imperial court increasingly, unlike in the past, the wheels were already turning toward what became the Meiji Restoration. The Americans pointed out that China had just been beaten by Great Britain in the Opium Wars and that if Japan persisted in spurning contact with foreign powers, France, Britain or Russia might deal similarly with Japan and seize control of Japanese territory. Most of the Japanese leadership realized this was true but were divided on how quickly Japan should open up to trade and communication with the outside world. Emperor Komei remained staunchly opposed but was himself in a difficult position in how to deal with the problem as he was against the policies the Shogun was pursuing but also wanting nothing to do with rebel forces that wanted to oppose the shogunate itself.

At a critical point, the Emperor ordered the expulsion of all foreigners (his many fervent prayers for the gods to kill them all by means of natural disasters proved fruitless) and as local authorities had signed agreements with various foreign powers, there were targets on hand for Japanese warriors to attack. There was, of course, retaliation but the government also took action to suppress these forces and reassure the rest of the world that Japan was a country of law and order which would keep its agreements. There was then civil war and deep divisions in Japan when Emperor Komei died in 1867 at the age of only 37. The cause of death was smallpox and while the vaccination against this disease was known in Japan, the strict adherence of the court to traditional medicine only meant that the Imperial Family was especially vulnerable to illness (Meiji, however, was secretly vaccinated as a child). So, it was at a time of great crisis, at the age of only fourteen, that Emperor Meiji ascended the throne as the 122nd Emperor of Japan. While he continued his studies and performed the traditional rites, warring factions continued to struggle for or against the last Japanese Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu who had established closer ties to a number of foreign powers in an effort to modernize the military and strengthen the shogunate.

As with most things in Japan, the civil conflict was complicated but could be seen as a clash between the Shogun and the imperial court to determine who would ultimately rule Japan. In the end, the imperial court was victorious. This has sometimes been put forward as “traditional” Japan fighting against the forces of modernity and representing a xenophobic hatred of foreigners and all the new ideas and technologies they brought to Japan. This is completely untrue, Japan had always been eager to embrace technological innovation and it was the shogun who was first seen as the most open to the foreigners, not the imperial court and, in any event, both sides had their own foreign allies with the French backing the shogun and the British and Americans backing the forces of the Emperor. The restoration of power to the monarchy started with rebel lords upset by the opening up policy of the shogun, as was Iwakura Tomomi who played a central part in the process but this issue eventually evaporated and the imperial court pressed on because of a desire for order, unity and an overall strengthening of the nation, even though part of the disorder that alarmed them was that done on their own behalf. Major fighting broke out because the shogun agreed to hand over power to the Emperor only to later try to take it back. When it came down to who was ultimately held to hold supreme authority in Japan, there was no question that it was the Emperor and so the “Meiji Restoration” was formally declared on January 4, 1868. Iwakura stated that the actions of the court were completely in accordance with the wishes of the young monarch and there is no way to confirm or dispute this as the Emperor himself did not leave any indication of his own views on the subject.

What is known for certain is that the Emperor presided over the changes in government and was present for some very heated arguments between the pro- and anti-shogun factions and never intervened to call a halt in favor of the fallen shogun. It can only then be surmised that he approved of these changes and, based on his overall character, was likely of the view that such division and internal struggles were proof that a new system, a truly national one based on shared loyalty to one sovereign rather than local feudal lords, was what was best for Japan. The fears of those opposed to involvement with foreign powers may have been exaggerated but they were not unjustified. However, Japan would have to modernize and strengthen if it were to have any chance of surviving as an independent country and that is what Emperor Meiji was focused on. Soon, the Emperor announced the abolition of feudalism in Japan and oversaw the transition to a more democratic, representative form of government and, eventually, the adoption of a written constitution. At one point, he even took personal command of the imperial troops sweeping up the last of the pro-shogun rebel forces. By his actions, he set a clear example; Japan would adapt and move forward in order to improve but it would be done by the Japanese themselves and in their own way, embracing modern methods but retaining traditional values.

So it was that Japan began to advance at a rapid pace, establishing the institutions that would govern the Empire of Japan for its duration. The samurai of old became the officers of the Imperial Army, the daimyos became governors in imperial service and students went to study abroad to gain the latest knowledge. The British were an obvious example to follow and the Royal Navy in particular was the model on which the new Japanese Imperial Navy was built with Japan quickly gaining its first modern, armored warship, an ironclad originally built in Europe for the Confederate navy in America. The Emperor personified this embracing of new ways while holding on to tradition. In terms of government, he appointed key officials but did not personally rule the country and generally endorsed whatever course of action his ministers decided to pursue. He often showed reluctance to meet with foreign dignitaries but, when doing so, was always extremely polite and friendly, giving each the impression that he had been shown special treatment.

At the outset, there were some radicals who went so far as to wish for the monarchy to be abolished all together in the stampede to embrace the new and throw out the old and toward the end of his life several anarchists were arrested for plotting to assassinate him, however, his leadership, dedication and moral authority ensured that while Japan would advance technologically, traditional values were also upheld and the monarchy became more central to Japanese life and the emperor more revered than ever before. In terms of foreign relations, the Meiji Emperor was the greatest asset Japan had with many European and even American visitors hailing him as the greatest sovereign in the world of his time. However, the Emperor was sometimes disadvantaged by the fact that his ministers did not always keep him completely informed as to their plans and actions. This was particularly true in regards to the growing Japanese involvement in Korea where the Emperor had an incomplete view of the true state of affairs. First, however, was the problem of the First Sino-Japanese War which broke out in 1894.

This came after a series of events such as struggles between China and Japan over influence in Korea, Chinese soldiers running rampant in Nagasaki and the shutting off of food exports to Japan. The Emperor was always concerned with protecting Japanese people wherever they were but when events led to the outbreak of war he was extremely upset. When asked to send envoys to the tomb of Emperor Komei and the Ise Shrine to announce the outbreak of hostilities, the Emperor replied angrily, “Don’t send anybody. I have not been in favor of this war from the start. It was only because cabinet ministers informed me that war was inevitable that I permitted it. It is very painful for me to report what has happened to the Ise Shrine and the tomb of the previous emperor.” Later, he relented an sent envoys to Ise and Kyoto but it was obviously greatly troubling to him. He worried that other powers might intervene to the detriment of Japan, detested seeing his people killed and he had a great deal of respect for the traditional culture of China. However, once the decision had been made, he gave his full support and moved his headquarters to Hiroshima to stay in closer contact with the military forces engaged in Korea and China. As it turned out, to the surprise of all, Japan won a swift and stunning victory in the war, ostensibly for the independence of Korea.

In the aftermath, tensions continued to mount between Japan and Korea as well as between Japan and Russia. The intervention of Russia, France and Germany to force Japan to return the Liaotung Peninsula to China (which was then leased by Russia) reinforced the Emperor’s concern over foreign adventures. From the questions posed by the Emperor about the situation in Korea, it seems that he did not entirely believe the idyllic scene presented to him by his officials about Japanese-Korean friendship. When war came with Russia, the Emperor again showed signs of anxiety over the conflict but less reservations than he had about the war with China. It seemed clear to almost everyone in the government that Russia was not being sincere in the search for a diplomatic solution to their problems but was simply playing for time. Nonetheless, when war did come, the Emperor (and the Empress) showed great gallantry and insisted that greater care be taken to maintain discipline and prevent any acts of cruelty. Because of this, captured Russians were treated with great humanity and consideration. The Emperor also showed his gratitude for the support and sympathy of the United States and Great Britain in the conflict and the English-language press around the world was full of the highest praise for Emperor Meiji.

With no more competition, Japan and Korea signed a number of treaties, each bringing the two countries increasingly closer together. There was correspondence between the Korean and Japanese emperors and the Meiji Emperor showed a deep and genuine concern for his Korean counterpart. When the Crown Prince was brought to Japan to be educated, the Emperor treated him like a member of the family. Indeed, some thought he treated him better than his own son. Likewise, the Korean emperor showed a great deal of trust and admiration for the Emperor of Japan so that when Korea was finally annexed by Japan in 1910 the Meiji Emperor expressed his satisfaction with this resolution and the firm conviction that Korea would benefit from it. He had not been told of the extent of Korean opposition to Japanese rule and the Korean monarch was likewise hardly in a position to be completely candid in his letters but he expressed his hope and trust that under Emperor Meiji the peace of East Asia would be maintained and that everything would work out for the best. His actions, he stressed, were born out of a genuine desire to do what was in the best interests of his people. Tensions would continue to fester on the peninsula but in Japan, the ordinary person saw only success and reasons for optimism. Since the restoration, the Meiji era had seen Japan modernize and expand in strength and influence so that the Japanese flag was flying over Sakhalin, Korea and Taiwan.

What problems would develop were ones that the Meiji Emperor would not live to see. Troubled by increasing health problems, the revered monarch died on July 30, 1912 at the age of 59, survived by his wife, three of five concubines and five of his fifteen children. At his passing, he was praised by people all over the world, naturally mostly in those countries with whom Japan had the closest ties of friendship. The British press was effusive and even the American press, which did not often praise any monarch, professed that the Meiji Emperor was one of the greatest world leaders of all time. Even the French and the Chinese, which were not so well-disposed toward Japan, saluted his achievements. The Russian press was not left out in praising the Emperor, though they did affirm that he did not rise to the level of Peter the Great. None could fail to be impressed by how far Japan had come in such a short space of time under the leadership, active or passive, of Emperor Meiji. The country which had been a patchwork of warlord fiefdoms at the time of his birth had opened commerce with the world, industrialized, modernized and by the time of his death stood among the ranks of colonial empires and the most powerful country in East Asia. It was truly remarkable and in all of this the Emperor was no passive observer.

As a monarch, Emperor Meiji was, as if by divine design, just the sort of sovereign Japan needed at just that critical period of history. He was mindful of tradition but open to change and innovation when it was beneficial. He did not push particular policies but used his moral authority to guide them in the right direction. He was deeply concerned for his people, very frugal, was able to read people and knew how best to handle almost anyone in any situation. Above all, he was a dutiful monarch and his most frequent displays of temper usually involved some politicians who were shirking their duty. He worked tirelessly for the advancement of his country and the peace and stability of the region. Toward the end of his life, his greatest concern and complaint was that Japan had become so modern and prosperous that many people were becoming frivolous. He did not actively take part in governing but this was not surprising and by keeping the monarchy aloof from such mundane affairs, enabled it to retain its lofty stature and be ever more valuable as a focus for national unity and guardian of the national spirit. He was, in every way, an extremely successful monarch and will always occupy a unique place of distinction amongst the long list of emperors of Japan.

Monarch Profile: The Taisho Emperor of Japan

His Imperial Highness Prince Yoshihito of Japan was born at the Aoyama Palace in Tokyo on August 31, 1879 to Their Majesties the Meiji Emperor and his consort Empress Shoken. He was not the firstborn son but, as his two older brothers died very young, Prince Yoshihito eventually became crown prince and heir-to-the-throne. Prince Yoshihito himself was often in frail health. As a newborn he came down with cerebral meningitis and, although he was able to recover, he was never extremely robust physically for the rest of his life. Until he was seven-years-old he was raised in the household of Prince Nakayama Tadayasu. In 1885 he was transferred to the Aoyama Detached Palace and started his formal education, studying the usual mixture of reading, writing and arithmetic but with added lessons on the Shinto religion, Japanese morality and the place of the Emperor and Imperial Family in society. In the afternoons he exercised by playing sports, however, his studies and activities were often interrupted by his recurring fevers. The following year he began to take his lessons with a select group of other students from a local school for the aristocracy to learn how to interact with others.

On August 31, 1887 Prince Yoshihito was formally declared heir-to-the-throne and Crown Prince of Japan with his formal investiture being held the following year on an auspicious date chosen by the court astrologers. He continued his education but was not a particularly remarkable student. Because of some of his later behavior some have exaggerated the disabilities of the Taisho Emperor to the point that he is portrayed as totally incompetent. This was definitely not the case for while he lagged behind in certain subjects he excelled at others. He had a remarkable gift for languages and was an adept horseman. Much of his difficulty doubtlessly originated in his poor health which did not allow him to devote the time to his studies that was necessary. He spent a great deal of time on the coast where the climate was deemed healthier for his fragile disposition. He was finally withdrawn from school and tutored privately after being placed in the care of Prince Takehito by the Emperor, with whom he would become close friends.

In 1898 the Crown Prince began attending sessions of the House of Peers in the National Diet to learn about politics and military and diplomatic affairs as part of his preparation for the throne. He hosted receptions for foreign diplomats and showed good conversational skills. French and Chinese officials were impressed that the Crown Prince could converse with them in their own languages. He became very interested in the western world and was fond of speaking French, sometimes speaking French and Japanese at the same time which the Emperor did not always find amusing. For a time he even sported a long, upturned moustache in the fashion of the German Kaiser Wilhelm II. Crown Prince Yoshihito also started undertaking official tours on behalf of the Emperor, visiting naval installations, factories, schools, temples and government offices; keeping an eye on how the rapid modernization of Japan was progressing on every level. Yet, there did seem to be something not quite “right” about the heir-to-the-throne and this worried the imperial court a great deal. So, when the time came for him to marry in 1900 care was taken to choose a bride of remarkable intelligence, bearing and speech.

A better choice would have hardly seemed possible and on May 10 the Crown Prince married the 15-year-old daughter of Prince Kujo Michitaka, Kujo Sadako (later known as Empress Teimei) of the illustrious Fujiwara clan. She proved to be the ideal imperial wife, ever supportive of her husband and compensating for his deficiencies in a most delicate way. The two were a devoted couple and within a year of their wedding the first of their four sons were born, Prince Hirohito, the future Showa Emperor. When war approached with the Russian Empire, Crown Prince Yoshihito was appointed to the rank of colonel in the army and captain in the navy though, of course, he was denied actual service. Nonetheless, he took his military duties and the war very seriously and was constantly visiting the troops, inspecting installations and encouraging the wounded. After the war he took it upon himself to learn Korean (though he never became fluent at it) after making a tour of Korea and meeting the Korean Royal Family; his visit marking the first time that a Crown Prince had ever left Japanese soil.

Not long after, in 1912, the Meiji Emperor passed away and Crown Prince Yoshihito became Emperor of Japan. However, it was not quite the glorious occasion one usually associates with a royal succession. The mental health afflictions of the new Emperor had been increasing and he was beginning to display a growing number of physical handicaps as well. Again, some of his odd behavior has been rather exaggerated but, nonetheless, the Imperial Household was extremely worried about protecting the public image of the Emperor as well as his own health. As a result, the Taisho Emperor rarely appeared in public and, indeed, seldom ventured beyond the walls of the Imperial Palace. Within ten years of his enthronement he had ceased all official duties and Crown Prince Hirohito was appointed to carry out his obligations for him, being named Prince Regent in late 1921. He remained secluded from the outside world, carefully attended by his devoted Empress, and kept informed of national events by his son via carrier pigeons. After coming down with pneumonia the Taisho Emperor suffered a heart attack and passed away on December 25, 1926 at the Imperial Villa in Hayama at the age of only 47.

Monarch Profile: The Showa Emperor

The late Showa Emperor of Japan, Hirohito, was the longest reigning monarch in modern Japanese history and one of the most controversial. His reign saw the peak of Japanese power as well as the greatest devastation the country has ever suffered and was a turning point in history, the end of one era and the beginning of another. He was born on April 29, 1901 at the Aoyama Palace in Tokyo to Crown Prince Yoshihito and Crown Princess Sadako of Japan and was given the name and title of Prince Michi. His grandfather, the Meiji Emperor, died in 1912 and his father became Emperor Taisho of Japan. In 1916 he was formally named Crown Prince. He was given a mix of traditional and modern western education during his childhood and as a young man was the first Japanese royal to travel overseas to make Japan more visible on the world stage and strengthen foreign relations. For six months he traveled the world visiting Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Italy.

In 1921 Crown Prince Hirohito was named regent of the Empire of Japan due to the failing mental faculties of his father. Numerous political and diplomatic events of great significance happened during these years but perhaps none were to have such a far-reaching impact as the ending of the Anglo-Japanese alliance. This was done by Britain to placate the United States, Britain gambling that American friendship would be more beneficial than Japanese friendship. The leadership in Japan took it as an insult and tantamount to a betrayal. The course of history would show that America had no great love for defending the British Empire and making an enemy of Japan left all of the east Asian holdings of Great Britain vulnerable to a rising Japan. The Japanese were further angered by numerous treaties that followed aimed at limiting their naval power in comparison to the other major powers.

Nonetheless, from the time of his youth when the alliance was intact, Hirohito had been greatly impressed by the British, an island nation like Japan, which ruled a vast empire and which was based on a monarch that reigned but did not rule. This basic system would be one Hirohito held to throughout his time on the Chrysanthemum throne. In 1924 he married his distant cousin Princess Nagako Kuni and the two eventually had a large family of five girls and two boys though not all long survived. In 1926 the Taisho Emperor died and Hirohito formally became the Emperor of Japan with the era name of Showa (“Enlightened Peace”). However, this was not to be a time of political peace for Japan which was still struggling to modernize, industrialize and, to some extent, westernize while at the same time fighting to maintain their traditional culture and values against subversive new threats from abroad.

The Depression hit Japan especially hard. There were too many mouths to feed, too few raw materials to feed the new industrialization and many feared losing their own identity in the flood of foreign trends and ideas sweeping Japan. Governments rose and fell rapidly and the Showa Emperor himself was nearly assassinated by a Korean dissident in 1932. Amidst all of the tumult it was the military and the spiritual-political symbol of the divine Emperor that alone seemed capable of uniting the country, providing stability and a path to overcoming the current problems to achieve a vision of greatness for the Japanese Empire. Many have since come to view the Showa Emperor as complicit in the military takeover but such is not the case. When military officers tried to take power in a coup the Emperor ordered a crackdown and threatened to take charge of the troops himself to suppress them.

The Emperor did, however, like most Japanese at the time, realize that they needed secure sources of raw materials to feed their economic recovery and overseas expansion was the way to accomplish this. It was the way every other great power operated and what they had all been doing for centuries; why should Japan be left out? The Emperor did not object to the takeover of Manchuria and he was genuinely kind and supportive when meeting with the last Emperor of China who was placed on the Manchu throne. He had a more clear grasp on world affairs than he is often given credit for. He sympathized with the plight of his fellow monarch, did not look kindly on the corrupt and chaotic Republic of China and viewed the USSR as a terror. Yet, he was not a part of running the government or the military which, especially in China, often acted on its own with its own agenda quite apart from Tokyo.

Unlike many high-ranking Japanese the Showa Emperor did not welcome the alliance with Italy and especially Nazi Germany. It was only after the Axis forces in Europe seemed to have the war all but won that he finally, reluctantly, consented to the idea of Japan being partners with Germany and Italy. When his military came to him with the plan for war against the USA he was deeply troubled and doubted their grandiose aims could be accomplished, noting that they had not totally pacified China in the time promised and that the Pacific was considerably larger than China. Breaking with tradition, he shocked his council by addressing them directly about his wish for a peaceful solution to the problems Japan was facing but this did not stop the drive to war. He issued the declaration of war against the US and UK but was still concerned about how this conflict was carried out.

After the stunning success at Pearl Harbor the Emperor again broke tradition by directly questioning the flight commander, Mitsuo Fuchida, whether any civilian areas had been hit in the bombing (they were not). This was a great concern to him and the attacking forces had been told repeatedly that only military units and installations were to be targeted. Throughout the rest of the war the Emperor did what he could to boost morale and give helpful advice. Given the behavior of the military on certain occasions this is often made to seem sinister but it should not be considered outrageous that the Emperor of Japan wanted his country to be victorious. When it became clear that Japan would lose the war he was not the first to face this fact nor was he the last and when he determined that the time had come to negotiate an end to the war he was opposed at every turn.

After two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan there could be no more delay. Facing the threat of nuclear annihilation the Emperor took decisive action to order the surrender to save his country. He recorded an announcement that had to be smuggled out of the palace to the radio station because of an uprising by the military which was intent on fighting on to the death. The first time the Japanese people ever heard the voice of their divine Emperor was when the message came over the radio announcing the surrender. Japan would, as the Emperor said, “bear the unbearable”. For a country that had not known defeat in centuries and which had never been conquered by an outside force, his sentiments were sincere and correct. Japan surrendered, officially unconditionally, but with the assurance of the US that the fate of the Emperor would rest in the hands of the Japanese people who revered him.

Many in the US and other Allied countries wanted the Emperor put on trial for war crimes; holding him responsible for all actions of the military who all served in his name. However, General Douglas MacArthur, commander of the Allied occupation forces, was adamant that the Emperor had to be kept in place. His status was diminished and he was forced to renounce his divinity but he was a symbol of such great importance that MacArthur feared Japanese society would come apart if he was removed. Instead, the Emperor would henceforth be the “symbol of the state” with no political power or role. Emperor Showa had to reinvent himself as a modern, more western-style “people’s monarch”. He tried to make the occupation and the unprecedented changes Japan was going through at breakneck speed go as smoothly as possible.

Emperor Showa attempted to apologize for the misdeeds of Japanese forces during the war but was snubbed by MacArthur. He also refused to honor any war dead that included convicted war criminals. For the first time he visited the Japanese people and met them face to face -which took some getting used to for all concerned. He even visited the United States and was a crucial figure of tradition and stability during the tumultuous years that saw Japan change more radically and thoroughly that at any other time in her ancient history by far. After the longest reign in modern Japanese history Emperor Showa died on January 7, 1989 and was succeeded by his son HIH Crown Prince Akihito, the current Emperor of Japan. He was buried next to his father in the Imperial Mausoleum at Hachioji. His legacy has been debated ever since and he remains one of the most controversial as well as one of the most significant monarchs in Japanese history.