The Emperor's New Clothes

He was born only a few months before the world his ancestors had carved out for themselves was shattered forever. Prince Mutsuhito was too young to understand the significance of the “Black Dragons” that sailed into Edo Bay in July, 1853, but his people weren’t. The stronger, more militaristic groups resisted the pressure to open trade relations with the “friendly” visitors. Then one group, the Choshu, fired upon the foreign ships sailing in their waters and watched in disbelief as Dragon cannons leveled their strongholds. Their resolve to resist strengthened even in defeat, the traditionalists rebelled against the wavering leadership of the country and restored the authority of the emperor in the person of the 15-year-old, Mutsuhito.

Quiet, passive, and a lover of poetry (he wrote around 100,000 poems during his life), the young emperor was more of a figurehead than a ruler, as the reins of the government were really in the hands of the Satsuma and Choshu clans. Still, the people revered their emperor as a god and imitated whatever they saw him do.

Ironically, the clans decided the best way to combat their perceived enemies from the West was to become just like them. Mutsuhito’s role in this cultural shift became crucial. As the Emperor adopted foreign dress and ways, so to did his people. In just a few short years, the influence of the Emperor and the political maneuvering of the clans brought the island nation of Japan out of its isolation and onto the world stage. This became known as the era of the Meiji (enlightened government), and its young ruler took his place in history as the man who brought his people into the modern age, the Emperor Meiji.

www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/bios/b3meiji.htm

www.artelino.com/articles/emperor_meiji.asp