Exhibition Outlines

Emperor Meiji was enthroned in January 1867, and the Decree for the Restoration of Imperial Rule was issued in December of the same year. This marked the end of both the Sekkan (regents and advisers) system, existing since the Heian period, and also of the samurai government that ruled since the Kamakura period. The Emperor’s coming-of-age ceremony was held in January of the next year, and the Sokui-rei (Enthronement Ceremony) was held in August. Soon after this, the name of the era was changed to Meiji, to be reigned by this young Emperor. In order to join the European and American Powers, it was urgent to build a modern nation led by the Emperor, and a new form of the role of the Emperor and the Imperial family was sought. This was quite different from the Imperial Court of the previous era, which mainly administered rites.

While the Boshin war was still continuing, the Sokui-rei was held at the Shishinden of Kyoto Palace with the order of the ceremony following ancient systems, while attempting to return to the original, ideal Japanese state of dress regulations of participants, and ceremonial hall arrangements. This attitude was to show the new aspect of the Emperor combining old and new elements successfully.

The central role of the government was transferred from Kyoto to Tokyo since 1869, and the Meiji Palace, which was fit to carry out events of a modern nation, was completed in 1888. After this, on auspicious occasions such as the Celebration of the 25th Wedding Anniversary of the Emperor in 1894, and the Wedding Celebration of the Crown Prince (Emperor Taisho) in 1900, grand ceremonies and festivals were carried out consulting to foreign countries’ examples, introducing the modern Imperial Family widely both to home and abroad.

The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan held an exhibition titled Art for Celebrations-Art Works for Auspicious Imperial Events during the Taisho Era, in 2007, focusing on the Taisho period when auspicious Imperial events followed in succession. In this exhibition, we are introducing materials about the auspicious events and other events of the Imperial Household during the previous Meiji period, from our museum and the Archives and Mausolea Department, in this year marking the 150th anniversary of the Meiji period. We hope this will be an opportunity to recognize the importance of the Meiji period when the foundations of the modern Imperial Household were established through various attempts of trial and error.