Also called Meiji the Great. He was born in 1852 and was the 122nd emperor of Japan. He ruled from 1867 until his death in 1912. His real name was Mutsuhito.
He was able to lead his country from a feudal state to an industrialized superpower.
Before him, the role of the emperor was only symbolic and he did not actually hold power. Power was in the hands of the supreme military leader.
Little is known about his childhood.
To achieve what he wanted, he visited his people even in the most remote parts of Japan, to be popular.
He wore Western-style clothes and adopted European customs.
In 1869 he married but had no children with his wife. However, he had 5 children with concubines.
In 1871, he formed a group of intellectuals to carry out state reform.
He created a new educational system based on the American one, in 54,000 schools. He also contributed to the Japanese going abroad to study.
He created a new constitution and helped develop an advanced army and navy. Military service was now mandatory.
After the 1890s, he began to face health problems but continued his work.
[Source: el.wikipedia.org]
