(1852-1912) Emperor of Japan from 1867, under the regnal era name Meiji (“enlightened”). During his reign Japan became a world industrial and naval power. His ministers abolished the feudal system and discrimination against the lowest caste, established state schools, reformed the civil service, and introduced conscription, the Western calendar, and other measures to modernize Japan, including a constitution 1889.
He took the personal name Mutsuhito when he became crown prince 1860. He was the son of Emperor Komei (reigned 1846–67), who was a titular ruler in the last years of the Tokugawa shogunate.