ABSTRACT
The public mourning of Emperor Meiji on his death on 30 July 1912 was part testimony to the effectiveness of ceremonies and rituals which had helped construct the memory of an emperor-centred, national past. While there has been some suggestion that the Japanese during the Tokugawa period (c. 1600-1868) may have been less openly emotional at times of bereavement,1 the sense of loss on the death of Meiji seems to be at odds with such comments. This chapter shows how the commemoration of the life of the emperor and celebration of events during his reign helped to shape national memory.
