Illustration of the Issuing of the State Constitution in the State Chamber of the New Imperial Palace (憲法發布式之圖)
A nishiki-e triptych dated March 1889 shows the promulgation of the Meiji Constitution in the palace's main hall: Emperor Meiji stands beside the throne under the chrysanthemum crest, an official bows in the centre of the red carpet, ministers in uniform line both sides and the Empress sits at left. Throne, crest and court rank frame the constitution as a gift from the throne, which is the transfer of imperial prestige onto the document.
- Date
- March 14, 1889
- Period
- Pre-1914
- Made by
- Meiji-period print publisher (not named in the Met record); artist Adachi Ginkō
- Region
- East Asia
- Country
- Empire of Japan
- Medium
- Issuer type
- Mixed
- Regime
- Meiji Japan
- Leader
- Kuroda Kiyotaka
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Commemorate
- Theme
- Elections and party politics
- Event
- Meiji Constitution Promulgation
- Techniques
- Transfer
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Open Access), retrieved September 29, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (The Met Open Access, CC0; isPublicDomain true in the Met API)
Adachi Ginkō, 1889; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Lincoln Kirstein, 1959 (JP3233)
Text on the object
新皇居[illegible small connecting character]正殿 憲法發布式之圖 [artist's seal, lower right: illegible]
[In] the main hall of the new Imperial Palace: picture of the ceremony of promulgating the constitution [artist's seal, lower right: illegible]
Title cartouche at top right, two lines read right to left. The small connecting character between 居 and 正殿 is cursive and unclear (the Met's English title reads it as 'in'). No other lettering visible.
