Emmanuel Gustin’s Reviews > Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912 > Status Update
Emmanuel Gustin
is on page 472 of 928
Japan’s trajectory towards representative government was a difficult one. The emperor emerges from these pages as supportive but not outspoken; approving in principle but not necessarily in practice. Willing to take a stand, but only if it is absolutely necessary.
— Jun 28, 2026 02:29PM
Like flag
Emmanuel’s Previous Updates
Emmanuel Gustin
is on page 329 of 928
At this point it is striking that the government wanted to invest heavily in education, but had competing views between those who wanted to emphasise traditional Confucian values and those who wanted practical Western learning. Both sides feared Western philosophy and political ideas and wanted to minimise its influence.
— Jun 20, 2026 01:01PM
Emmanuel Gustin
is on page 285 of 928
The Japanese politics of the Meiji era were fiendishly complex, and the young emperor navigated it discreetly and tactfully, which speaks volumes for his common sense. So unlike his father! The “Meiji Restoration” was as radical a revolution as the French Revolution, and the young emperor kept his head, literally and figuratively. But he does moves through the pages of his biography like a ghost, intangible.
— Jun 09, 2026 04:26AM