Charter Oath

The Charter Oath (五箇条の御誓文, Gokajō no Goseimon, more literally, the Oath in Five Articles) was promulgated on 6 April 1868 in Kyoto Imperial Palace.^[1]^[2] The Oath outlined the main aims and the course of action to be followed during Emperor Meiji's reign, setting the legal stage for Japan's modernization. This also set up a process of urbanization as people of all classes were free to move jobs so people went to the city for better work. It remained influential, though less for governing than inspiring, throughout the Meiji era and into the twentieth century, and it can be considered the first constitution of modern Japan.^[3]

^ Keene, p. 137. Other translations are seen in the literature, such as Five-Article Oath or Charter Oath in Five Articles.
^ http://www.meijijingu.or.jp/about/3-3.html Archived 2010-01-25 at the Wayback Machine 慶応４年(明治元年)３月１４日、明治天皇は京都御所紫宸殿に公卿・諸侯以下百官を集め、維新の基本方針を天地の神々にお誓いになりました。The Charter Oath was promulgated on the fourteenth day of the third month by the old calendar, equivalent to April 6.
^ Keene, p. 340, notes that one might "describe the Oath in Five Articles as a constitution for all ages. Japan was modernized due to the Charter Oath."

[1] Keene, p. 137. Other translations are seen in the literature, such as Five-Article Oath or Charter Oath in Five Articles.

[2] ttp://www.meijijingu.or.jp/about/3-3.html Archived 2010-01-25 at the Wayback Machine 慶応４年(明治元年)３月１４日、明治天皇は京都御所紫宸殿に公卿・諸侯以下百官を集め、維新の基本方針を天地の神々にお誓いになりました。The Charter Oath was promulgated on the fourteenth day of the third month by the old calendar, equivalent to April 6.

[3] Keene, p. 340, notes that one might "describe the Oath in Five Articles as a constitution for all ages. Japan was modernized due to the Charter Oath."

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