Emperor Meiji Leaving for Northern Japan

A print depicting Emperor Meiji's departure for northern Japan — likely one of his imperial inspection tours to the regions beyond Tokyo, through which the Meiji government projected imperial authority and visibility across the formerly fragmented domains of the country. The emperor's travels were ceremonial and political simultaneously: his visible presence in distant regions symbolized the unity of the new nation under imperial sovereignty. Chikanobu's documentary image captures the elaborate ceremony of imperial departure.