Towns across Japan celebrated with fireworks and feasts when Emperor Meiji promulgated the Meiji Constitution of Japan, the country’s first constitution, on February 11, 1889, while journalists around the globe recorded the popular joy. The exuberance was prompted as much by the constitution’s symbolism as by its contents. The result of a decade of preparation, the Meiji Constitution of Japan represented an era of modernization, when Japan had moved quickly from premodern authoritarianism to monarchical constitutionalism, from the clip-clops of horse travel to the clickety-clack of rickshaws and the roar of trains. With the emperor’s pronouncement, Japan became the first Asian nation to operate under a modern, democratic constitution.