1912 Ukiyo-e Emperor Meiji Imperial Poetry School Chart – Meiji Tennō Gosei Ungo (明治天皇御製運語) (Approximately 60X130CM)

Good antique condition. The chart shows some water damage that is largely confined to the outer border. The printed lines remain crisp and well defined, while the hand-coloured illustrations retain their original vibrancy with very little fading. Measuring approximately 60 × 130 cm, it presents beautifully for display.

Published in 1912 (Meiji 45) by Osaka Nihon Seihan Insatsu Gōshi Kaisha (大阪日本精版印刷合資會社), this large educational wall chart is titled Meiji Tennō Gosei Ungo (明治天皇御製運語), meaning Vocabulary Chart from the Imperial Poems of Emperor Meiji. Produced shortly after the death of Emperor Meiji, it was designed as a visual teaching aid for Japanese schools.

The chart contains approximately 100 illustrated scenes, each corresponding to a word or phrase drawn from Emperor Meiji's waka poetry. Covering themes such as nature, history, daily life, morality, and traditional culture, the illustrations enabled students to connect language with visual imagery while learning the Emperor's poems.

Issued during a period of national mourning and educational reform, charts such as this became part of the shūshin (moral education) curriculum in Japanese public schools. Teachers used them to combine reading instruction, poetry memorization, ethics, patriotism, and cultural education within a single classroom resource.

Large educational wall charts from the Meiji period were produced in relatively small numbers and were heavily used in classrooms, making well-preserved examples increasingly difficult to find today. This chart offers a fascinating insight into the educational system of early twentieth-century Japan and the central role Emperor Meiji's poetry played in shaping moral instruction.