Mutsuhito (3 November 1852 – 30 July 1912), posthumously honored as Emperor Meiji, was the 122nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration, a series of rapid changes that witnessed Japan's transformation from an isolationist, feudal state to an industrialized world power. At the time of Emperor Meiji's birth in 1852, Japan was a feudal pre-industrial country dominated by the isolationist Tokugawa shogunate and the daimyo subject to it, who ruled over the country's 270 decentralized domains. By the time of his death, Japan had undergone an extensive political, economic, and social revolution and emerged as one of the great powers on the world stage. The New York Times summarized this transformation at the emperor's funeral in 1912: "the contrast between that which preceded the funeral car and that which followed it was striking indeed. Before it went old Japan; after it came new Japan." The Tokugawa shogunate had established itself in the early 17th century. Under its rule, the shogun governed Japan. About 180 lords, known as daimyos, ruled autonomous realms under the shogun, and occasionally the shogun called upon the daimyos for gifts 

but did not tax them. The shogun controlled the daimyos in other ways too; only the shogun could approve daimyos marriages, and the shogun could divest a daimyo of his lands. Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had officially retired from his position by 1605, was the first Tokugawa shogun. Upon retirement, Tokugawa Ieyasu and his son Tokugawa Hidetada, the titular shogun, issued a code of behavior for the nobility in 1605. Under the code, the emperor was required to devote his time to scholarship and the arts. The emperors under the shogunate appear to have adhered closely to this code by studying Confucian classics and devoting time to poetry and calligraphy. Emperors were taught only the rudiments of Japanese and Chinese history and geography. The shogun did not seek the consent or advice of the emperor for his actions. Emperors almost never left their palace compound, or Gosho in Kyoto, except after an emperor retired or to take shelter in a temple if the palace caught on fire. Few emperors lived long enough to retire; of the Meiji emperor's five predecessors, only his grandfather and great-grandfather lived beyond the age of 40. The Imperial Family suffered very high rates of infant mortality; all five of the emperor's brothers and sisters died as infants, and only five of his own 15 children reached adulthood. The Meiji Restoration (romanized: Meiji Ishin), referred to at the time as the Honorable Restoration (Goishin), and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ruling emperors before the Meiji Restoration, the events restored practical abilities and consolidated the political system under the Emperor of Japan. The goals of the restored government were expressed by the new emperor in the Charter Oath. The Restoration led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure and spanned both the late Edo period (often called the Bakumatsu) and the beginning of the Meiji era, during which time Japan rapidly industrialized and adopted Western ideas and production methods.

The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyujitai: Shinjitai:  Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kaigun 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or Nippon Kaigun, 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from. The origins of the Imperial Japanese Navy go back to early interactions with nations on the Asian continent, beginning in the early feudal period and reaching a peak of activity during the 16th and 17th centuries at a time of cultural exchange with European powers during the Age of Discovery. After two centuries of stagnation during the country's ensuing seclusion policy under the shogun of the Edo period, Japan's navy was comparatively backward when the country was forced open to trade by American intervention in 1854. This eventually led to the Meiji Restoration. Accompanying the re-ascendance of the Emperor came a period of frantic modernization and industrialization. The navy had several successes, sometimes against much more powerful enemies such as in the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War. Following the war against China, the Triple Intervention under Russian leadership, pressured Japan to renounce its claim to the Liaodong Peninsula. The Japanese were well aware of the naval power the three countries possessed in East Asian waters, particularly Russia. Faced with little choice the Japanese retroceded the territory back to China for an additional 30 million taels (roughly ¥45 million). With the humiliation of the forced return of the Liaodong Peninsula, Japan began to build up its military strength in preparation for future confrontations. The political capital and public support for the navy gained as a result of the recent conflict with China, also encouraged popular and 

legislative support for naval expansion. In 1895, Yamamoto Gombei was assigned to compose a study of Japan's future naval needs. He believed that Japan should have sufficient naval strength to not only to deal with a single hypothetical enemy separately, but to also confront any fleet from two combined powers that might be dispatched against Japan from overseas waters. He assumed that with their conflicting global interests, it was highly unlikely that the British and Russians would ever join together in a war against Japan, considering it more likely that a major power like Russia in alliance with a lesser naval power, would dispatch a portion of their fleet against Japan. Yamamoto therefore calculated that four battleships would be the main battle force that a major power could divert from their other naval commitments to use against Japan and he also added two more battleships that might be contributed to such a naval expedition by a lesser hostile power. In order to achieve victory Japan should have a force of six of the largest battleships supplemented by four armored cruisers of at least 7,000 tons. The centerpiece of this expansion was to be the acquisition of four new battleships in addition to the two which were already being completed in Britain being part of an earlier construction program. Yamamoto was also advocating the construction of a balanced fleet. Battleships would be supplemented by lesser warships of various types, including cruisers that could seek out and pursue the enemy and a sufficient number of destroyers and torpedo boats capable of striking the enemy in home ports. As a result, the program also included the construction of twenty-three destroyers, sixty-three torpedo boats, and an expansion of Japanese shipyards and repair and training facilities. In 1897, because of fears that the size of the Russian fleet assigned to East Asian waters could be larger than previously believed, the plan was revised. Although budgetary limitations simply could not permit the construction of another battleship squadron, the new Harvey and KC armor plates could resist all but the largest AP shells. Japan could now acquire armored cruisers that could take the place in the battle line. Hence, with new armor and lighter but more powerful quick-firing guns, this new cruiser type was superior to many older battleships still afloat. Subsequently, the revisions to the ten-year plan led to the four protected cruisers being replaced by an additional two armored cruisers. As a consequence the "Six-Six Fleet" was born, with six battleships and six armored cruisers. The program for a 260,000-ton navy to be completed over a ten-year period in two stages of construction, with the total cost being ¥280 million, was approved by the cabinet in late 1895 and funded by the Diet in early 1896. Of the total warship acquisitions accounted for just over ¥200 million. The first stage would begin in 1896 and be completed by 1902; the second would run from 1897 to 1905. The program was financed significantly from the Chinese indemnity secured after the First Sino-Japanese War. This was used to fund the bulk of the naval expansion, roughly ¥139 million, with public loans and existing government revenue providing the rest of the financing required over the ten years of the program. Japan's industrial resources at the time were inadequate for the construction of a fleet of armored warships domestically, as the country was still in the process of developing and acquiring the industrial infrastructure for the construction of major naval vessels. Consequently, the overwhelming majority was built in British shipyards. With the completion of the fleet, Japan would become the fourth strongest naval power in the world in a single decade. In 1902, Japan formed an alliance with Britain, the terms of which stated that if Japan went to war in the Far East and that a third power entered the fight against Japan, then Britain would come to the aid of the Japanese. This was a check to prevent any third power from intervening militarily in any future war with Russia.