Translation guide
Refers to the historical constitution of Japan from 1889 to 1947. In Japanese, it is known as 大日本帝国憲法 (Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kenpō) or informally as 明治憲法 (Meiji Kenpō).
The formal title of the constitution.
The official name, used in historical and legal contexts.
The Constitution of the Empire of Japan was promulgated in 1889.
The widely used shorter name.
Literally 'Meiji Constitution', this is the most common way to refer to it in everyday conversation and textbooks.
Under the Meiji Constitution, the Emperor was considered sovereign.
A variant of the official name.
Short for 大日本帝国憲法, used in some academic contexts.
The Imperial Constitution was modeled after the Prussian Constitution.
This constitution was replaced by the current Constitution of Japan (日本国憲法) in 1947. When discussing modern Japan, use 日本国憲法 instead.