The annual festival at Meiji Jingu takes place on Nov 3, the emperor's birthday. Even on a normal weekend the shrine draws thousands of visitors, but this seldom disturbs its mood of quiet gravitas.
Emperor Meiji was the first emperor of modern Japan. He was born in 1852 and ascended to the throne in 1868 at the peak of the Meiji Restauration when the power was switched from the feudal Tokugawa government to the emperor. During the Meiji Period, Japan modernized and westernized herself to join the world's major powers by the time Emperor Meiji passed away in 1912.