Nishiki-e (color woodblock prints) of Meiji dignitaries, depicted by YAMAZAKI Toshinobu, September 1877 (Meiji 10) Constitutional Government Documents Collection, #1133

At the Chamber of Elders (Genroin), established after the Osaka Conference, research progressed into constitutional forms of government, with translations of various foreign constitutions made by the American Guido VERBECK (hired by the Chamber of Elders) and others.

This document is the draft constitution (the first National Constitution) drawn up in October 1876 (Meiji 9) within the Chamber of Elders, in response to the Imperial order. It is believed to have been left in the hands of MUTSU Munemitsu, then a kanji in the Chamber of Elders. Ultimately, however, the proposal did not see the light of day.