Nishiki-e of Imperial Chariot decolated by phoenix in the celebration for the Constitution. depicted by YOSHU Chikanobu, 1889 (Meiji 22) ("NDL Digital Collections")

This is the original copy of the speech delivered by Prime Minister KURODA Kiyotaka to prefectural governors one day after the promulgation of the new Constitution of the Empire of Japan, also known as the Meiji Constitution. The thrust of this text is even more unequivocal than that typically accepted in Meiji political history. It proclaims that the government would "always set a fixed direction," remaining transcendental to political parties, that is, it would maintain a certain distance from all political parties. This is the origin of the concept of transcendentalism in Japanese politics.