Kinjirō Ashiwara
Kinjirō Ashiwara | |||||
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葦原 金次郎 | |||||
Ashiwara in his court dress (大礼服姿), which became his signature clothing starting with the end of the Meiji era | |||||
| Born | November 3, 1850 Takaoka, Etchū Province, Japan | ||||
| Died | February 2, 1937 (aged 86) Tokyo, Empire of Japan | ||||
| Known for | Grandiose delusions | ||||
| Japanese name | |||||
| Kanji | 葦原 金次郎 | ||||
| Kana | あしわら きんじろう | ||||
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| Signature | |||||
Kinjirō Ashiwara (Japanese: 葦原 金次郎, Hepburn: Ashiwara Kinjirō, IPA: [a̠ɕiɰᵝa̠ɾa̠ kʲĩɴʑiɾoː]; November 3, 1850 – February 2, 1937) was a self-proclaimed "emperor" of Japan who rose to a celebrity status with his grandiose delusions and theatrical antics that were covered by the Japanese press for decades, beginning in the Meiji era. He styled himself first as Shogun Ashiwara (葦原将軍, Ashiwara Shōgun), then later as Emperor Ashiwara (葦原皇帝, Ashiwara Kōtei; or 葦原天皇, Ashiwara Tennō) and Sovereign Ashiwara (葦原帝, Ashiwara Mikado).
After disrupting Emperor Meiji's procession and attempting to approach him, Ashiwara was involuntarily hospitalized in the Tokyo Metropolitan Psychiatric Asylum (present-day Tokyo Metropolitan Matsuzawa Hospital) in 1882 and, despite a few escapes and re-detainments, remained there until his death in 1937.