以今天的视角来看，说明治时代（1856—1911）是日本历史上最重要的历史时期，并不算夸张。学术界有很多著作研究这一时期的各个方面，多从宏观角度分析，少有人注意天皇在其中的真正作用。唐纳德·金以明治天皇的一生为线，串联起当时那个激扬、动荡而残酷的时代。“我用这些篇幅来寻找明治这个人，他生在一个数百年来都拒绝与西方交往的国家，却用一生见证了日本如何变得强大，屹立于世界之林。” In this vivid and engrossing biography, we move with the emperor through his early, traditional education; join in the formal processions that acquainted the young emperor with his country and its people; observe his behavior in court, his marriage, and his relationships with various consorts; and follow his maturation into a "Confucian" sovereign dedicated to simplicity, frugality, and hard work. Later, during Japan's wars with China and Russia, we witness Meiji's struggle to reconcile his personal commitment to peace and his nation's increasingly militarized experience of modernization. Emperor of Japan conveys in sparkling prose the complexity of the man and offers an unrivaled portrait of Japan in a period of unique interest. 全书篇幅：正文723p+注释137p+术语表4p+参考书目13p+索引42p。 试译要求：译文流畅；专有名词翻译准确；稿件齐清定，无遗留问题。 试译时间：两周（从收到试译文件之日起计算）。 感谢您参与理想国作品的试译！有其他问题，请联系编辑： 马希哲 mxz@imaginist.com.cn   简心怡 jianxinyi@imaginist.com.cn

唐纳德·金（生于1922年），著名日本文学研究学者，哥伦比亚大学教授。是美国继赖世和（Edwin Oldfather Reischauer，曾任燕京学社社长）之后最著名的日本文化研究学者。 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Keene