I just borrowed this from one of the suburban branches of the library
and while I've only begun to read it, it seems to me to be a definite
"must buy" for anyone interested in the period as the first 200 pages
(give or take) deals with the end of his father's reign and the Revolution.
It's a fairly new book (2002) and a large one with close to 900 pages
which includes extensive and informative footnotes and bibliography.
Emperor of Japan--Meiji and His World 1852--1912
by Donald Keene
Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0-231-12340-X
I found it for sale through the Amazon marketplace for $23.50 quite a
break on the publisher's cover price of $40
--
Barbara Sheridan
http://www.barbarasheridan.net