The Ethiopian intelligentsia took a keen interest in Japan in the early 1930’s and the 1931 constitution of Ethiopia, the first piece of modern legislation after centuries of unwritten medieval law, was modeled after the constitution issued under emperor Meiji of Japan. It is therefore hardly surprising that one royal house looked at another for inspiration at the advent of the 20th century. The Solomonic and Yamato dynasties of Ethiopia and Japan are some of the oldest continuous monarchies of their respective continents.