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Emperor of Japan

July 08, 2023

"Japanese Emperor" and "Tennō" redirect here. For the butterfly, see Sasakia charonda. For other uses, see Tenno (disambiguation). For a list, see List of emperors of Japan.

The Emperor of Japan is the figurehead monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power".[2] Imperial Household Law governs the line of imperial succession. The emperor is immune from prosecution by the Supreme Court of Japan.[3] He is also the head of the Shinto religion. In Japanese, the emperor is called Tennō (天皇, pronounced [tennoꜜː]), literally "Emperor of heaven" or "Heavenly Sovereign".[4] The Japanese Shinto religion holds him to be the direct descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu.

Emperor of Japan
天皇
Imperial
Incumbent
Naruhito
since 1 May 2019
Details
StyleHis Majesty[1]
Heir presumptiveFumihito
First monarchEmperor Jimmu (mythical)
FormationFebruary 11 660 BC, 2682 years ago (mythical)[note 1]
ResidenceTokyo Imperial Palace
(official residence)
Websitewww.kunaicho.go.jp

The emperor is also the head of all national Japanese orders, decorations, medals, and awards. In English, the use of the term Mikado (帝／御門) for the emperor was once common but is now considered obsolete.[5]

The Imperial House of Japan, known by their name the Yamato Dynasty, is amongst the oldest in the world, with its historical origins in the late Kofun period of the 3rd–6th centuries AD. According to the mythological accounts of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, Japan was founded in 660 BC by Emperor Jimmu.[6][7]

The role of the emperor of Japan has historically alternated between a largely ceremonial symbolic role and that of an actual imperial ruler. Since the establishment of the first shogunate in 1192, the emperors of Japan have rarely taken on a role as supreme battlefield commander, unlike many Western monarchs. Japanese emperors have nearly always been controlled by external political forces, to varying degrees. For example, between 1192 and 1867, the shōguns, or their shikken regents in Kamakura (1203–1333), were the de facto rulers of Japan, although they were nominally appointed by the emperor. After the Meiji Restoration in 1867, the emperor was the embodiment of all sovereign power in the realm, as enshrined in the Meiji Constitution of 1889. Since the enactment of the 1947 constitution, the role of emperor has been relegated to that of a ceremonial head of state without even nominal political powers.

Since the mid-nineteenth century, the Imperial Palace has been called Kyūjō (宮城), later Kōkyo (皇居), and is located on the former site of Edo Castle in the heart of Tokyo (the current capital of Japan). Earlier, emperors resided in Kyoto (the ancient capital) for nearly eleven centuries. The Emperor's Birthday (currently 23 February) is a national holiday.

Naruhito is the current emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne upon the abdication of his father, Emperor Akihito, on 1 May 2019.

Constitutional role

Unlike many constitutional monarchs, the emperor is not even the nominal chief executive. Most constitutional monarchies formally vest executive power in the monarch, but the monarch is bound by convention to act on the advice of the cabinet or required to exercise his powers through the ministers. In contrast, Article 65 of the Constitution of Japan explicitly vests executive power in the cabinet, of which the prime minister is the leader. The emperor is also not the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. The Japan Self-Defense Forces Act of 1954 explicitly vests this role with the prime minister.

The emperor's powers are limited only to important ceremonial functions. Article 4 of the Constitution stipulates that the Emperor "shall perform only such acts in matters of state as are provided for in the Constitution and he shall not have powers related to government." He is not allowed to make political statements.[8] It also stipulates that "the advice and approval of the Cabinet shall be required for all acts of the Emperor in matters of state" (Article 3). Article 4 also states that these duties can be delegated by the Emperor as provided for by law.

While the emperor formally appoints the prime minister to office, Article 6 of the Constitution requires him to appoint the candidate "as designated by the Diet", without giving the emperor the right to decline appointment.

Article 6 of the Constitution delegates to the emperor the following ceremonial roles:

  1. Appointment of the Prime Minister as designated by the Diet.
  2. Appointment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as designated by the Cabinet.

The emperor's other duties are laid down in Article 7 of the Constitution, where it is stated that "the Emperor, with the advice and approval of the Cabinet, shall perform the following acts in matters of state on behalf of the people."

  1. Promulgation of amendments of the constitution, laws, cabinet orders, and treaties.
  2. Convocation of the Diet.
  3. Dissolution of the House of Representatives.
  4. Proclamation of general election of members of the Diet.
  5. Attestation of the appointment and dismissal of Ministers of State and other officials as provided for by law, and of full powers and credentials of Ambassadors and Ministers.
  6. Attestation of general and special amnesty, commutation of punishment, reprieve, and restoration of rights.
  7. Awarding of honors.
  8. Attestation of instruments of ratification and other diplomatic documents as provided for by law.
  9. Receiving foreign ambassadors and ministers.
  10. Performance of ceremonial functions.

In practice, all of these duties are exercised only in accordance with the binding instructions of the Cabinet.

Regular ceremonies of the emperor with a constitutional basis are the Imperial Investitures (Shinninshiki) in the Tokyo Imperial Palace and the Speech from the Throne ceremony in the House of Councillors in the National Diet Building. The latter ceremony opens ordinary and extra sessions of the Diet. Ordinary sessions are opened each January and also after new elections to the House of Representatives. Extra sessions usually convene in the autumn and are opened then.[9][non-primary source needed]

History

Although the emperor has been a symbol of continuity with the past, the degree of power exercised by the emperor has varied considerably throughout Japanese history.

Origin (7th–8th centuries AD)

See also: List of emperors of Japan

In the early 7th century, the emperor had begun to be called the "Son of Heaven" (天子, tenshi, or 天子様 tenshi-sama).[10] The title of emperor was borrowed from China, being derived from Chinese characters, and was retroactively applied to the legendary Japanese rulers who reigned before the 7th–8th centuries AD.[11]

According to the traditional account of the Nihon Shoki, Japan was founded by Emperor Jimmu 2682 years ago. However most modern scholars agree to regard Jimmu and the nine first emperors as mythical.[12]

Modern historians generally believe that the emperors up to Suinin are "largely legendary" as there is insufficient material available for verification and study of their lives. Emperor Sujin (148–30 BC) is the first emperor with a direct possibility of existence according to historians, but he is referred to as "legendary" due to a lack of information.[13][better source needed] The emperors from Emperor Keiko to Emperor Ingyo (376–453 AD) are considered as perhaps factual. Emperor Ankō (401–456), traditionally the 20th emperor, is the earliest generally agreed upon historical ruler of all or a part of Japan.[14] As one strong argument, the reign of Emperor Kinmei (c. 509–571 AD), the 29th emperor, is the first for whom contemporary historiography is able to assign verifiable dates;[15][16]

Archaeological information about the earliest historical rulers of Japan may be contained in the ancient tombs known as kofun, constructed between the early 3rd century and the early 7th century AD. However, since the Meiji period, the Imperial Household Agency has refused to open the kofun to the public or to archaeologists, citing their desire not to disturb the spirits of the past emperors. Kofun period artefacts were also increasingly crucial in Japan as the Meiji government used them to reinforce their authority.[17] In 2016, the Imperial Household Agency reversed its position and decided to allow researchers to enter some of the kofun with limited time and way.

Disputes and Instability (10th century)

The growth of the samurai class from the 10th century gradually weakened the power of the imperial family over the realm, leading to a time of instability. Emperors are known to have come into conflict with the reigning shogun from time to time. Some instances, such as Emperor Go-Toba's 1221 rebellion against the Kamakura shogunate and the 1336 Kenmu Restoration under Emperor Go-Daigo, show the power struggle between the Imperial Court in Kyoto and the military governments of Japan.

Factional control (530s–1867) and Shōguns (1192–1867)

Main article: Shogun

There have been six non-imperial families who have controlled Japanese emperors: the Soga (530s–645), the Fujiwara (850s–1070), the Taira (1159–1180s), the Minamoto and Kamakura Bakufu (1192–1333), the Ashikaga (1336–1565), and the Tokugawa (1603–1867). However, every shogun from the Minamoto, Ashikaga, and Tokugawa families had to be officially recognized by the emperors, who were still the source of sovereignty, although they could not exercise their powers independently from the shogunate.

During the major part of 1192 to 1867, political sovereignty of the state was exercised by the shōguns or their shikken regents (1203–1333), whose authority was conferred by Imperial warrant. When Portuguese explorers first came into contact with the Japanese (see Nanban period), they described Japanese conditions in analogy, likening the emperor with great symbolic authority, but little political power, to the pope, and the shōgun to secular European rulers (e.g., the Holy Roman emperor). In keeping with the analogy, they even used the term "emperor" in reference to the shōguns and their regents, e.g. in the case of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, whom missionaries called "Emperor Taico-sama" (from Taikō and the honorific sama). A Dutch embassy report used similar terminology in 1691.[18] Empress Go-Sakuramachi was the last ruling empress of Japan and reigned from 1762 to 1771.[19] During the Sakoku period of 1603 to 1868, there was very limited trade between Japan and foreigners. The Dutch were the only westerners who had limited access to Japan.[18]

Kenmu Restoration (1333–1336)

Main article: Kenmu Restoration

Emperor Go-Daigo succeeded in 1333 to get back the direct authority directly to the emperor after overthrowing the Kamakura shogunate, with the help of Ashikaga Takauji, a defected Kamakura general. The short three-year period during which the power was directly in the hand of the emperor is called the Kenmu Restoration. The direct ruling of the emperor proved however inefficient and ultimately failed, with Takauji grabbing political power for himself.

Meiji Restoration (1868)

Main article: Meiji Restoration
 
The first arrival of Emperor Meiji to Edo (1868)

In July 1853, Commodore Perry's Black Ships of the US Navy made their first visit to Edo Bay. Japan lacked the military and industrial power to prevent it.[20][21] Unequal treaties coerced and took advantage of Japan.[20][21] Consequently, Japan was forcibly opened to foreign trade and the shogunate proved incapable of hindering the "barbarian" interlopers, Emperor Kōmei began to assert himself politically. By the early 1860s, the relationship between the Imperial Court and the shogunate was changing radically. Disaffected domains and rōnin began to rally to the call of sonnō jōi ("revere the emperor, expel the barbarians"). The domains of Satsuma and Chōshū, historic enemies of the Tokugawa, used this turmoil to unite their forces and won an important military victory outside of Kyoto against Tokugawa forces.[citation needed]

On November 9, 1867, the Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu formally stepped down to restore Emperor Meiji to nominal full power.[22] The Meiji Constitution was adopted on February 11, 1889.[23] The emperor of Japan became an active ruler with considerable political power over foreign policy and diplomacy which was shared with an elected Imperial Diet.[23] The Japanese subjects gained many rights and duties.

The constitution described the emperor (in Article 4) as: "the head of the Empire, combining in Himself the rights of sovereignty", and he “exercises them, according to the provisions of the present Constitution”. His rights included to sanction and promulgate laws, to execute them and to exercise "supreme command of the Army and the Navy". The liaison conference created in 1893 also made the emperor the leader of the Imperial General Headquarters.

World War II (1939–1945)

 
Showa Hirohito reigned during World War Two and afterwards.

Emperor Shōwa, known by his personal name as Hirohito in the West, was in power during World War II; he controlled both the sovereign of the state and the imperial forces.[24] The role of the emperor as head of the State Shinto religion was exploited during the war, creating an Imperial cult that led to kamikaze bombers and other manifestations of fanaticism. This in turn led to the requirement in the Potsdam Declaration for the elimination "for all time of the authority and influence of those who have deceived and misled the people of Japan into embarking on world conquest".[25]

In State Shinto, the emperor was believed to be an arahitogami (現人神) (manifest kami or incarnation of a deity).[26] Following Japan's surrender, the Allies issued the Shinto Directive separating church and state within Japan. In 1946, Hirohito was forced to proclaim the Humanity Declaration, but the declaration excludes the word arahitogami (現人神), including the unusual word akitsumikami (現御神, living god) instead. As such, some experts doubt whether his divinity was renounced.[27] Jean Herbert said it would be inadmissible to deny his divine origin.[27]

Hirohito was excluded from the postwar Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal. Scholars dispute the power he had and the role he played during WWII.[24] Hirohito's reign from 1926 until his death in 1989 makes him the longest-lived and longest-reigning historical Japanese emperor, and one of the longest-reigning monarchs in the world.

Contemporary (1978–present)

The Emperor of Japan has never visited Yasukuni Shrine since 1978.[28] Hirohito maintained an official boycott of Yasukuni Shrine after it was revealed to him that Class-A war criminals had secretly been enshrined. The boycott was continued by his successors, Akihito and Naruhito.[29]

By 1979, Emperor Shōwa was the only monarch in the world with the monarchical title "emperor." Emperor Shōwa was the longest-reigning historical monarch in Japanese's history and the world's longest reigning monarch until surpassed by King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand in July 2008.[30]

According to journalist Makoto Inoue of The Nikkei, Emperor Emeritus Akihito wanted to be closer to the people, rather than be treated like a god or robot.[31] Inoue believes that during his reign, he transformed the symbolic role of emperor into a human being.[31] In March 2019, the Mainichi reported 87% thought Akihito fulfilled his role as symbol of the state.[31]

On April 30, 2019, Emperor Akihito abdicated due to health issues.[32] The previous time abdication occurred was Emperor Kōkaku in 1817. Naruhito ascended on May 1, 2019, referred to as Kinjō Tennō.

Current constitution

In 1947 the post-war Constitution of Japan (日本国憲法, Nihonkoku-Kenpō) became law when it received the emperor's assent on 3 November 1946.[33] It provides for a parliamentary system of government and guarantees certain fundamental rights. Under its terms, the emperor of Japan is "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people" and exercises a purely ceremonial role without the possession of sovereignty.[34] It was drawn up under the Allied occupation that followed World War II and changed Japan's previous Prussian-style Meiji Constitution that granted the emperor theoretically unlimited powers.[35] The liberal constitution was inspired by several European states.[36] Currently, it is a rigid document and the oldest unamended constitution.[37]

Realm and territories

 
Map of the Empire of Japan in 1942
 
Current realm of Japan

Historically, territorial designations are not a requirement for the position of Tennō (emperor). Rather it is the emperor's symbolic and religious power of authority.[38] Since the Kamakura shogunate, the emperor held de jure ownership of the realm. Throughout most of medieval Japan, the shogun's legitimate authority was based on being appointed and receiving the power from the emperor even though the shogun was the de-facto ruler.[39][40] The emperor was considered a direct descendant of Amaterasu and of utmost importance in the Shinto religion and sentimental traditions.[41] Thus no shogun tried to usurp the emperor, instead they tried to keep the emperor under control and away from politics.[42] However, the emperor still had the power to "control time" via the Japanese Nengō which names eras on calendars after emperors.[43] Thus even if he has followers only in one province (as was the case sometimes with the southern and northern courts).[citation needed]

During the Kofun period the first central government of the unified state was Yamato in the Kinai region of central Japan.[44] The territory of Japan has changed throughout history. Its largest extent was the Empire of Japan. In 1938 it was 1,984,000 km2 (800,000 sq mi).[45] The maximum extent including the home islands and the Japanese colonial empire was 8,510,000 km2 (3,300,000 sq mi) in 1942.[46] After its defeat in World War II the empire was dismantled. The contemporary territories include the Japanese archipelago and these areas. Regardless of territorial changes the emperor remains the formal head of state of Japan. During most of history, de facto power was with shoguns or prime ministers. The emperor was more like a revered embodiment of divine harmony than the head of an actual governing administration.[citation needed] In Japan, it was more effective for ambitious daimyo (feudal lords) to hold actual power, as such positions were not inherently contradictory to the emperor's position.[citation needed] The shoguns and prime ministers derived their legitimacy from the emperor.[citation needed] The parliamentary government continues a similar coexistence with the emperor.[citation needed] The first recorded instance of the name Nihon 日本 was between 665 and 703 during the Asuka period.[47] This was several centuries after the start of the current imperial line.[48] The various names of Japan do not affect the status of the emperor as head of state.

Education

The emperors traditionally had an education officer. In recent times, Emperor Taishō had Count Nogi Maresuke, Emperor Shōwa had Marshal-Admiral Marquis Tōgō Heihachirō, and Emperor Akihito had Elizabeth Gray Vining as well as Shinzō Koizumi as their tutors.[49]

Emperors, including his family, had to get an education at Gakushuin University by the Meiji Constitution.[50]

Reference and naming

The Japanese language has two words equivalent to the English word "emperor": tennō (天皇, "heavenly sovereign"), which refers exclusively to the emperor of Japan, and kōtei (皇帝), which primarily identifies non-Japanese emperors. Sumeramikoto ("the imperial person") was also used in Old Japanese. Emperors used the term tennō up until the Middle Ages; then, following a period of disuse, again from the 19th century.[51] The weakened power of the emperors led to the title tennō not being used from 1200 to 1840; during this time, living emperors were called shujō (主上) and deceased ones were called in (院).[52][53] Other titles that were recorded to be in use were kō (皇), tei (帝), ō (王), all meaning "prince" or "emperor", and tenshi (天子), or "child of heaven".[54]

In English, the term mikado (御門 or 帝), literally meaning "the honorable gate" (i.e. the gate of the imperial palace, which indicates the person who lives in and possesses the palace; confer Sublime Porte, an old term for the Ottoman government), was once used (as in The Mikado, a 19th-century operetta), but this term is now obsolete.[5]

Japanese emperors take on a regnal name, which is the common and polite way to refer to the emperor as a person during their reign. Japanese regnal names are more precisely names for a period of time that begins with a historical event, such as the enthronement of an emperor. Since Emperor Meiji, it has been customary to have one era per emperor and to rename each emperor after his death using the name of the era over which he presided. Before Emperor Meiji, the names of the eras were changed more frequently, and the posthumous names of the emperors were chosen differently.[citation needed]

Emperor Akihito giving a New Year's address to the people in 2010

Hirohito was never referred to by his name in Japan. He was given the posthumous name Shōwa Tennō after his death, which is the only name that Japanese speakers currently use when referring to him.[55]

The current emperor on the throne is typically referred to as Tennō Heika (天皇陛下, "His [Imperial] Majesty the Emperor"), Kinjō Heika (今上陛下, "His Current Majesty") or simply Tennō, when speaking Japanese. Emperor Akihito received the title Daijō Tennō (太上天皇, Emperor Emeritus), often shortened to Jōkō (上皇), upon his abdication on 30 April 2019, and is expected to be renamed Heisei Tennō (平成天皇) after his death and will then be referred to exclusively by that name in Japanese.

Origin of the title

See also: Okimi

Originally, the ruler of Japan was known as either 大和大王/大君 (Yamato-ōkimi, "Grand King of Yamato"), 倭王/倭国王 (Wa-ō/Wakoku-ō, "King of Wa", used externally) or 治天下大王 (Ame-no-shita shiroshimesu ōkimi or Sumera no mikoto, "Grand King who rules all under heaven", used internally) in Japanese and Chinese sources before the 7th century. The oldest diplomatic reference to the title 天子 (Tenshi, Emperor or Son of Heaven) can be found in a diplomatic document sent from Emperor Suiko to the Sui Dynasty of China in 607. In this document, Empress Suiko introduced herself to Emperor Yang of Sui as 日出處天子 (Hi izurutokoro no tenshi) meaning "Emperor of the land where the sun rises".[56][57] The oldest documented use of the title 天皇 (Tennō, heavenly emperor) appears on a wooden slat, or mokkan, that was unearthed in Asuka-mura, Nara Prefecture in 1998 and dated back to the reign of Emperor Tenmu and Empress Jitō in the 7th century.[58][59]

Marriage traditions

 
Masako, Empress Consort of Japan since 2019

Throughout history, Japanese emperors and noblemen appointed a spouse to the position of chief wife, rather than just keeping a harem or an assortment of female attendants.

The Japanese imperial dynasty consistently practiced official polygamy until the Taishō period (1912–1926). Besides his empress, the emperor could take, and nearly always took, several secondary consorts ("concubines") of various hierarchical degrees. Concubines were allowed also to other dynasts (Shinnōke, Ōke). After a decree by Emperor Ichijō (r. 986–1011), some emperors even had two empresses simultaneously (identified by the separate titles kōgō and chūgū). With the help of all this polygamy, the imperial clan could produce more offspring. (Sons by secondary consorts were usually recognized as imperial princes, too, and such a son could be recognized as heir to the throne if the empress did not give birth to an heir.)

Of the eight reigning empresses of Japan, none married or gave birth after ascending the throne. Some of them, being widows, had produced children before their reigns. In the succession, children of the empress were preferred over sons of secondary consorts. Thus it was significant which quarters had preferential opportunities in providing chief wives to imperial princes, i.e. supplying future empresses.

Apparently, the oldest tradition of official marriages within the imperial dynasty involved marriages between dynasty members, even between half-siblings or between uncle and niece. Such marriages were deemed to preserve better the imperial blood; or they aimed at producing children symbolic of a reconciliation between two branches of the imperial dynasty. Daughters of other families remained concubines until Emperor Shōmu (701–706)—in what was specifically reported as the first elevation of its kind—elevated his Fujiwara consort Empress Kōmyō to chief wife.

Japanese monarchs have been, as much as others elsewhere, dependent on making alliances with powerful chiefs and with other monarchs. Many such alliances were sealed by marriages. However, in Japan such marriages soon became incorporated as elements of tradition which controlled the marriages of later generations, though the original practical alliance had lost its real meaning. A repeated pattern saw an imperial son-in-law under the influence of his powerful non-imperial father-in-law.

Beginning from the 7th and 8th centuries, emperors primarily took women of the Fujiwara clan as their highest-ranking wives – the most probable mothers of future monarchs. This was cloaked as a tradition of marriage between heirs of two kami (Shinto deities): descendants of Amaterasu with descendants of the family kami of the Fujiwara. (Originally, the Fujiwara descended from relatively minor nobility, thus their kami is an unremarkable one in the Japanese myth world.) To produce imperial children, heirs of the nation, with two-side descent from the two kami, was regarded as desirable – or at least it suited powerful Fujiwara lords, who thus received preference in the imperial marriage-market. The reality behind such marriages was an alliance between an imperial prince and a Fujiwara lord (his father-in-law or grandfather), the latter with his resources supporting the prince to the throne and most often controlling the government. These arrangements established the tradition of regents (Sesshō and Kampaku), with these positions held only by a Fujiwara sekke lord.

Earlier, the emperors had married women from families of the government-holding Soga lords, and women of the imperial clan, i.e. various-degree cousins and often even their own half-sisters. Several imperial figures of the 5th and 6th centuries such as Prince Shōtoku (574–622) were children of half-sibling couples. Such marriages often served as alliance or succession devices: the Soga lord ensured his domination of a prince who would be put on the throne as a puppet; or a prince ensured the combination of two imperial descents, to strengthen his own and his children's claim to the throne. Marriages were also a means to seal a reconciliation between two imperial branches.

After a couple of centuries, emperors could no longer take anyone from outside such families as a primary wife, no matter what the potential expediency of such a marriage and the power or wealth offered by such a match. Only very rarely did a prince ascend the throne whose mother was not descended from the approved families. The earlier necessity and expediency had mutated into a strict tradition that did not allow for current expediency or necessity, but only prescribed the daughters of a restricted circle of families as eligible brides, because they had produced eligible brides for centuries. Tradition had become more forceful than law.

Fujiwara women often became empresses, while concubines came from less exalted noble families. In the last thousand years, sons of an imperial male and a Fujiwara woman have been preferred in the succession. The five Fujiwara families, Ichijō, Kujō, Nijō, Konoe, and Takatsukasa, functioned as the primary source of imperial brides from the 8th century to the 19th century, even more often than daughters of the imperial clan itself. Fujiwara daughters were thus the usual empresses and mothers of emperors. The Meiji-era Imperial House Law of 1889 made this restriction on brides for the emperor and crown prince explicit. A clause stipulated that daughters of Sekke (the five main branches of the higher Fujiwara) and daughters of the imperial clan itself were primarily acceptable brides. The law was repealed in the aftermath of World War II. In 1959 the future Emperor Akihito became the first crown-prince for over a thousand years to marry a consort from outside the previously eligible circle.

Three Sacred Treasures

 
Conjectural images of the Imperial Regalia of Japan
Main article: Three Sacred Treasures

In Japanese mythology, the sacred treasures were bestowed on Ninigi-no-Mikoto, the grandson of the goddess Amaterasu, at the advent of Tenson kōrin. Amaterasu sent him to pacify Japan by bringing the three celestial gifts that are used by the emperor.[60] The account of Ninigi being sent to earth appears in the Nihon Shoki. The Three Sacred Treasures were inherited by successive Japanese emperors, which are the same as or similar to the sacred treasures in mythology. These three gifts signify that the emperor is the descendant of Amaterasu. The three sacred treasures are:[61]

During the succession rite (senso, 践祚), possessing the jewel Yasakani no Magatama, the sword Kusanagi and the mirror Yata no Kagami are a testament of the legitimate serving emperor.[62]

Succession

See also: Enthronement of the Japanese emperor
 
Enthronement ceremony of Emperor Naruhito with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (22 October 2019)

The origins of the Japanese imperial dynasty are obscure, and it bases its position on the claim that it has "reigned since time immemorial". There are no records of any emperor who was not said to have been a descendant of other, yet earlier emperor (万世一系 bansei ikkei). There is suspicion that Emperor Keitai (c. AD 500) may have been an unrelated outsider, though the sources (Kojiki, Nihon-Shoki) state that he was a male-line descendant of Emperor Ōjin. However, his descendants, including his successors, were according to records descended from at least one and probably several imperial princesses of the older lineage.

Millennia ago, the Japanese imperial family developed its own peculiar system of hereditary succession. It has been non-primogenitural, more or less agnatic, based mostly on rotation. Today, Japan uses strict agnatic primogeniture, which was adopted from Prussia, by which Japan was greatly influenced in the 1870s.

The controlling principles and their interaction were apparently very complex and sophisticated, leading to even idiosyncratic outcomes. Some chief principles apparent in the succession have been:

  • Women were allowed to succeed (but there existed no known children of theirs whose father did not also happen to be an agnate of the imperial house, thus there is neither a precedent that a child of an imperial woman with a non-imperial man could inherit, nor a precedent forbidding it for children of empresses). However, female accession was clearly much more rare than male.
  • Adoption was possible and a much used way to increase the number of succession-entitled heirs (however, the adopted child had to be a child of another member agnate of the imperial house).
  • Abdication was used very often, and in fact occurred more often than death on the throne. In those days, the emperor's chief task was priestly (or godly), containing so many repetitive rituals that it was deemed that after a service of around ten years, the incumbent deserved pampered retirement as an honored former emperor.
  • Primogeniture was not used – rather, in the early days, the imperial house practiced something resembling a system of rotation. Very often a brother (or sister) followed the elder sibling even in the case of the predecessor leaving children. The "turn" of the next generation came more often after several individuals of the senior generation. Rotation went often between two or more of the branches of the imperial house, thus more or less distant cousins succeeded each other. Emperor Go-Saga even decreed an official alternation between heirs of his two sons, which system continued for a couple of centuries (leading finally to shogun-induced (or utilized) strife between these two branches, the "southern" and "northern" emperors). Towards the end, the alternates were very distant cousins counted in degrees of male descent (but all that time, intermarriages occurred within the imperial house, thus they were close cousins if female ties are counted). During the past five hundred years, however, probably because of Confucian influence, inheritance by sons – but not always, or even most often, the eldest son has been the norm.

Historically, the succession to the Chrysanthemum Throne has always passed to descendants in male line from the imperial lineage. Generally, they have been males, though over the reign of one hundred monarchs there have been nine women (one pre-historical and eight historical) as emperor on eleven occasions.

Over a thousand years ago, a tradition started that an emperor should ascend relatively young. A dynast who had passed his toddler years was regarded suitable and old enough. Reaching the age of legal majority was not a requirement. Thus, a multitude of Japanese emperors have ascended as children, as young as 6 or 8 years old. The high-priestly duties were deemed possible for a walking child. A reign of around 10 years was regarded a sufficient service. Being a child was apparently a fine property, to better endure tedious duties and to tolerate subjugation to political power-brokers, as well as sometimes to cloak the truly powerful members of the imperial dynasty. Almost all Japanese empresses and dozens of emperors abdicated and lived the rest of their lives in pampered retirement, wielding influence behind the scenes. Several emperors abdicated to their entitled retirement while still in their teens. These traditions show in Japanese folklore, theater, literature, and other forms of culture, where the emperor is usually described or depicted as an adolescent.

Before the Meiji Restoration, Japan had eleven reigns of reigning empresses, all of them daughters of the male line of the Imperial House. None ascended purely as a wife or as a widow of an emperor. Imperial daughters and granddaughters, however, usually ascended the throne as a sort of a "stop gap" measure – if a suitable male was not available or some imperial branches were in rivalry so that a compromise was needed. Over half of Japanese empresses and many emperors abdicated once a suitable male descendant was considered to be old enough to rule (just past toddlerhood, in some cases). Four empresses, Empress Suiko, Empress Kōgyoku (also Empress Saimei), and Empress Jitō, as well as the legendary Empress Jingū, were widows of deceased emperors and princesses of the blood imperial in their own right. One, Empress Genmei, was the widow of a crown prince and a princess of the blood imperial. The other four, Empress Genshō, Empress Kōken (also Empress Shōtoku), Empress Meishō, and Empress Go-Sakuramachi, were unwed daughters of previous emperors. None of these empresses married or gave birth after ascending the throne.

Article 2 of the Meiji Constitution (the Constitution of the Empire of Japan) stated, "The Imperial Throne shall be succeeded to by imperial male descendants, according to the provisions of the Imperial House Law." The 1889 Imperial Household Law fixed the succession on male descendants of the imperial line, and specifically excluded female descendants from the succession. In the event of a complete failure of the main line, the throne would pass to the nearest collateral branch, again in the male line. If the empress did not give birth to an heir, the emperor could take a concubine, and the son he had by that concubine would be recognized as heir to the throne. This law, which was promulgated on the same day as the Meiji Constitution, enjoyed co-equal status with that constitution.

Article 2 of the Constitution of Japan, promulgated in 1947 by influence of the U.S. occupation administration, provides that "The Imperial Throne shall be dynastic and succeeded to in accordance with the Imperial Household Law passed by the Diet." The Imperial Household Law of 1947, enacted by the ninety-second and last session of the Imperial Diet, retained the exclusion on female dynasts found in the 1889 law. The government of Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru hastily cobbled together the legislation to bring the Imperial Household in compliance with the American-written Constitution of Japan that went into effect in May 1947. In an effort to control the size of the imperial family, the law stipulates that only legitimate male descendants in the male line can be dynasts, that imperial princesses lose their status as imperial family members if they marry outside the imperial family,[63] and that the emperor and other members of the Imperial Family may not adopt children. It also prevented branches, other than the branch descending from Taishō, from being imperial princes any longer.

Current status

Main article: Line of succession to the Japanese throne

Succession is now regulated by laws passed by the National Diet. The current law excludes women from the succession. A change to this law had been considered until Princess Kiko gave birth to Prince Hisahito.

Until the birth of Hisahito, son of Prince Akishino, on September 6, 2006, there was a potential succession problem, since Prince Akishino was the only male child to be born into the imperial family since 1965. Following the birth of Princess Aiko, there was public debate about amending the current Imperial Household Law to allow women to succeed to the throne. In January 2005, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi appointed a special panel composed of judges, university professors, and civil servants to study changes to the Imperial Household Law and to make recommendations to the government.

The panel dealing with the succession issue recommended on October 25, 2005, amending the law to allow females of the male line of imperial descent to ascend the Japanese throne. On January 20, 2006, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi devoted part of his annual keynote speech to the controversy, pledging to submit a bill allowing women to ascend the throne to ensure that the succession continues in the future in a stable manner. Shortly after the announcement that Princess Kiko was pregnant with her third child, Koizumi suspended such plans. Her son, Prince Hisahito, is the third in line to the throne under the current law of succession. On January 3, 2007, Prime Minister Shinzō Abe announced that he would drop the proposal to alter the Imperial Household Law.[64]

Another proposed plan is to allow unmarried men from the abolished collateral branches of the imperial family to rejoin through adoption or marriage. This would be an emergency measure to ensure stable succession. It does not revise the Imperial Household Law.[65] This does not restore the royalty of the 11 collateral branches of the Imperial House that were abolished in October 1947.

Crown Prince Akishino was formally declared first in line to the chrysanthemum throne on November 8, 2020.[66]

Burial traditions

 
Entrance of the Musashi Imperial Graveyard in Hachiōji, Tokyo

During the Kofun period, so-called "archaic funerals" were held for the dead emperors, but only the funerary rites from the end of the period, which the chronicles describe in more detail, are known. They were centered around the rite of the mogari (殯), a provisional depository between death and permanent burial.[67]

Empress Jitō was the first Japanese imperial personage to be cremated (in 703). After that, with a few exceptions, all emperors were cremated up to the Edo period.[67] For the next 350 years, in-ground burial became the favoured funeral custom. Until 1912, the emperors were usually buried in Kyoto.[68] From Emperor Taishō onward, the emperors have been buried at the Musashi Imperial Graveyard in Tokyo.

In 2013, the Imperial Household Agency announced that Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko would be cremated after they die.[69]

Wealth

Until the end of World War II, the Japanese monarchy was thought to be among the wealthiest in the world.[70] Before 1911, no distinction was made between the imperial crown estates and the emperor's personal properties, which were considerable. The Imperial Property Law, which came into effect in January 1911, established two categories of imperial properties: the hereditary or crown estates and the personal ("ordinary") properties of the imperial family. The Imperial Household Minister was given the responsibility for observing any judicial proceedings concerning imperial holdings. Under the terms of the law, imperial properties were only taxable in cases where no conflict with the Imperial House Law existed; however, crown estates could only be used for public or imperially-sanctioned undertakings. Personal properties of certain members of the imperial family, in addition to properties held for imperial family members who were minors, were exempted from taxation. Those family members included the Empress Dowager, the Empress, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, the Imperial Grandson and the consort of the Imperial Grandson.[71] As a result of the poor economic conditions in Japan, 289,259.25 acres of crown lands (about 26% of the total landholdings) were either sold or transferred to government and private-sector interests in 1921. In 1930, the Nagoya Detached Palace (Nagoya Castle) was donated to the city of Nagoya, with six other imperial villas being either sold or donated at the same time.[71] In 1939, Nijō Castle, the former Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa shoguns and an imperial palace since the Meiji Restoration, was likewise donated to the city of Kyoto.

At the end of 1935, according to official government figures, the Imperial Court owned roughly 3,111,965 acres of landed estates, the bulk of which (2,599,548 acres) were the emperor's private lands, with the total acreage of the crown estates amounting to some 512,161 acres; those landholdings comprised palace complexes, forest and farm lands and other residential and commercial properties. The total value of the imperial properties was then estimated at ¥650 million, or roughly US$195 million at prevailing exchange rates.[note 2][71][72] This was in addition to the emperor's personal fortune, which amounted to hundreds of millions of yen and included numerous family heirlooms and furnishings, purebred livestock and investments in major Japanese firms, such as the Bank of Japan, other major Japanese banks, the Imperial Hotel and Nippon Yusen.[71]

Following Japan's defeat in the Second World War, all of the collateral branches of the imperial family were abolished under the Allied occupation of the country and the subsequent constitutional reforms, forcing those families to sell their assets to private or government owners. Staff numbers in the imperial households were slashed from a peak of roughly 6,000 to about 1,000. The imperial estates and the emperor's personal fortune (then estimated at US$17.15 million, or roughly US$625 million in 2017 terms) were transferred to either state or private ownership, excepting 6,810 acres of landholdings. Since the 1947 constitutional reforms, the imperial family has been supported by an official civil list sanctioned by the Japanese government. The largest imperial divestments were the former imperial Kiso and Amagi forest lands in Gifu and Shizuoka prefectures, grazing lands for livestock in Hokkaido and a stock farm in the Chiba region, all of which were transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Imperial property holdings have been further reduced since 1947 after several handovers to the government. Today, the primary imperial properties include the two imperial palaces at Tokyo and Kyoto, several imperial villas and a number of imperial farms and game preserves.[73]

As of 2017, Akihito has an estimated net worth of US$40 million.[74] The wealth and expenditures of the emperor and the imperial family have remained a subject of speculation and were largely withheld from the public until 2003, when Mori Yohei, a former royal correspondent for the Mainichi Shimbun, obtained access to 200 documents through a recently passed public information law. Mori's findings, which he published in a book, revealed details of the imperial family's US$240 million civil list (in 2003 values).[75] Among other details, the book revealed the imperial family employed a staff of over 1,000 people.[76] The total cost of events related to the enthronement of Emperor Naruhito was approximately 16.6 billion yen ($150 million) in 2019. This is 30% higher than Emperor Emeritus Akihito's accession (1990).[77]

See also

References

Informational notes

  1. ^ This way of counting years is based on Japanese ancient way, not necessarily match current one.
  2. ^ Roughly US$23.2 billion in 2022, in terms of relative income value. Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "Seven Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a U.S. Dollar Amount, 1790 to Present". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved February 22, 2023.

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General and cited references

  • Asakawa, Kan'ichi (1903). The Early Institutional Life of Japan. Tokyo: Shueisha. OCLC 4427686. Online, multi-formatted, full-text book at openlibrary.org.
  • Bar-On Cohen, Einat (2012–12). "The Forces of Homology—Hirohito, Emperor of Japan and the 1928 Rites of Succession". History and Anthropology. 23 (4): 425–443. doi:10.1080/02757206.2013.726990. ISSN 0275-7206.
  • Brinkley, Francis (1911). "Japan § 'Domestic History'" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 252–273.
  • "Japan's Emperor Is a Prisoner in His Own Palaces". The Economist. Vol. 433, no. 9165. October 19, 2019. p. 37 (US edition). Retrieved December 12, 2020. Alternate link (subscription required).
  • Fiévé, Nicolas; Waley, Paul (2003). Japanese Capitals in Historical Perspective: Place, Power and Memory in Kyoto, Edo and Tokyo. Routledge. ISBN 0-4154-0581-5.
  • Large, Stephen S. (1992). Emperor Hirohito and Shōwa Japan: A Political Biography. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-585-44734-9. OCLC 52419479.
  • Kawamura, Noriko (January 27, 2016). Emperor Hirohito and the Pacific War. Seattle. ISBN 978-0-295-80631-0. OCLC 922925863.
  • Pye, Lucian W.; Keene, Donald (2002). "Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912". Foreign Affairs. 81 (5): 217. doi:10.2307/20033332. ISSN 0015-7120.
  • Roth, Andrew (March 15, 2007). Dilemma in Japan. Roth Press. ISBN 978-1-4067-6311-9.
  • Screech, Timon (2006). Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822. London: RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 0-7007-1720-X; ISBN 978-0-7007-1720-0.
  • Shillony, Ben-Ami (2008). The Emperors of Modern Japan. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-474-4225-7. OCLC 592756372.
  • Takemae, Eiji (2002). Inside GHQ: The Allied Occupation of Japan and its Legacy. Translated by Ricketts, Robert; Swann, Sebastian. New York: Continuum. ISBN 0826462472. OCLC 45583413.
  • Titsingh, Isaac (1834). Nihon Ōdai Ichiran Annales des empereurs du Japon pp. 411–412, Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Emperors of Japan.
 
Wikisource has the text of the 1920 Encyclopedia Americana article Mikado.
  • Emperor of Japan - World History Encyclopedia
  • List of the Emperors, accompanied with the regents and shoguns during their reign and a genealogical tree of the imperial family
  • The Emperor of Japan, explanation of the title of Emperor in the context of western terminology
  • Japan opens imperial tombs for research
  • Emperor of Japan's New Year Address 2017 (YouTube)

July 08, 2023
emperor, japan, japanese, emperor, tennō, redirect, here, butterfly, sasakia, charonda, other, uses, tenno, disambiguation, list, list, emperors, japan, figurehead, monarch, head, imperial, house, japan, under, constitution, japan, defined, symbol, japanese, s. Japanese Emperor and Tennō redirect here For the butterfly see Sasakia charonda For other uses see Tenno disambiguation For a list see List of emperors of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the figurehead monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan Under the Constitution of Japan he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people and his position is derived from the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power 2 Imperial Household Law governs the line of imperial succession The emperor is immune from prosecution by the Supreme Court of Japan 3 He is also the head of the Shinto religion In Japanese the emperor is called Tennō 天皇 pronounced tennoꜜː literally Emperor of heaven or Heavenly Sovereign 4 The Japanese Shinto religion holds him to be the direct descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu Emperor of Japan天皇ImperialImperial Standard of the EmperorIncumbentNaruhitosince 1 May 2019DetailsStyleHis Majesty 1 Heir presumptiveFumihitoFirst monarchEmperor Jimmu mythical FormationFebruary 11 660 BC 2682 years ago mythical note 1 ResidenceTokyo Imperial Palace official residence Websitewww kunaicho go jpThe emperor is also the head of all national Japanese orders decorations medals and awards In English the use of the term Mikado 帝 御門 for the emperor was once common but is now considered obsolete 5 The Imperial House of Japan known by their name the Yamato Dynasty is amongst the oldest in the world with its historical origins in the late Kofun period of the 3rd 6th centuries AD According to the mythological accounts of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki Japan was founded in 660 BC by Emperor Jimmu 6 7 The role of the emperor of Japan has historically alternated between a largely ceremonial symbolic role and that of an actual imperial ruler Since the establishment of the first shogunate in 1192 the emperors of Japan have rarely taken on a role as supreme battlefield commander unlike many Western monarchs Japanese emperors have nearly always been controlled by external political forces to varying degrees For example between 1192 and 1867 the shōguns or their shikken regents in Kamakura 1203 1333 were the de facto rulers of Japan although they were nominally appointed by the emperor After the Meiji Restoration in 1867 the emperor was the embodiment of all sovereign power in the realm as enshrined in the Meiji Constitution of 1889 Since the enactment of the 1947 constitution the role of emperor has been relegated to that of a ceremonial head of state without even nominal political powers Since the mid nineteenth century the Imperial Palace has been called Kyujō 宮城 later Kōkyo 皇居 and is located on the former site of Edo Castle in the heart of Tokyo the current capital of Japan Earlier emperors resided in Kyoto the ancient capital for nearly eleven centuries The Emperor s Birthday currently 23 February is a national holiday Naruhito is the current emperor of Japan He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne upon the abdication of his father Emperor Akihito on 1 May 2019 Contents 1 Constitutional role 2 History 2 1 Origin 7th 8th centuries AD 2 2 Disputes and Instability 10th century 2 3 Factional control 530s 1867 and Shōguns 1192 1867 2 4 Kenmu Restoration 1333 1336 2 5 Meiji Restoration 1868 2 6 World War II 1939 1945 2 7 Contemporary 1978 present 2 7 1 Current constitution 2 8 Realm and territories 2 9 Education 3 Reference and naming 3 1 Origin of the title 4 Marriage traditions 5 Three Sacred Treasures 6 Succession 6 1 Current status 7 Burial traditions 8 Wealth 9 See also 10 References 10 1 Informational notes 10 2 Citations 10 3 General and cited references 11 External linksConstitutional role EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed March 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Unlike many constitutional monarchs the emperor is not even the nominal chief executive Most constitutional monarchies formally vest executive power in the monarch but the monarch is bound by convention to act on the advice of the cabinet or required to exercise his powers through the ministers In contrast Article 65 of the Constitution of Japan explicitly vests executive power in the cabinet of which the prime minister is the leader The emperor is also not the commander in chief of the Japan Self Defense Forces The Japan Self Defense Forces Act of 1954 explicitly vests this role with the prime minister The emperor s powers are limited only to important ceremonial functions Article 4 of the Constitution stipulates that the Emperor shall perform only such acts in matters of state as are provided for in the Constitution and he shall not have powers related to government He is not allowed to make political statements 8 It also stipulates that the advice and approval of the Cabinet shall be required for all acts of the Emperor in matters of state Article 3 Article 4 also states that these duties can be delegated by the Emperor as provided for by law While the emperor formally appoints the prime minister to office Article 6 of the Constitution requires him to appoint the candidate as designated by the Diet without giving the emperor the right to decline appointment Article 6 of the Constitution delegates to the emperor the following ceremonial roles Appointment of the Prime Minister as designated by the Diet Appointment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as designated by the Cabinet The emperor s other duties are laid down in Article 7 of the Constitution where it is stated that the Emperor with the advice and approval of the Cabinet shall perform the following acts in matters of state on behalf of the people Promulgation of amendments of the constitution laws cabinet orders and treaties Convocation of the Diet Dissolution of the House of Representatives Proclamation of general election of members of the Diet Attestation of the appointment and dismissal of Ministers of State and other officials as provided for by law and of full powers and credentials of Ambassadors and Ministers Attestation of general and special amnesty commutation of punishment reprieve and restoration of rights Awarding of honors Attestation of instruments of ratification and other diplomatic documents as provided for by law Receiving foreign ambassadors and ministers Performance of ceremonial functions In practice all of these duties are exercised only in accordance with the binding instructions of the Cabinet Regular ceremonies of the emperor with a constitutional basis are the Imperial Investitures Shinninshiki in the Tokyo Imperial Palace and the Speech from the Throne ceremony in the House of Councillors in the National Diet Building The latter ceremony opens ordinary and extra sessions of the Diet Ordinary sessions are opened each January and also after new elections to the House of Representatives Extra sessions usually convene in the autumn and are opened then 9 non primary source needed History EditAlthough the emperor has been a symbol of continuity with the past the degree of power exercised by the emperor has varied considerably throughout Japanese history Origin 7th 8th centuries AD Edit See also List of emperors of Japan In the early 7th century the emperor had begun to be called the Son of Heaven 天子 tenshi or 天子様 tenshi sama 10 The title of emperor was borrowed from China being derived from Chinese characters and was retroactively applied to the legendary Japanese rulers who reigned before the 7th 8th centuries AD 11 According to the traditional account of the Nihon Shoki Japan was founded by Emperor Jimmu 2682 years ago However most modern scholars agree to regard Jimmu and the nine first emperors as mythical 12 Modern historians generally believe that the emperors up to Suinin are largely legendary as there is insufficient material available for verification and study of their lives Emperor Sujin 148 30 BC is the first emperor with a direct possibility of existence according to historians but he is referred to as legendary due to a lack of information 13 better source needed The emperors from Emperor Keiko to Emperor Ingyo 376 453 AD are considered as perhaps factual Emperor Ankō 401 456 traditionally the 20th emperor is the earliest generally agreed upon historical ruler of all or a part of Japan 14 As one strong argument the reign of Emperor Kinmei c 509 571 AD the 29th emperor is the first for whom contemporary historiography is able to assign verifiable dates 15 16 Archaeological information about the earliest historical rulers of Japan may be contained in the ancient tombs known as kofun constructed between the early 3rd century and the early 7th century AD However since the Meiji period the Imperial Household Agency has refused to open the kofun to the public or to archaeologists citing their desire not to disturb the spirits of the past emperors Kofun period artefacts were also increasingly crucial in Japan as the Meiji government used them to reinforce their authority 17 In 2016 the Imperial Household Agency reversed its position and decided to allow researchers to enter some of the kofun with limited time and way Disputes and Instability 10th century Edit This section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed March 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Emperor Go Daigo The growth of the samurai class from the 10th century gradually weakened the power of the imperial family over the realm leading to a time of instability Emperors are known to have come into conflict with the reigning shogun from time to time Some instances such as Emperor Go Toba s 1221 rebellion against the Kamakura shogunate and the 1336 Kenmu Restoration under Emperor Go Daigo show the power struggle between the Imperial Court in Kyoto and the military governments of Japan Factional control 530s 1867 and Shōguns 1192 1867 Edit Main article Shogun There have been six non imperial families who have controlled Japanese emperors the Soga 530s 645 the Fujiwara 850s 1070 the Taira 1159 1180s the Minamoto and Kamakura Bakufu 1192 1333 the Ashikaga 1336 1565 and the Tokugawa 1603 1867 However every shogun from the Minamoto Ashikaga and Tokugawa families had to be officially recognized by the emperors who were still the source of sovereignty although they could not exercise their powers independently from the shogunate During the major part of 1192 to 1867 political sovereignty of the state was exercised by the shōguns or their shikken regents 1203 1333 whose authority was conferred by Imperial warrant When Portuguese explorers first came into contact with the Japanese see Nanban period they described Japanese conditions in analogy likening the emperor with great symbolic authority but little political power to the pope and the shōgun to secular European rulers e g the Holy Roman emperor In keeping with the analogy they even used the term emperor in reference to the shōguns and their regents e g in the case of Toyotomi Hideyoshi whom missionaries called Emperor Taico sama from Taikō and the honorific sama A Dutch embassy report used similar terminology in 1691 18 Empress Go Sakuramachi was the last ruling empress of Japan and reigned from 1762 to 1771 19 During the Sakoku period of 1603 to 1868 there was very limited trade between Japan and foreigners The Dutch were the only westerners who had limited access to Japan 18 Kenmu Restoration 1333 1336 Edit Main article Kenmu Restoration Emperor Go Daigo succeeded in 1333 to get back the direct authority directly to the emperor after overthrowing the Kamakura shogunate with the help of Ashikaga Takauji a defected Kamakura general The short three year period during which the power was directly in the hand of the emperor is called the Kenmu Restoration The direct ruling of the emperor proved however inefficient and ultimately failed with Takauji grabbing political power for himself Meiji Restoration 1868 Edit Main article Meiji Restoration The first arrival of Emperor Meiji to Edo 1868 In July 1853 Commodore Perry s Black Ships of the US Navy made their first visit to Edo Bay Japan lacked the military and industrial power to prevent it 20 21 Unequal treaties coerced and took advantage of Japan 20 21 Consequently Japan was forcibly opened to foreign trade and the shogunate proved incapable of hindering the barbarian interlopers Emperor Kōmei began to assert himself politically By the early 1860s the relationship between the Imperial Court and the shogunate was changing radically Disaffected domains and rōnin began to rally to the call of sonnō jōi revere the emperor expel the barbarians The domains of Satsuma and Chōshu historic enemies of the Tokugawa used this turmoil to unite their forces and won an important military victory outside of Kyoto against Tokugawa forces citation needed On November 9 1867 the Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu formally stepped down to restore Emperor Meiji to nominal full power 22 The Meiji Constitution was adopted on February 11 1889 23 The emperor of Japan became an active ruler with considerable political power over foreign policy and diplomacy which was shared with an elected Imperial Diet 23 The Japanese subjects gained many rights and duties The constitution described the emperor in Article 4 as the head of the Empire combining in Himself the rights of sovereignty and he exercises them according to the provisions of the present Constitution His rights included to sanction and promulgate laws to execute them and to exercise supreme command of the Army and the Navy The liaison conference created in 1893 also made the emperor the leader of the Imperial General Headquarters World War II 1939 1945 Edit Showa Hirohito reigned during World War Two and afterwards Emperor Shōwa known by his personal name as Hirohito in the West was in power during World War II he controlled both the sovereign of the state and the imperial forces 24 The role of the emperor as head of the State Shinto religion was exploited during the war creating an Imperial cult that led to kamikaze bombers and other manifestations of fanaticism This in turn led to the requirement in the Potsdam Declaration for the elimination for all time of the authority and influence of those who have deceived and misled the people of Japan into embarking on world conquest 25 In State Shinto the emperor was believed to be an arahitogami 現人神 manifest kami or incarnation of a deity 26 Following Japan s surrender the Allies issued the Shinto Directive separating church and state within Japan In 1946 Hirohito was forced to proclaim the Humanity Declaration but the declaration excludes the word arahitogami 現人神 including the unusual word akitsumikami 現御神 living god instead As such some experts doubt whether his divinity was renounced 27 Jean Herbert said it would be inadmissible to deny his divine origin 27 Hirohito was excluded from the postwar Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal Scholars dispute the power he had and the role he played during WWII 24 Hirohito s reign from 1926 until his death in 1989 makes him the longest lived and longest reigning historical Japanese emperor and one of the longest reigning monarchs in the world Contemporary 1978 present Edit The Emperor of Japan has never visited Yasukuni Shrine since 1978 28 Hirohito maintained an official boycott of Yasukuni Shrine after it was revealed to him that Class A war criminals had secretly been enshrined The boycott was continued by his successors Akihito and Naruhito 29 By 1979 Emperor Shōwa was the only monarch in the world with the monarchical title emperor Emperor Shōwa was the longest reigning historical monarch in Japanese s history and the world s longest reigning monarch until surpassed by King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand in July 2008 30 According to journalist Makoto Inoue of The Nikkei Emperor Emeritus Akihito wanted to be closer to the people rather than be treated like a god or robot 31 Inoue believes that during his reign he transformed the symbolic role of emperor into a human being 31 In March 2019 the Mainichi reported 87 thought Akihito fulfilled his role as symbol of the state 31 On April 30 2019 Emperor Akihito abdicated due to health issues 32 The previous time abdication occurred was Emperor Kōkaku in 1817 Naruhito ascended on May 1 2019 referred to as Kinjō Tennō Current constitution Edit In 1947 the post war Constitution of Japan 日本国憲法 Nihonkoku Kenpō became law when it received the emperor s assent on 3 November 1946 33 It provides for a parliamentary system of government and guarantees certain fundamental rights Under its terms the emperor of Japan is the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people and exercises a purely ceremonial role without the possession of sovereignty 34 It was drawn up under the Allied occupation that followed World War II and changed Japan s previous Prussian style Meiji Constitution that granted the emperor theoretically unlimited powers 35 The liberal constitution was inspired by several European states 36 Currently it is a rigid document and the oldest unamended constitution 37 Realm and territories Edit Map of the Empire of Japan in 1942 Current realm of Japan Historically territorial designations are not a requirement for the position of Tennō emperor Rather it is the emperor s symbolic and religious power of authority 38 Since the Kamakura shogunate the emperor held de jure ownership of the realm Throughout most of medieval Japan the shogun s legitimate authority was based on being appointed and receiving the power from the emperor even though the shogun was the de facto ruler 39 40 The emperor was considered a direct descendant of Amaterasu and of utmost importance in the Shinto religion and sentimental traditions 41 Thus no shogun tried to usurp the emperor instead they tried to keep the emperor under control and away from politics 42 However the emperor still had the power to control time via the Japanese Nengō which names eras on calendars after emperors 43 Thus even if he has followers only in one province as was the case sometimes with the southern and northern courts citation needed During the Kofun period the first central government of the unified state was Yamato in the Kinai region of central Japan 44 The territory of Japan has changed throughout history Its largest extent was the Empire of Japan In 1938 it was 1 984 000 km2 800 000 sq mi 45 The maximum extent including the home islands and the Japanese colonial empire was 8 510 000 km2 3 300 000 sq mi in 1942 46 After its defeat in World War II the empire was dismantled The contemporary territories include the Japanese archipelago and these areas Regardless of territorial changes the emperor remains the formal head of state of Japan During most of history de facto power was with shoguns or prime ministers The emperor was more like a revered embodiment of divine harmony than the head of an actual governing administration citation needed In Japan it was more effective for ambitious daimyo feudal lords to hold actual power as such positions were not inherently contradictory to the emperor s position citation needed The shoguns and prime ministers derived their legitimacy from the emperor citation needed The parliamentary government continues a similar coexistence with the emperor citation needed The first recorded instance of the name Nihon 日本 was between 665 and 703 during the Asuka period 47 This was several centuries after the start of the current imperial line 48 The various names of Japan do not affect the status of the emperor as head of state Education Edit The emperors traditionally had an education officer In recent times Emperor Taishō had Count Nogi Maresuke Emperor Shōwa had Marshal Admiral Marquis Tōgō Heihachirō and Emperor Akihito had Elizabeth Gray Vining as well as Shinzō Koizumi as their tutors 49 Emperors including his family had to get an education at Gakushuin University by the Meiji Constitution 50 Reference and naming EditThe Japanese language has two words equivalent to the English word emperor tennō 天皇 heavenly sovereign which refers exclusively to the emperor of Japan and kōtei 皇帝 which primarily identifies non Japanese emperors Sumeramikoto the imperial person was also used in Old Japanese Emperors used the term tennō up until the Middle Ages then following a period of disuse again from the 19th century 51 The weakened power of the emperors led to the title tennō not being used from 1200 to 1840 during this time living emperors were called shujō 主上 and deceased ones were called in 院 52 53 Other titles that were recorded to be in use were kō 皇 tei 帝 ō 王 all meaning prince or emperor and tenshi 天子 or child of heaven 54 In English the term mikado 御門 or 帝 literally meaning the honorable gate i e the gate of the imperial palace which indicates the person who lives in and possesses the palace confer Sublime Porte an old term for the Ottoman government was once used as in The Mikado a 19th century operetta but this term is now obsolete 5 Japanese emperors take on a regnal name which is the common and polite way to refer to the emperor as a person during their reign Japanese regnal names are more precisely names for a period of time that begins with a historical event such as the enthronement of an emperor Since Emperor Meiji it has been customary to have one era per emperor and to rename each emperor after his death using the name of the era over which he presided Before Emperor Meiji the names of the eras were changed more frequently and the posthumous names of the emperors were chosen differently citation needed source source source source source source source source source source source source track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track Emperor Akihito giving a New Year s address to the people in 2010 Hirohito was never referred to by his name in Japan He was given the posthumous name Shōwa Tennō after his death which is the only name that Japanese speakers currently use when referring to him 55 The current emperor on the throne is typically referred to as Tennō Heika 天皇陛下 His Imperial Majesty the Emperor Kinjō Heika 今上陛下 His Current Majesty or simply Tennō when speaking Japanese Emperor Akihito received the title Daijō Tennō 太上天皇 Emperor Emeritus often shortened to Jōkō 上皇 upon his abdication on 30 April 2019 and is expected to be renamed Heisei Tennō 平成天皇 after his death and will then be referred to exclusively by that name in Japanese Origin of the title Edit See also Okimi Originally the ruler of Japan was known as either 大和大王 大君 Yamato ōkimi Grand King of Yamato 倭王 倭国王 Wa ō Wakoku ō King of Wa used externally or 治天下大王 Ame no shita shiroshimesu ōkimi or Sumera no mikoto Grand King who rules all under heaven used internally in Japanese and Chinese sources before the 7th century The oldest diplomatic reference to the title 天子 Tenshi Emperor or Son of Heaven can be found in a diplomatic document sent from Emperor Suiko to the Sui Dynasty of China in 607 In this document Empress Suiko introduced herself to Emperor Yang of Sui as 日出處天子 Hi izurutokoro no tenshi meaning Emperor of the land where the sun rises 56 57 The oldest documented use of the title 天皇 Tennō heavenly emperor appears on a wooden slat or mokkan that was unearthed in Asuka mura Nara Prefecture in 1998 and dated back to the reign of Emperor Tenmu and Empress Jitō in the 7th century 58 59 Marriage traditions Edit Masako Empress Consort of Japan since 2019 This section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed January 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Throughout history Japanese emperors and noblemen appointed a spouse to the position of chief wife rather than just keeping a harem or an assortment of female attendants The Japanese imperial dynasty consistently practiced official polygamy until the Taishō period 1912 1926 Besides his empress the emperor could take and nearly always took several secondary consorts concubines of various hierarchical degrees Concubines were allowed also to other dynasts Shinnōke Ōke After a decree by Emperor Ichijō r 986 1011 some emperors even had two empresses simultaneously identified by the separate titles kōgō and chugu With the help of all this polygamy the imperial clan could produce more offspring Sons by secondary consorts were usually recognized as imperial princes too and such a son could be recognized as heir to the throne if the empress did not give birth to an heir Of the eight reigning empresses of Japan none married or gave birth after ascending the throne Some of them being widows had produced children before their reigns In the succession children of the empress were preferred over sons of secondary consorts Thus it was significant which quarters had preferential opportunities in providing chief wives to imperial princes i e supplying future empresses Apparently the oldest tradition of official marriages within the imperial dynasty involved marriages between dynasty members even between half siblings or between uncle and niece Such marriages were deemed to preserve better the imperial blood or they aimed at producing children symbolic of a reconciliation between two branches of the imperial dynasty Daughters of other families remained concubines until Emperor Shōmu 701 706 in what was specifically reported as the first elevation of its kind elevated his Fujiwara consort Empress Kōmyō to chief wife Japanese monarchs have been as much as others elsewhere dependent on making alliances with powerful chiefs and with other monarchs Many such alliances were sealed by marriages However in Japan such marriages soon became incorporated as elements of tradition which controlled the marriages of later generations though the original practical alliance had lost its real meaning A repeated pattern saw an imperial son in law under the influence of his powerful non imperial father in law Beginning from the 7th and 8th centuries emperors primarily took women of the Fujiwara clan as their highest ranking wives the most probable mothers of future monarchs This was cloaked as a tradition of marriage between heirs of two kami Shinto deities descendants of Amaterasu with descendants of the family kami of the Fujiwara Originally the Fujiwara descended from relatively minor nobility thus their kami is an unremarkable one in the Japanese myth world To produce imperial children heirs of the nation with two side descent from the two kami was regarded as desirable or at least it suited powerful Fujiwara lords who thus received preference in the imperial marriage market The reality behind such marriages was an alliance between an imperial prince and a Fujiwara lord his father in law or grandfather the latter with his resources supporting the prince to the throne and most often controlling the government These arrangements established the tradition of regents Sesshō and Kampaku with these positions held only by a Fujiwara sekke lord Earlier the emperors had married women from families of the government holding Soga lords and women of the imperial clan i e various degree cousins and often even their own half sisters Several imperial figures of the 5th and 6th centuries such as Prince Shōtoku 574 622 were children of half sibling couples Such marriages often served as alliance or succession devices the Soga lord ensured his domination of a prince who would be put on the throne as a puppet or a prince ensured the combination of two imperial descents to strengthen his own and his children s claim to the throne Marriages were also a means to seal a reconciliation between two imperial branches After a couple of centuries emperors could no longer take anyone from outside such families as a primary wife no matter what the potential expediency of such a marriage and the power or wealth offered by such a match Only very rarely did a prince ascend the throne whose mother was not descended from the approved families The earlier necessity and expediency had mutated into a strict tradition that did not allow for current expediency or necessity but only prescribed the daughters of a restricted circle of families as eligible brides because they had produced eligible brides for centuries Tradition had become more forceful than law Fujiwara women often became empresses while concubines came from less exalted noble families In the last thousand years sons of an imperial male and a Fujiwara woman have been preferred in the succession The five Fujiwara families Ichijō Kujō Nijō Konoe and Takatsukasa functioned as the primary source of imperial brides from the 8th century to the 19th century even more often than daughters of the imperial clan itself Fujiwara daughters were thus the usual empresses and mothers of emperors The Meiji era Imperial House Law of 1889 made this restriction on brides for the emperor and crown prince explicit A clause stipulated that daughters of Sekke the five main branches of the higher Fujiwara and daughters of the imperial clan itself were primarily acceptable brides The law was repealed in the aftermath of World War II In 1959 the future Emperor Akihito became the first crown prince for over a thousand years to marry a consort from outside the previously eligible circle Three Sacred Treasures Edit Conjectural images of the Imperial Regalia of Japan Main article Three Sacred Treasures In Japanese mythology the sacred treasures were bestowed on Ninigi no Mikoto the grandson of the goddess Amaterasu at the advent of Tenson kōrin Amaterasu sent him to pacify Japan by bringing the three celestial gifts that are used by the emperor 60 The account of Ninigi being sent to earth appears in the Nihon Shoki The Three Sacred Treasures were inherited by successive Japanese emperors which are the same as or similar to the sacred treasures in mythology These three gifts signify that the emperor is the descendant of Amaterasu The three sacred treasures are 61 Yata no Kagami kept at the Ise Grand Shrine with a replica at the central shrine of the Three Palace Sanctuaries 61 Yasakani no Magatama kept at the central shrine of the Three Palace Sanctuaries 61 Kusanagi sword kept at the Atsuta Shrine 61 During the succession rite senso 践祚 possessing the jewel Yasakani no Magatama the sword Kusanagi and the mirror Yata no Kagami are a testament of the legitimate serving emperor 62 Succession EditSee also Enthronement of the Japanese emperor Enthronement ceremony of Emperor Naruhito with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe 22 October 2019 The origins of the Japanese imperial dynasty are obscure and it bases its position on the claim that it has reigned since time immemorial There are no records of any emperor who was not said to have been a descendant of other yet earlier emperor 万世一系 bansei ikkei There is suspicion that Emperor Keitai c AD 500 may have been an unrelated outsider though the sources Kojiki Nihon Shoki state that he was a male line descendant of Emperor Ōjin However his descendants including his successors were according to records descended from at least one and probably several imperial princesses of the older lineage Millennia ago the Japanese imperial family developed its own peculiar system of hereditary succession It has been non primogenitural more or less agnatic based mostly on rotation Today Japan uses strict agnatic primogeniture which was adopted from Prussia by which Japan was greatly influenced in the 1870s The controlling principles and their interaction were apparently very complex and sophisticated leading to even idiosyncratic outcomes Some chief principles apparent in the succession have been Women were allowed to succeed but there existed no known children of theirs whose father did not also happen to be an agnate of the imperial house thus there is neither a precedent that a child of an imperial woman with a non imperial man could inherit nor a precedent forbidding it for children of empresses However female accession was clearly much more rare than male Adoption was possible and a much used way to increase the number of succession entitled heirs however the adopted child had to be a child of another member agnate of the imperial house Abdication was used very often and in fact occurred more often than death on the throne In those days the emperor s chief task was priestly or godly containing so many repetitive rituals that it was deemed that after a service of around ten years the incumbent deserved pampered retirement as an honored former emperor Primogeniture was not used rather in the early days the imperial house practiced something resembling a system of rotation Very often a brother or sister followed the elder sibling even in the case of the predecessor leaving children The turn of the next generation came more often after several individuals of the senior generation Rotation went often between two or more of the branches of the imperial house thus more or less distant cousins succeeded each other Emperor Go Saga even decreed an official alternation between heirs of his two sons which system continued for a couple of centuries leading finally to shogun induced or utilized strife between these two branches the southern and northern emperors Towards the end the alternates were very distant cousins counted in degrees of male descent but all that time intermarriages occurred within the imperial house thus they were close cousins if female ties are counted During the past five hundred years however probably because of Confucian influence inheritance by sons but not always or even most often the eldest son has been the norm Historically the succession to the Chrysanthemum Throne has always passed to descendants in male line from the imperial lineage Generally they have been males though over the reign of one hundred monarchs there have been nine women one pre historical and eight historical as emperor on eleven occasions Over a thousand years ago a tradition started that an emperor should ascend relatively young A dynast who had passed his toddler years was regarded suitable and old enough Reaching the age of legal majority was not a requirement Thus a multitude of Japanese emperors have ascended as children as young as 6 or 8 years old The high priestly duties were deemed possible for a walking child A reign of around 10 years was regarded a sufficient service Being a child was apparently a fine property to better endure tedious duties and to tolerate subjugation to political power brokers as well as sometimes to cloak the truly powerful members of the imperial dynasty Almost all Japanese empresses and dozens of emperors abdicated and lived the rest of their lives in pampered retirement wielding influence behind the scenes Several emperors abdicated to their entitled retirement while still in their teens These traditions show in Japanese folklore theater literature and other forms of culture where the emperor is usually described or depicted as an adolescent Before the Meiji Restoration Japan had eleven reigns of reigning empresses all of them daughters of the male line of the Imperial House None ascended purely as a wife or as a widow of an emperor Imperial daughters and granddaughters however usually ascended the throne as a sort of a stop gap measure if a suitable male was not available or some imperial branches were in rivalry so that a compromise was needed Over half of Japanese empresses and many emperors abdicated once a suitable male descendant was considered to be old enough to rule just past toddlerhood in some cases Four empresses Empress Suiko Empress Kōgyoku also Empress Saimei and Empress Jitō as well as the legendary Empress Jingu were widows of deceased emperors and princesses of the blood imperial in their own right One Empress Genmei was the widow of a crown prince and a princess of the blood imperial The other four Empress Genshō Empress Kōken also Empress Shōtoku Empress Meishō and Empress Go Sakuramachi were unwed daughters of previous emperors None of these empresses married or gave birth after ascending the throne Article 2 of the Meiji Constitution the Constitution of the Empire of Japan stated The Imperial Throne shall be succeeded to by imperial male descendants according to the provisions of the Imperial House Law The 1889 Imperial Household Law fixed the succession on male descendants of the imperial line and specifically excluded female descendants from the succession In the event of a complete failure of the main line the throne would pass to the nearest collateral branch again in the male line If the empress did not give birth to an heir the emperor could take a concubine and the son he had by that concubine would be recognized as heir to the throne This law which was promulgated on the same day as the Meiji Constitution enjoyed co equal status with that constitution Article 2 of the Constitution of Japan promulgated in 1947 by influence of the U S occupation administration provides that The Imperial Throne shall be dynastic and succeeded to in accordance with the Imperial Household Law passed by the Diet The Imperial Household Law of 1947 enacted by the ninety second and last session of the Imperial Diet retained the exclusion on female dynasts found in the 1889 law The government of Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru hastily cobbled together the legislation to bring the Imperial Household in compliance with the American written Constitution of Japan that went into effect in May 1947 In an effort to control the size of the imperial family the law stipulates that only legitimate male descendants in the male line can be dynasts that imperial princesses lose their status as imperial family members if they marry outside the imperial family 63 and that the emperor and other members of the Imperial Family may not adopt children It also prevented branches other than the branch descending from Taishō from being imperial princes any longer Current status Edit Main article Line of succession to the Japanese throne Succession is now regulated by laws passed by the National Diet The current law excludes women from the succession A change to this law had been considered until Princess Kiko gave birth to Prince Hisahito Until the birth of Hisahito son of Prince Akishino on September 6 2006 there was a potential succession problem since Prince Akishino was the only male child to be born into the imperial family since 1965 Following the birth of Princess Aiko there was public debate about amending the current Imperial Household Law to allow women to succeed to the throne In January 2005 Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi appointed a special panel composed of judges university professors and civil servants to study changes to the Imperial Household Law and to make recommendations to the government The panel dealing with the succession issue recommended on October 25 2005 amending the law to allow females of the male line of imperial descent to ascend the Japanese throne On January 20 2006 Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi devoted part of his annual keynote speech to the controversy pledging to submit a bill allowing women to ascend the throne to ensure that the succession continues in the future in a stable manner Shortly after the announcement that Princess Kiko was pregnant with her third child Koizumi suspended such plans Her son Prince Hisahito is the third in line to the throne under the current law of succession On January 3 2007 Prime Minister Shinzō Abe announced that he would drop the proposal to alter the Imperial Household Law 64 Another proposed plan is to allow unmarried men from the abolished collateral branches of the imperial family to rejoin through adoption or marriage This would be an emergency measure to ensure stable succession It does not revise the Imperial Household Law 65 This does not restore the royalty of the 11 collateral branches of the Imperial House that were abolished in October 1947 Crown Prince Akishino was formally declared first in line to the chrysanthemum throne on November 8 2020 66 Burial traditions Edit Entrance of the Musashi Imperial Graveyard in Hachiōji Tokyo During the Kofun period so called archaic funerals were held for the dead emperors but only the funerary rites from the end of the period which the chronicles describe in more detail are known They were centered around the rite of the mogari 殯 a provisional depository between death and permanent burial 67 Empress Jitō was the first Japanese imperial personage to be cremated in 703 After that with a few exceptions all emperors were cremated up to the Edo period 67 For the next 350 years in ground burial became the favoured funeral custom Until 1912 the emperors were usually buried in Kyoto 68 From Emperor Taishō onward the emperors have been buried at the Musashi Imperial Graveyard in Tokyo In 2013 the Imperial Household Agency announced that Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko would be cremated after they die 69 Wealth Edit Tokyo Imperial Palace Until the end of World War II the Japanese monarchy was thought to be among the wealthiest in the world 70 Before 1911 no distinction was made between the imperial crown estates and the emperor s personal properties which were considerable The Imperial Property Law which came into effect in January 1911 established two categories of imperial properties the hereditary or crown estates and the personal ordinary properties of the imperial family The Imperial Household Minister was given the responsibility for observing any judicial proceedings concerning imperial holdings Under the terms of the law imperial properties were only taxable in cases where no conflict with the Imperial House Law existed however crown estates could only be used for public or imperially sanctioned undertakings Personal properties of certain members of the imperial family in addition to properties held for imperial family members who were minors were exempted from taxation Those family members included the Empress Dowager the Empress the Crown Prince and Crown Princess the Imperial Grandson and the consort of the Imperial Grandson 71 As a result of the poor economic conditions in Japan 289 259 25 acres of crown lands about 26 of the total landholdings were either sold or transferred to government and private sector interests in 1921 In 1930 the Nagoya Detached Palace Nagoya Castle was donated to the city of Nagoya with six other imperial villas being either sold or donated at the same time 71 In 1939 Nijō Castle the former Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa shoguns and an imperial palace since the Meiji Restoration was likewise donated to the city of Kyoto At the end of 1935 according to official government figures the Imperial Court owned roughly 3 111 965 acres of landed estates the bulk of which 2 599 548 acres were the emperor s private lands with the total acreage of the crown estates amounting to some 512 161 acres those landholdings comprised palace complexes forest and farm lands and other residential and commercial properties The total value of the imperial properties was then estimated at 650 million or roughly US 195 million at prevailing exchange rates note 2 71 72 This was in addition to the emperor s personal fortune which amounted to hundreds of millions of yen and included numerous family heirlooms and furnishings purebred livestock and investments in major Japanese firms such as the Bank of Japan other major Japanese banks the Imperial Hotel and Nippon Yusen 71 Following Japan s defeat in the Second World War all of the collateral branches of the imperial family were abolished under the Allied occupation of the country and the subsequent constitutional reforms forcing those families to sell their assets to private or government owners Staff numbers in the imperial households were slashed from a peak of roughly 6 000 to about 1 000 The imperial estates and the emperor s personal fortune then estimated at US 17 15 million or roughly US 625 million in 2017 terms were transferred to either state or private ownership excepting 6 810 acres of landholdings Since the 1947 constitutional reforms the imperial family has been supported by an official civil list sanctioned by the Japanese government The largest imperial divestments were the former imperial Kiso and Amagi forest lands in Gifu and Shizuoka prefectures grazing lands for livestock in Hokkaido and a stock farm in the Chiba region all of which were transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries Imperial property holdings have been further reduced since 1947 after several handovers to the government Today the primary imperial properties include the two imperial palaces at Tokyo and Kyoto several imperial villas and a number of imperial farms and game preserves 73 As of 2017 Akihito has an estimated net worth of US 40 million 74 The wealth and expenditures of the emperor and the imperial family have remained a subject of speculation and were largely withheld from the public until 2003 when Mori Yohei a former royal correspondent for the Mainichi Shimbun obtained access to 200 documents through a recently passed public information law Mori s findings which he published in a book revealed details of the imperial family s US 240 million civil list in 2003 values 75 Among other details the book revealed the imperial family employed a staff of over 1 000 people 76 The total cost of events related to the enthronement of Emperor Naruhito was approximately 16 6 billion yen 150 million in 2019 This is 30 higher than Emperor Emeritus Akihito s accession 1990 77 See also Edit Japan portal Monarchy portalAnti monarchism in Japan Arjan bowl Chrysanthemum taboo Controversies regarding the role of the Emperor of Japan Daijō Tennō Divine right of kings Japanese Air Force One Japanese honors system Japanese imperial family tree Japanese official state car List of emperors of Japan Reigning Emperor Sacred king State ShintoReferences EditInformational notes Edit This way of counting years is based on Japanese ancient way not necessarily match current one Roughly US 23 2 billion in 2022 in terms of relative income value Williamson Samuel H 2023 Seven Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a U S Dollar Amount 1790 to Present MeasuringWorth Retrieved February 22 2023 Citations Edit Activities of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress The Imperial Household Agency Retrieved February 10 2023 The Constitution of Japan Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet Retrieved July 8 2021 最高裁判所判例集 事件番号 平成1 行ツ 126 Supreme Court of Japan Retrieved August 10 2020 Tennō Encyclopaedia Britannica Retrieved August 12 2021 a b Kanʼichi Asakawa The early institutional life of Japan a study in the reform of 645 A D Tokyo Shueisha 1903 p 25 We purposely avoid in spite of its wide usage in foreign literature the misleading term Mikado If it be not for the natural curiosity of the races which always seeks something novel and loves to call foreign things by foreign names it is hard to understand why this obsolete and ambiguous word should so sedulously be retained It originally meant not only the Sovereign but also his house the court and even the State and its use in historical writings causes many difficulties which it is unnecessary to discuss here in detail The native Japanese employ the term neither in speech nor in writing It might as well be dismissed with great advantage from sober literature as it has been for the official documents Kinsley David 1989 The goddesses mirror visions of the divine from East and West Albany State University of New York Press pp 80 90 ISBN 9780887068355 Amaterasu World History Encyclopedia Retrieved October 21 2017 Japan s new Emperor Naruhito pledges unity BBC News May 1 2019 Retrieved May 2 2019 The formal investiture of the Prime Minister in 2010 the opening of the ordinary session of the Diet in January 2012 and the opening of an extra session of the Diet in the autumn of 2011 The 120th anniversary of the Diet was commemorarated with a special ceremony in the House of Councillors in November 2010 when also the Empress and the Prince and Princess Akishino were present Boscaro Adriana Gatti Franco Raveri Massimo eds 2003 Rethinking Japan Social Sciences Ideology and Thought Vol II Japan Library p 300 ISBN 978 0 904404 79 1 Holcombe Charles January 2001 The Genesis of East Asia 221 B C A D 907 University of Hawaii Press pp 198 ISBN 978 0 8248 2465 5 Shillony Ben Ami 2008 The Emperors of Modern Japan BRILL p 15 ISBN 978 90 04 16822 0 Yoshida Reiji March 27 2007 Life in the Cloudy Imperial Fishbowl The Japan Times Archived from the original on July 27 2020 Retrieved August 22 2013 Kelly Charles F April 27 2009 Kofun Culture Japanese Archaeology Archived from the original on October 10 2021 Retrieved October 15 2021 Titsingh pp 34 36 Brown pp 261 62 Varley pp 123 24 Hoye Timothy 1999 Japanese Politics Fixed and Floating Worlds p 78 According to legend the first Japanese emperor was Jinmu Along with the next 13 emperors Jimmu is not considered an actual historical figure Historically verifiable Emperors of Japan date from the early sixth century with Kinmei Edgington Brown Luke May 2016 The International Origins of Japanese Archaeology William Gowland and His Kofun Collection at the British Museum Ph D Norwich UK University of East Anglia OCLC 1079148109 ProQuest Dissertations amp Theses Global 2164566112 a b Conrad Schirokauer David Lurie Suzanne Gay 1978 A Brief History of Japanese Civilization p 147 ISBN 978 0495913252 Titsingh pp 411 412 a b Dower John 2010 Black Ships and the Samurai Commodore Perry and the Opening of Japan 1853 1854 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Retrieved June 15 2019 a b Takekoshi pp 285 86 Totman Conrad 1966 Political Succession in The Tokugawa Bakufu Abe Masahiro s Rise to Power 1843 1845 Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 26 102 124 doi 10 2307 2718461 JSTOR 2718461 a b Meiji Constitution 1889 Japan Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved August 21 2017 a b Kawamura Noriko 2016 Emperor Hirohito and the Pacific War Seattle ISBN 978 0 295 80631 0 OCLC 922925863 page needed Villa Brian Loring January 1976 The U S Army Unconditional Surrender and the Potsdam Declaration The SHAFR Guide Online doi 10 1163 2468 1733 shafr sim130130102 Retrieved December 9 2020 Nihon Shoki Chapter 7 a b Herbert Jean 1964 Aux sources du Japon Le Shinto Parigi Albin Michel ISBN missing page needed Explainer Why Yasukuni shrine is a controversial symbol of Japan s war legacy Reuters August 14 2021 Explainer Why Yasukuni shrine is a controversial symbol of Japan s war legacy Reuters August 14 2021 King Bhumibol s reign The New York Times May 21 1989 Archived from the original on October 22 2019 Retrieved February 23 2020 a b c Japanese emperor a state symbol with scant political power April 30 2019 Archived from the original on October 14 2021 Enjoji Kaori December 1 2017 Japan Emperor Akihito to abdicate on April 30 2019 CNN Tokyo Archived from the original on April 30 2019 Retrieved December 1 2017 Text of the Constitution and Other Important Documents National Diet Library Archived from the original on November 6 2020 Retrieved June 8 2015 Oda Hiroshi 2009 Sources of Law Japanese Law Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 acprof oso 9780199232185 001 1 ISBN 978 0 19 923218 5 Takemae 2002 p 270 Takemae 2002 p xxxix The Anomalous Life of the Japanese Constitution Nippon com August 15 2017 Archived from the original on August 11 2019 Retrieved August 11 2019 Roth 2007 103 Roth 2007 103 Shogun Encyclopaedia Britannica Retrieved November 19 2014 Roth 2007 103 Fieve amp Waley 2003 235 Fieve amp Waley 2003 235 Henshall Kenneth 2012 A History of Japan From Stone Age to Superpower London Palgrave Macmillan pp 15 16 ISBN 978 0 230 34662 8 Harrison Mark 2000 The Economics of World War II Six Great Powers in International Comparison Cambridge University Press p 3 ISBN 9780521785037 Retrieved October 2 2016 James David H November 1 2010 The Rise and Fall of the Japanese Empire Routledge ISBN 9781136925467 Archived from the original on July 6 2019 Retrieved September 11 2018 by 1942 this Empire covered about 3 285 000 square miles Fogel Joshua A April 29 2015 The Cultural Dimensions of Sino Japanese Relations Essays on the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries Routledge p 140 ISBN 978 1317457671 Nussbaum Louis Frederic et al 2005 Nihon in Japan encyclopedia p 707 p 707 at Google Books n b Louis Frederic is pseudonym of Louis Frederic Nussbaum see Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File Archived 2012 05 24 at archive today Smith Dinitia December 1 1999 Elizabeth Vining Tutor to a Future Emperor Dies at 97 Published 1999 The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved November 13 2020 皇族就学令 大正15年10月21日皇室令第8号 Royal school enrollment order October 21 1918 Imperial Ordinance No 8 National Diet Library 2019 Screech 2006 Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns Isaac Titsingh and Japan 1779 1822 p 232 n4 Charles Holcombe 2017 A History of East Asia Cambridge University Press p 159 ISBN 9781107118737 Patricia Buckley Ebrey Anne Walthall 2013 East Asia A Cultural Social and Political History Cengage Learning p 120 ISBN 9781285528670 Engelbert Kaempfer Beatrice M Bodart Bailey 1999 Kaempfer s Japan Tokugawa Culture Observed University of Hawaii Press p 88 ISBN 9780824863227 From the archives Japan s Hirohito 87 Dies After a Reign of 62 Years Los Angeles Times January 7 1989 Huffman James 2010 Japan in World History p 15 Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 979884 1 Satoshi Yabuuchi 時代背景から知る 仏像の秘密 The Nikkei October 10 2019 Ooms Herman 2009 Imperial Politics and Symbolics in Ancient Japan The Tenmu Dynasty 650 800 pp 154 156 University of Hawaii Press ISBN 978 0 8248 3235 3 Masataka Kondo ご存知ですか 3月2日は飛鳥池遺跡で 天皇 木簡が出土したと発表された日です March 2 2018 Ashkenazi Michael 2003 Ninigi no Mikoto Handbook of Japanese mythology Santa Barbara California ABC CLIO p 222 ISBN 9781576074671 a b c d Anna Jones April 27 2019 Akihito and Japan s Imperial Treasures that make a man an emperor BBC Archived from the original on March 24 2022 ご即位 立太子 成年に関する用語 宮内庁 Archived from the original on May 9 2021 Retrieved May 14 2019 Martin Alex Imperial law revisited as family shrinks Emperor ages Japan Times December 16 2011 p 3 Report Japan to drop plan to allow female monarch USA Today McLean VA Gannett The Associated Press January 3 2007 ISSN 0734 7456 Retrieved October 20 2011 Mainichi Japan October 23 2019 Report Japan lawmakers eye restoration of ex imperial members for succession The Mainichi Archived from the original on October 24 2019 Retrieved October 24 2019 Crown Prince Akishino formally declared first in line to the throne Japan Times November 8 2020 Archived from the original on November 8 2020 a b Francois Mace The Funerals of the Japanese Emperors Seidensticker Edward 1990 Tokyo Rising p 20 Emperor Empress plan to be cremated The Japan Times Retrieved November 21 2013 Legacy of Hirohito The Times May 3 1989 a b c d Japan The Imperial Court The Japan Manchoukuo Year Book The Japan Manchoukuo Year Book Co 1938 pp 50 51 Exchange and Interest Rates Japan Year Book 1938 1939 Kenkyusha Press Foreign Association of Japan Tokyo pp 332 333 Reed Christopher October 5 1971 Few personal possessions for reigning monarch The Times Akihito Net Worth 2017 How Rich Is Japanese Emperor As Parliament Passed Historic Law For His Abdication The International Business Times June 9 2017 Archived from the original on August 5 2020 Retrieved May 27 2018 British Pound to US Dollar Spot Exchange Rates for 2003 from the Bank of England PoundSterling Live Archived from the original on July 31 2020 Retrieved May 27 2018 Book lifts the lid on Emperor s high living The Daily Telegraph September 7 2003 Archived from the original on May 11 2019 Retrieved May 27 2018 Q amp A How are the imperial family s money and property managed Kyodo News May 4 2019 Archived from the original on September 27 2020 Retrieved September 27 2020 General and cited references Edit Asakawa Kan ichi 1903 The Early Institutional Life of Japan Tokyo Shueisha OCLC 4427686 Online multi formatted full text book at openlibrary org Bar On Cohen Einat 2012 12 The Forces of Homology Hirohito Emperor of Japan and the 1928 Rites of Succession History and Anthropology 23 4 425 443 doi 10 1080 02757206 2013 726990 ISSN 0275 7206 Brinkley Francis 1911 Japan Domestic History In Chisholm Hugh ed Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 15 11th ed Cambridge University Press pp 252 273 Japan s Emperor Is a Prisoner in His Own Palaces The Economist Vol 433 no 9165 October 19 2019 p 37 US edition Retrieved December 12 2020 Alternate link subscription required Fieve Nicolas Waley Paul 2003 Japanese Capitals in Historical Perspective Place Power and Memory in Kyoto Edo and Tokyo Routledge ISBN 0 4154 0581 5 Large Stephen S 1992 Emperor Hirohito and Shōwa Japan A Political Biography London Routledge ISBN 0 585 44734 9 OCLC 52419479 Kawamura Noriko January 27 2016 Emperor Hirohito and the Pacific War Seattle ISBN 978 0 295 80631 0 OCLC 922925863 Pye Lucian W Keene Donald 2002 Emperor of Japan Meiji and His World 1852 1912 Foreign Affairs 81 5 217 doi 10 2307 20033332 ISSN 0015 7120 Roth Andrew March 15 2007 Dilemma in Japan Roth Press ISBN 978 1 4067 6311 9 Screech Timon 2006 Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns Isaac Titsingh and Japan 1779 1822 London RoutledgeCurzon ISBN 0 7007 1720 X ISBN 978 0 7007 1720 0 Shillony Ben Ami 2008 The Emperors of Modern Japan Leiden Brill ISBN 978 90 474 4225 7 OCLC 592756372 Takemae Eiji 2002 Inside GHQ The Allied Occupation of Japan and its Legacy Translated by Ricketts Robert Swann Sebastian New York Continuum ISBN 0826462472 OCLC 45583413 Titsingh Isaac 1834 Nihon Ōdai Ichiran Annales des empereurs du Japon pp 411 412 Paris Royal Asiatic Society Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Emperors of Japan Wikisource has the text of the 1920 Encyclopedia Americana article Mikado Emperor of Japan World History Encyclopedia The Imperial Household Agency List of the Emperors accompanied with the regents and shoguns during their reign and a genealogical tree of the imperial family The Emperor of Japan explanation of the title of Emperor in the context of western terminology Japan opens imperial tombs for research Emperor of Japan s New Year Address 2017 YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Emperor of Japan amp oldid 1163995787, wikipedia, wiki, 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