The Imperial Household Law of 1947 (皇室典範, Kōshitsu Tenpan) is a Japanese law that governs the line of imperial succession, the membership of the imperial family, and several other matters pertaining to the administration of the Imperial Household.
The Imperial Household Law was passed during the Shōwa era on January 16, 1947, by the last session of the Imperial Diet. This law superseded the Imperial Household Law of 1889, which had enjoyed co-equal status with the Constitution of the Empire of Japan and could only be amended by the Emperor. The revised statute is subordinate to the Constitution of Japan, which went into effect on May 3, 1947. It develops Chapter 1: Article 2 of the Constitution of Japan, which states: "The Imperial Throne shall be dynastic and succeeded to in accordance with the Imperial House Law passed by the Diet".[4]
The law had the effect of dramatically restricting membership in the Imperial Family to the Emperor Hirohito's immediate family, his widowed mother, and the families of his three brothers. It abolished the collateral lines of the Imperial Family, the shinnōke and the ōke, which had traditionally been a pool of potential successors to the throne if the main imperial family failed to produce an heir. The fifty-one members of the eleven cadet branches renounced their Imperial status; and they were formally removed from the Imperial household register and became ordinary citizens on October 14, 1947.[5]
The new law retained the principle of agnatic succession enshrined in the 1889 law and Prussian-influenced constitution during the 19th century Meiji Restoration. The new law further restricted the succession to legitimate-born sons, grandsons, and male line descendants of an Emperor. Previously, an Emperor's sons and grandsons born by concubines and their male line descendants could succeed to the throne. Although Imperial chronologies include eight reigning empresses in the course of Japanese history, their successors were most often selected from amongst the males of the paternal Imperial bloodline, which is why some conservative scholars argue that the women's reigns were temporary and that male-only succession tradition must be maintained in the 21st century.[5]Empress Genmei (661–721), who was followed on the throne by her daughter, Empress Genshō (680–748), remains the sole exception to this conventional argument.
In addition, the law contained numerous mechanisms to regulate the future size of the Imperial Family, and thus the financial burden on the state.
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Imperial House Law
The chapters of the Imperial Household Law addresses the following:
The order of succession to the throne
The establishment of a regency should the Emperor be a minor or suffer from a serious ailment
The titles and styles held by the Emperor and members of the imperial family
The marriages of the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and the princes of the blood; and,
The rites for Imperial funerals, Imperial mausoleum, and the maintenance of the Imperial Family registry.
Chapter 1: Article 1 of the Imperial Household Law states: "The Imperial Throne shall be succeeded to by a male offspring in the male line belonging to the Imperial Lineage".[6] The line of succession is detailed in Article 2 as:
The eldest son of the Emperor
The eldest son of the Emperor's eldest son
Other descendants of the eldest son of the Emperor
Japanese Editorial Excerpts - Japan Policy & Politics, 29 December 2004
August 20, 2023
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The Imperial Household Law of 1947 皇室典範 Kōshitsu Tenpan is a Japanese law that governs the line of imperial succession the membership of the imperial family and several other matters pertaining to the administration of the Imperial Household In 2017 the National Diet changed the law to enable the Emperor to abdicate within three years 1 2 With this change Emperor Akihito abdicated on 30 April 2019 3 Contents 1 Passage of the law 2 Draft and intent 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksPassage of the law EditThe Imperial Household Law was passed during the Shōwa era on January 16 1947 by the last session of the Imperial Diet This law superseded the Imperial Household Law of 1889 which had enjoyed co equal status with the Constitution of the Empire of Japan and could only be amended by the Emperor The revised statute is subordinate to the Constitution of Japan which went into effect on May 3 1947 It develops Chapter 1 Article 2 of the Constitution of Japan which states The Imperial Throne shall be dynastic and succeeded to in accordance with the Imperial House Law passed by the Diet 4 Draft and intent EditThe law was drafted by the government of Shigeru Yoshida Prime Minister during the American occupation by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers the 1947 statute sought to bring the legislation governing the Imperial Household into compliance with the American written Constitution The law had the effect of dramatically restricting membership in the Imperial Family to the Emperor Hirohito s immediate family his widowed mother and the families of his three brothers It abolished the collateral lines of the Imperial Family the shinnōke and the ōke which had traditionally been a pool of potential successors to the throne if the main imperial family failed to produce an heir The fifty one members of the eleven cadet branches renounced their Imperial status and they were formally removed from the Imperial household register and became ordinary citizens on October 14 1947 5 The new law retained the principle of agnatic succession enshrined in the 1889 law and Prussian influenced constitution during the 19th century Meiji Restoration The new law further restricted the succession to legitimate born sons grandsons and male line descendants of an Emperor Previously an Emperor s sons and grandsons born by concubines and their male line descendants could succeed to the throne Although Imperial chronologies include eight reigning empresses in the course of Japanese history their successors were most often selected from amongst the males of the paternal Imperial bloodline which is why some conservative scholars argue that the women s reigns were temporary and that male only succession tradition must be maintained in the 21st century 5 Empress Genmei 661 721 who was followed on the throne by her daughter Empress Genshō 680 748 remains the sole exception to this conventional argument In addition the law contained numerous mechanisms to regulate the future size of the Imperial Family and thus the financial burden on the state Wikisource has original text related to this article Imperial House Law The chapters of the Imperial Household Law addresses the following The order of succession to the throne The establishment of a regency should the Emperor be a minor or suffer from a serious ailment The membership of the Imperial Family The composition of the Imperial Household Council The titles and styles held by the Emperor and members of the imperial family The marriages of the Emperor the Crown Prince and the princes of the blood and The rites for Imperial funerals Imperial mausoleum and the maintenance of the Imperial Family registry Chapter 1 Article 1 of the Imperial Household Law states The Imperial Throne shall be succeeded to by a male offspring in the male line belonging to the Imperial Lineage 6 The line of succession is detailed in Article 2 as The eldest son of the Emperor The eldest son of the Emperor s eldest son Other descendants of the eldest son of the Emperor The second son of the Emperor and his descendants Other descendants of the Emperor Brothers of the Emperor and their descendants Uncles of the Emperor and their descendantsMatters relating to regency and membership of the Imperial Family are managed by the Imperial Household Council as stated under this law 3 See also EditEmperor of Japan Imperial House of Japan Japanese succession debate 2019 Japanese imperial transitionReferences Edit Japan enacts law to allow 1st abdication of emperor in 200 years Japan s Lower Parliament Passes Law Allowing Its Emperor to Abdicate The Atlantic 3 June 2017 a b Panel stresses clean break once emperor steps down Nikkei Asian Review 22 April 2017 Archived from the original on 7 May 2019 Retrieved 7 May 2019 The Constitution Of Japan Archived from the original on 2013 12 14 Retrieved 2006 09 05 a b Yoshida Reiji 27 March 2007 Life in the cloudy Imperial fishbowl Japan Times Tokyo Japan Retrieved 8 January 2022 The Imperial House Law of 1947External links EditThe Constitution of Japan The Imperial Household Law of 1947 Japanese Editorial Excerpts Japan Policy amp Politics 29 December 2004 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Imperial Household Law amp oldid 1134803637, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
