Theemperor of Japan[d][e] is thehereditary monarch andhead of state ofJapan.[6][7] Theemperor is defined by theConstitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power".[8] TheImperial Household Law governs the line ofimperial succession. Pursuant to his constitutional role as a national symbol, and in accordance with rulings by theSupreme Court of Japan, the emperor is personallyimmune from prosecution.[9] By virtue of his position as the head of theImperial House, the emperor is also recognized as the head of theShinto religion, which holds him to be the direct descendant of the sun goddessAmaterasu. According to tradition, the office of emperor was created in the 7th century BC, but the first historically verifiable emperors appear around the 5th or 6th centuriesAD.[10][11]
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 firstshogunate in 1192, the emperors of Japan have rarely taken on a role as supreme battlefield commander, unlike manyWestern monarchs. Japanese emperors have nearly always been controlled by external political forces, to varying degrees. For example, between 1192 and 1867, theshōguns, or theirshikken regents inKamakura (1203–1333), were thede facto rulers of Japan, although they were nominally appointed by the emperor. After theMeiji Restoration in 1868, the emperor was the embodiment of all sovereign power in the realm, as enshrined in theMeiji 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. For example, the emperor is the head of theJapanese honors system, conferring orders, decorations, medals, and awards in the name of the state and on behalf of its people in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet.
Since the mid-nineteenth century, the emperor and other members of the imperial family have resided at theImperial Palace,[f] located on the former site ofEdo Castle in the heart ofTokyo, the current capital of Japan. Earlier, emperors resided inKyoto, the ancient capital, for nearly eleven centuries.The Emperor's Birthday (currently 23 February) is a national holiday.
Emperor Akihito andEmpress Michiko seated in the Chamber of the House of Councillors of the National Diet, with members of the Imperial Family, the Cabinet, and Prime MinisterNaoto Kan giving the government's speech in front of the assembled members of parliament (2010).
Mostconstitutional monarchies formally vestexecutive power in the reigning monarch in their capacity as head of state. In turn, these constitutional monarchs are bound by eitherconvention orstatute to exercise their prerogatives on theadvice of ministersresponsible to the duly elected parliament.[12] Some monarchies codify this principle further by requiring royal acts to becountersigned by a minister in order to take effect, thus passing political and legal accountability from the reigning monarch to the minister tendering advice.[13][g] By contrast, Japan is one of only two suchsovereign states where the monarch is not even thenominal chief executive; the other isSweden.[22] Rather,Article 65 of theConstitution of Japan explicitly vests executive authority in theCabinet, of which theprime minister is the leader.[23] The emperor is also not thecommander-in-chief of theJapan Self-Defense Forces. Instead, the Japan Self-Defense Forces Act of 1954 explicitly vests supreme command and control in the prime minister.[24] Nevertheless, the emperor remains Japan's internationally recognized head of state.[25][26][27][28]
The emperor's fundamental role within the machinery of the Japanese constitution is to perform important representational functions as "…the symbol of the State and of the unity of the People, deriving his position from the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power."[29] He is limited to performing "acts in matters of state" as delineated by the Constitution, without even nominal powers related togovernment. Moreover, said acts are only exercised in accordance with the bindingadvice and consent of theCabinet, which is collectively responsible to theDiet and thence to the electorate.[30] Nevertheless, the emperor enjoys the following rights in the conduct of state business: (a) the right to be consulted before acting on ministerial advice; (b) the right to encourage a given policy or course of administrative action; and (c) the right to warn the Cabinet against the same.[31] In these respects, the emperor personifies the democratic state, sanctions legitimate authority, ensures the legality of his official acts, and guarantees the execution of the public will.[32][33] These functions, when considered altogether, serve two purposes: foremost, to uphold the continuity and stability of Japanese democracy; and second, to foster a shared national identity and cultural heritage that transcends party politics.[34][35] In order to maintain hisinstitutional neutrality as Japan's national symbol, he is barred from making political statements.[36][37]
It is the emperor's preeminent constitutional duty toappoint the prime minister as designated by the Diet and theChief Justice as designated by the Cabinet. However, the emperor does not have the authority to decline the nominations.[38] The emperor's other responsibilities, laid down in Article 7 of the Constitution, concern the basic functioning of the state.[39] To this end, the emperor, on behalf of the Japanese people:
TheTennō is regarded as the foremost Shintō priest in terms of religion. This sacred duty dates back to theNiiname-sai (新嘗祭, "tasting of new rice") imperial harvest festival. In this ritual, the emperor presents newly gathered rice to the gods. The celebration is known asDaijōsai (大嘗祭, "Great Tasting") and takes place in the first year after the emperor's accession to the throne. The historical textNihonshoki, written in the year 720, has the first mention of this ceremony, whose beginnings are believed to date back even further. The event evolved through time to become the Day of Thanksgiving for Labour, a recognized official holiday today.
The office of the emperor is also cultural bearer and steward of tradition and culture. For example, theUtakai Hajime is the annual poetry reading competition convened by the emperor. The emperor is supported in this function by the empress and other members of the imperial family, who have honorary patronages of many associations and organisations. They travel extensively throughout the year within the country to uphold these roles.
In sports, theEmperor's Cup (天皇賜杯,Tennō shihai) is given to a number of competitions such as football, judo, volleyball, and the top divisionyūshō winner of a sumo tournament.
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.
Archaeological information about the earliest historical rulers of Japan may be contained in the ancient tombs known askofun, constructed between the early 3rd century and the early 7th century AD. However, since theMeiji period, theImperial Household Agency has refused to open thekofun 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.[42] In 2016, the Imperial Household Agency reversed its position and decided to allow researchers to enter some of thekofun with limited time and way.
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).[43] 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.[44]
The growth of thesamurai 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 asEmperor Go-Toba's1221 rebellion against theKamakura shogunate and the 1336Kenmu Restoration underEmperor Go-Daigo, show the power struggle between theImperial Court in Kyoto and the military governments of Japan.
Factional control (530s–1867) andshōguns (1192–1867)
There have been seven non-imperialfamilies who have controlled Japanese emperors: theSoga (530s–645), theFujiwara (850s–1070), theTaira (1159–1180s), theMinamoto (1192–1199), theHōjō (1199–1333), theAshikaga (1336–1565), and theTokugawa (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 theshōguns or theirshikken regents (1203–1333), whose authority was conferred by Imperial warrant. WhenPortuguese explorers first came into contact with the Japanese (seeNanban period), they described Japanese conditions in analogy, likening the emperor with great symbolic authority, but little political power, to thepope, and theshōgun to secular European rulers (e.g., theHoly Roman emperor). In keeping with the analogy, they even used the term "emperor" in reference to theshōguns and their regents, e.g. in the case ofToyotomi Hideyoshi, whom missionaries called "Emperor Taico-sama" (fromTaikō and the honorificsama). A Dutch embassy report used similar terminology in 1691.[45]Empress Go-Sakuramachi was the last ruling empress of Japan and reigned from 1762 to 1771.[46] During theSakoku period of 1603 to 1868, there was very limited trade between Japan and foreigners. TheDutch were the only westerners who had limited access to Japan.[45]
EmperorGo-Daigo succeeded in 1333 to get back the direct authority directly to the emperor after overthrowing theKamakura shogunate, with the help ofAshikaga Takauji, a defected Kamakura general. The short three-year period during which the power was directly in the hand of the emperor is called theKenmu Restoration. The direct ruling of the emperor proved however inefficient and ultimately failed, with Takauji grabbing political power for himself.
In July 1853,Commodore Perry'sBlack Ships of theUS Navy made their first visit toEdo Bay. Japan lacked the military and industrial power to prevent it.[47][48] Unequal treaties coerced and took advantage of Japan.[47][48] Consequently, Japan was forcibly opened to foreign trade and the shogunate proved incapable of hindering the "barbarian" interlopers;Emperor Kōmei thus began to assert himself politically. By the early 1860s, the relationship between theImperial Court and the shogunate was changing radically. Disaffecteddomains andrōnin began to rally to the call ofsonnō jōi ("revere the emperor, expel the barbarians"). The domains ofSatsuma andChōshū, historic enemies of the Tokugawa, used this turmoil to unite their forces and won an important military victory outside ofKyoto against Tokugawa forces.[citation needed]
On 9 November 1867, the ShogunTokugawa Yoshinobu formally stepped down to restoreEmperor Meiji to nominal full power.[49] He issued the imperial decree of constitutionalism[50] on 14 April 1875. TheMeiji Constitution was adopted on 11 February 1889.[51] The emperor of Japan became an active ruler with considerable political power over foreign policy and diplomacy which was shared with an electedImperial Diet.[51] 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 theImperial General Headquarters. On Meiji's death in 1912 and the accession of his sonTaishō, who suffered from ill-health and various disabilities, many of these powers were assumed by the Imperial Diet in an era known as theTaishō Democracy.[52]
Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) was in power during thePacific War; he controlled both the sovereign of the state and the imperial forces.[53] The role of the emperor as head of theState Shinto religion was exploited during the war, creating anImperial cult that led tokamikaze bombers and other manifestations offanaticism. This in turn led to the requirement in thePotsdam 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".[54]
In State Shinto, the emperor was believed to be anarahitogami (現人神) (manifestkami orincarnation of adeity).[55] Following Japan's surrender, theAllies issued theShinto Directive separating church and state within Japan. In 1946, Emperor Shōwa was forced to proclaim theHumanity Declaration, but the declaration excludes the wordarahitogami (現人神), including the unusual wordakitsumikami (現御神, living god) instead. As such, some experts doubt whether his divinity was renounced.[56]Jean Herbert said it would be inadmissible to deny his divine origin.[56]
Emperor Shōwa was excluded from the postwarTokyo War Crimes Tribunal. Scholars dispute the power he had and the role he played during WWII.[53] Emperor Shōwa's reign from 1926 until his death in 1989 makes him the longest-lived and longest-reigning historical Japanese emperor, and one of thelongest-reigning monarchs in the world.
The Emperors of Japan have not visitedYasukuni Shrine since 1978.[57] 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 son and grandson,Akihito andNaruhito.[57]
By 1979, Emperor Shōwa was the only monarch in the world with themonarchical title "emperor." Emperor Shōwa was the longest-reigning historical monarch in Japan's history and the world's longest reigning contemporary monarch until he was surpassed by KingBhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand in July 2008.[58]
According to journalist Makoto Inoue ofThe Nikkei, Emperor EmeritusAkihito wanted to be closer to the people, rather than be treated like a god or robot.[59] Inoue believes that during his reign, he transformed the symbolic role of emperor into a human being.[59] In March 2019, theMainichi reported 87% thought Akihito fulfilled his role as symbol of the state.[59]
On 30 April 2019, EmperorAkihito abdicated due to health issues and theHeisei era ended.[60] The previous time abdication occurred wasEmperor Kōkaku in 1817. Akihito's eldest son,Naruhito ascended on 1 May 2019, referred to asKinjō Tennō andReiwa era started.
In 1947 the post-warConstitution of Japan (日本国憲法,Nihonkoku-Kenpō) became law when it received the emperor'sassent on 3 November 1946.[61] It provides for aparliamentary 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.[62] It was drawn up under theAllied occupation that followed World War II and changed Japan's previous Prussian-styleMeiji Constitution that granted the emperor theoretically unlimited powers.[63] Theliberal constitution was inspired by several European states.[64] Currently, it is a rigid document and the oldest unamended constitution.[65]
Historically, territorial designations are not a requirement for the position ofTennō (emperor). Rather it is the emperor's symbolic and religious power of authority.[66] Since theKamakura shogunate, the emperor heldde jure ownership of the realm. Throughout most of medieval Japan, theshogun's legitimate authority was based on being appointed and receiving the power from the emperor even though the shogun was thede facto ruler.[66][67] The emperor was considered a direct descendant ofAmaterasu and of utmost importance in theShinto religion and sentimental traditions.[66] Thus no shogun tried to usurp the emperor, instead they tried to keep the emperor under control and away from politics.[68] However, the emperor still had the power to "control time" via the JapaneseNengō which names eras on calendars after emperors.[68]
During theKofun period the first central government of the unified state wasYamato in theKinai region of central Japan.[69] The territory of Japan has changed throughout history. Its largest extent was theEmpire of Japan. In 1938 it was 1,984,000 km2 (800,000 sq mi).[70]
The maximum extent including the home islands and theJapanese colonial empire was 8,510,000 km2 (3,300,000 sq mi) in 1942.[71] After its defeat inWorld War II the empire was dismantled. The contemporary territories include theJapanese archipelago and theseareas. Regardless of territorial changes the emperor remains the formalhead of state of Japan. During most of history,de facto power was withshoguns orprime ministers. The emperor was more like a revered embodiment of divine harmony than the head of an actual governing administration. In Japan, it was more effective for ambitiousdaimyo (feudal lords) to hold actual power, as such positions were not inherently contradictory to the emperor's position. The shoguns and prime ministers derived their legitimacy from the emperor. Theparliamentary government continues a similar coexistence with the emperor.[citation needed]
The first recorded instance of the nameNihon日本 was between 665 and 703 during theAsuka period.[72] This was several centuries after the start of the current imperial line.[73] The various names of Japan do not affect the status of the emperor as head of state.
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, andkōtei (皇帝), which primarily identifies non-Japanese emperors.Sumeramikoto ("the imperial person") was also used inOld Japanese.
The title given posthumously to an emperor changed after the death ofEmperor Murakami in 967, who was the last to receive the titletennō. From the death ofEmperor En'yū in 991 onward, the titlein (院) started to be used instead oftennō as the honorary title attached to the posthumous name (諡号,shigō).[76] The termin originally referred to both the residence and the honorific title of a retired emperor (太上天皇,Daijō Tennō). However, from theHeian period onward, as it became rare for emperors to pass away before abdicating, thein title became established as a posthumous title. An exception isEmperor Antoku, who died during his reign in 1187, and was posthumously given a title that includedtennō.[76] Althoughtennō was not used for emperors from the 10th[77] or 12th century[78] to the 19th century,[79] it continued to be used for emperors who died beforeJuntoku abdicated due to the 1221Jōkyū Rebellion.[80]
During their reign, the termtennō was only written in documents on limited occasions, such as when it was written astennō but read assumeramikoto in the imperial rescript of accession (即位宣命,sokui senmyō). Normally, out of respect, euphemistic expressions likekinri (禁裏),kinchū (禁中), orshujō (主上), which refer to the emperor's palace or supreme status, were used instead.[76]
However, as the use of the titlein, which originally referred to retired emperors, gradually expanded over time to include members of the imperial family,shoguns,daimyos, and even commoners, it came to be seen as inappropriate for deceased emperors. TheEdo period Confucian scholarNakai Chikuzan (1730–1804) remarked, "The titlein is used by everyone from feudal lords and nobles tosamurai and commoners, so it lacks the supreme honor of the imperial title and is unworthy" (fromSōbō Kigen). He argued that deceased emperors should be referred to as "Era Name + Tennō."[76]
Amid this trend, whenEmperor Kōkaku died in 1840,Emperor Ninkō consulted with the court nobles about reviving the titletennō and obtained permission from theTokugawa shogunate. He then selected a posthumous name, and in 1841, bestowed the title and posthumous name Emperor Kōkaku (光格天皇,Kōkaku Tennō). From this point onward, the titletennō was once again used for deceased emperors.[76]
Other titles that were recorded to be in use werekō (皇),tei (帝),ō (王), all meaning "prince" or "emperor", andtenshi (天子), or "son of heaven".[81]
In English, the termmikado (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; compareSublime Porte, an old term for theOttoman government), was once used (as inThe Mikado, a 19th-centuryoperetta), but this term is now obsolete.[5]
Japanese emperors take on aregnal 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 oneera 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.[82]
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 theposthumous nameShōwa Tennō after his death, which is the only name that Japanese speakers currently use when referring to him.[83]
The current emperor on the throne is typically referred to asTennō Heika (天皇陛下, "His [Imperial] Majesty the Emperor"),Kinjō Heika (今上陛下, "His Current Majesty") or simplyTennō, when speaking Japanese. EmperorAkihito received the titleDaijō Tennō (太上天皇, Emperor Emeritus), often shortened toJōkō (上皇), upon his abdication on 30 April 2019, and is expected to be renamedHeisei Tennō (平成天皇) after his death and will then be referred to exclusively by that name in Japanese.
Originally, the ruler of Japan was known as either大和大王/大君 (Yamato-ōkimi, "Grand King ofYamato"),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 orSumera 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 orSon of Heaven) can be found in a diplomatic document sent fromEmpress Suiko to theSui dynasty of China in 607. In this document, Empress Suiko introduced herself toEmperor Yang of Sui as 日出處天子 (Hi izurutokoro no tenshi) meaning "Heavenly son of the land where the sun rises".[84][85] The oldest documented use of the title天皇 (Tennō, heavenly emperor) appears on a wooden tablet, ormokkan, that was unearthed inAsuka-mura, Nara Prefecture in 1998 and dated back to the reign ofEmperor Tenmu andEmpress Jitō in the 7th century.[86][87]
Throughout history, Japanese emperors and noblemen appointed a spouse to the position of chief wife, rather than just keeping aharem or an assortment of female attendants.
The Japanese imperial dynasty consistently practiced officialpolygamy until theTaishō 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 byEmperor Ichijō (r. 986–1011), some emperors even had two empresses simultaneously (identified by the separate titleskōgō andchūgū). 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 whichquarters 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 untilEmperor Shōmu (701–706)—in what was specifically reported as the first elevation of its kind—elevated hisFujiwara consortEmpress 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 theFujiwara clan as their highest-ranking wives – the most probable mothers of future monarchs. This was cloaked as a tradition of marriage between heirs of twokami (Shinto deities): descendants of Amaterasu with descendants of the familykami of the Fujiwara. (Originally, the Fujiwara descended from relatively minor nobility, thus theirkami 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 Fujiwarasekke lord.
Earlier, the emperors had married women from families of the government-holdingSoga 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 asPrince 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, andTakatsukasa, 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-eraImperial 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.
InJapanese mythology, the sacred treasures were bestowed onNinigi-no-Mikoto, the grandson of the goddess Amaterasu, at the advent ofTenson kōrin. Amaterasu sent him to pacify Japan by bringing the three celestial gifts that are used by the emperor.[88] The account of Ninigi being sent to earth appears in theNihon Shoki. TheThree 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:[89]
Enthronement ceremony of EmperorNaruhito with Prime MinisterShinzo 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 sincetime immemorial".[citation needed] There are no records of any emperor who was not said to have been a descendant of other, yet there is suspicion thatEmperor Keitai (c. AD 500) may have been an unrelated outsider, though the sources (Kojiki, Nihon-Shoki) state that he was a male-line descendant ofEmperor 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 strictagnatic primogeniture, which was adopted fromPrussia, 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 ofConfucian influence, inheritance by sons – but not always, or even most often, the eldest son has been the norm.
Historically, the succession to theChrysanthemum 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 (alsoEmpress Saimei), andEmpress Jitō, as well as the legendaryEmpress 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, andEmpress Go-Sakuramachi, were unwed daughters of previous emperors. None of these empresses married or gave birth after ascending the throne.
Article 2 of theMeiji 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." TheImperial 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 MinisterYoshida 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,[91] 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.
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 untilPrincess Kiko gave birth toPrince Hisahito.
Until the birth of Hisahito, son ofPrince Akishino, on 6 September 2006, there was a potentialsuccession problem, since Prince Akishino was the only male child to be born into the imperial family since 1965. Following the birth ofPrincess Aiko on 1 December 2001, there was public debate about amending the current Imperial Household Law to allow women to succeed to the throne. In January 2005, Prime MinisterJunichiro Koizumi appointed a special panel composed of judges, university professors, and civil servants to study changes to theImperial Household Law and to make recommendations to the government.
The panel dealing with the succession issue recommended on 25 October 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 thatPrincess 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 MinisterShinzo Abe announced that he would drop the proposal to alter the Imperial Household Law.[92]
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.[93] This does not restore the royalty of the11 collateral branches of the Imperial House that were abolished in October 1947.
During theKofun 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 themogari (殯), a provisional depository between death and permanent burial.[95]
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 theEdo period.[95] For the next 350 years, in-ground burial became the favoured funeral custom. Until 1912, the emperors were usually buried in Kyoto.[96] FromEmperor Taishō onward, the emperors have been buried at theMusashi Imperial Graveyard in Tokyo.
In 2013, the Imperial Household Agency announced that Emperor Akihito andEmpress Michiko would be cremated after they die.[97]
Until the end of World War II, the Japanese monarchy was thought to be among the wealthiest in the world.[98] 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.[99] As a result of the poor economic conditions in Japan, 117,059.07 hectares (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 ofNagoya, with six other imperial villas being either sold or donated at the same time.[99] 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 1,259,368 hectares (3,111,965 acres) of landed estates, the bulk of which (1,052,000 hectares (2,599,548 acres)) were the emperor's private lands, with the total acreage of the crown estates amounting to some 207,264 hectares (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 1][99][100] 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, theImperial Hotel andNippon Yusen.[99]
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$800 million in 2024 terms) were transferred to either state or private ownership, excepting 2,760 hectares (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 inGifu andShizuoka prefectures, grazing lands for livestock inHokkaido and a stock farm in the Chiba region, all of which were transferred to theMinistry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Imperial property holdings have been further reduced since 1947 after several handovers to the government. Today, the primaryimperial properties include the two imperial palaces at Tokyo and Kyoto, several imperial villas and a number of imperial farms and game preserves.[101]
As of 2017, Akihito has an estimated net worth of US$40 million.[102] 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 theMainichi 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).[103] Among other details, the book revealed the imperial family employed a staff of over 1,000 people.[104] 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).[105]
^This way of counting years is based on the ancient Japanese way, and does not necessarily match the current one. The actual date of the foundation of the Yamato House is not known; the first historical writings did not appear until the 8th century.
^The emperor does not generally use the style "Imperial Majesty" because in modern Japanese protocol, the preferred title for the emperor is simply "Majesty". This style reflects a cultural understanding of the emperor's unique position as a symbolic figurehead within the country, not necessarily requiring the distinction of "Imperial" to denote his status above foreign monarchs. Instead, the Japanese term "Tennō Heika" (天皇陛下) is used, which roughly translates into English as "His Majesty the Emperor". This style of address is prescribed by law and used by theImperial Household Agency.[1][2][3]
^abKanʼichi 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 termMikado. 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."
^abHoye, 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 withKinmei."
^Knowledge at Wharton Podcast (May 6, 2019)."How Modern Monarchies Are Evolving". Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. RetrievedNovember 7, 2024.
^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.JSTOR2718461.
^"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.
^abcdeFujita, Satoru (2018).天皇の歴史６ 江戸時代の天皇 [History of the Emperors 6: Emperors of the Edo Period]. Kodansha Academic Library (in Japanese). Kodansha. pp. 288–290.ISBN978-4-065-11640-1.
^Patricia Buckley Ebrey, Anne Walthall (2013).East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. Cengage Learning. p. 120.ISBN9781285528670.
^Charles Holcombe (2017).A History of East Asia. Cambridge University Press. p. 159.ISBN9781107118737.
^Screech, (2006).Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822, p. 232 n4.
^Joshua A. Fogel (2005).The Teleology of the Modern Nation-State: Japan and China. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 225.ISBN9780812238204.
^Engelbert Kaempfer; Beatrice M. Bodart-Bailey (1999).Kaempfer's Japan: Tokugawa Culture Observed. University of Hawaii Press. p. 88.ISBN9780824863227.
^Ooms, Herman (2009).Imperial Politics and Symbolics in Ancient Japan: The Tenmu Dynasty, 650–800. pp.154–156. University of Hawaii Press.ISBN978-0-8248-3235-3.
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.ISSN0275-7206.
Fiévé, Nicolas; Waley, Paul (2003).Japanese Capitals in Historical Perspective: Place, Power and Memory in Kyoto, Edo and Tokyo. Routledge.ISBN0-4154-0581-5.
Large, Stephen S. (1992).Emperor Hirohito and Shōwa Japan: A Political Biography. London: Routledge.ISBN0-585-44734-9.OCLC52419479.
Kawamura, Noriko (January 27, 2016).Emperor Hirohito and the Pacific War. Seattle: University of Washington Press.ISBN978-0-295-80631-0.OCLC922925863.
Pye, Lucian W.; Keene, Donald (2002). "Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912".Foreign Affairs.81 (5): 217.doi:10.2307/20033332.ISSN0015-7120.
Takemae, Eiji (2002).Inside GHQ: The Allied Occupation of Japan and its Legacy. Translated by Ricketts, Robert; Swann, Sebastian. New York: Continuum.ISBN0826462472.OCLC45583413.
1 Partially or entirely in Asia, depending on the definition of the Europe–Asia border.2 Partially or entirely in Asia, depending on the definition of the Africa–Asia border.
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