Japan's Imperial Family: Its Role And Meaning In Modern Japan

by Raymond Lamont-Brown

When Diana, Princess of Wales, died in the tragic Paris car crash of 31 August 1997, thousands of Japanese knew more about her life than they did about the everyday happenings of their own royal family. Yet public opinion polls, like that of the Asahi Shimbun, still register a rating of 85 per cent of uyamai (esteem) and aijo (attachment) for and to the Emperor and Empress largely because of the Emperor's position in Japanese society. The fact that the polls never reflect the 'affection' felt by some members of the British public for individuals within the British royal family is a significant difference.

In modern Japan the Emperor is no longer considered to be a kami, a divine being, but within living memory the current Emperor was brought up in the belief and public perception that he was heir to his father's status of a arahitogami (a living god) and a direct descendant of Amaterasu-Omikami, Goddess of the Sun. Although, strange to tell, nowhere in the modern Japanese Emperor's political persona, as first defined in the Meiji Constitution of 1889, is there mention that the Emperor is a god. Yet after a childhood of belief under that hybrid constitution of Japanese tradition and modern western (for which read Prussian) ideas that had been hijacked by the nationalist-militarists as a new emperor cult, Emperor Akihito succeeded to the Takamikura (Chrysanthemum Throne of Japan) on 7 January 1989, the day his father died having been for decades the most internationally reviled Japanese monarch ever. Posthumously dubbed Emperor Showa, the dead sovereign was known to hundreds of thousands of POWs as Emperor Hirohito of World War II. Showa, with brutal irony in this World War II context means 'enlightened peace'; Emperor Akihito chose the name Heisei ('to achieve peace') as his new Imperial Era.

Emperor Akihito, the 125th Emperor of Japan, was born in Tokyo on 23 December 1933, the fifth child and first son of his parents. A younger brother and sister are still alive. He was educated at the Gakushuin (then the Imperial Household Ministry School), and from 1946-50 was under the personal guidance of his American Quaker tutor Elizabeth Gray Vining. In the year he became Kotaishi (Crown Prince) and came of age, 1952, he entered the reformed Gakushuin University's faculty of Political Science and Economics. Academically the Emperor has followed his father's footsteps in an enthusiasm for biological science and marine biology writing many papers on the subject.

One who knows him well describes Emperor Akihito as 'low-key, rather methodical, very polite, and doesn't use the old-fashioned court language. Talking to him, you feel as if you were speaking to an ordinary person. He is shy, but takes his duties very seriously'. Remembering how Emperor Akihito, as a small child, was taken from his parents and handed over to imperial chamberlains to be brought up in virtual isolation, the intellectual commentator Kunihiro Masao notes: 'There was a plot at the end of the war to kidnap him, take him to a remote location and continue the war in his name. You can imagine the effect this knowledge had on a small boy'. The most readily apparent effect was to make Emperor Akihito very appreciative of family life.

While still Crown Prince, Akihito, married Michiko Shoda (born Tokyo, 20 October 1934) daughter of the businessman Hidesaburo and Madam Fumiko Shoda, and they set up home in the Crown Prince's official residence of the Togu (Eastern Palace). The imperial couple have three children. Prince Naruhito (Hironomiya - Prince Hiro: born, 23 February 1960), married diplomat Masako Owada in 1993. Prince Fumihito (Ayanomiya - Prince Aya: born, 30 November 1965), married Kiku Kawashima in 1990. And Princess Sayako (Norinomiya - Princess Nori: born, 18 April 1969) who is unmarried. Official press handouts emphasise that the children were brought up 'in the bosom of a loving family'.

Enthroned in the great ceremony known as Sokui Rei Seiden no Gi in the Matsu no Ma (State room) of the Kyujo (Imperial Palace) in November 1990, Akihito thus entered the tennosei (Emperor System) with his life of protocol ruled by the 1500-member Kunaicho (Imperial Household Agency) attached to the Prime Minister's Office. He has a dual role as constitutional monarch under the post-war constitution of 3 November 1946, but with no powers related to government. He is also chief priest who performs Shinto rites to guarantee 'a bountiful rice crop for the nation every year'. These duties are largely performed away from the press cameras of the western media. He appoints the Sort Daijin (Prime Minister) when the candidate is designated by Japan's government, the Diet, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court's appointment is also within his remit when such a designation has been made by the Naikaku (Cabinet). As a 'symbol of the State and of the unity of the people', notes the Gaimusho (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), 'he performs such acts in matters of state on behalf of the people as promulgation of laws and treaties, convocation of the Diet and awarding honours'. Thus under the postwar constitution Emperor Akihito is not designated as Head of State.

As his reign develops Emperor Akihito's state responsibilities have increased. For instance the number of foreign ambassadors whose credentials he receives has grown to in excess of 124. The reception of overseas VIPs and his own visits outside Japan have expanded with the myriad national state functions.

The Emperor and Empress have chosen to support certain groups like environmental protection associations and spend time with people such as the handicapped. They are keen supporters of the Paralympic Games and make a point of handshaking or touching the disabled in a society where handshaking is not the norm.

The popularity of the Emperor and Empress amongst the majority of the nation which is middle class, is founded on four main factors. The Emperor is seen as symbolising democracy; he is perceived as a denizen of progress in science and technology; he is deemed to represent the modernity which has brought Japan prosperity; and, he is believed to incorporate all the factors that make the middle-class feel safe in their pursuit of their aspirations. His role is very much as the head of the perceived kazoku kokka (the family state).

In a modern world where Emperor Akihito perceives himself as a true constitutional monarch at the head of a forward-looking nation, his life and role is hedged with imperial paradox. For instance in April 1998 - before the Emperor and Empress set out on a visit to Europe - an imperial messenger journeyed from the Kyujo at Tokyo to the eighth century imperial capital at Nara to inform the deified spirit of Tenno Jimmu - Japan's mythical first emperor - at the sacred Unebiyoma tumulus of the Emperor's itinerary and overseas business. On 3 April each year Emperor Akihiro personally gives veneration to Jimmu at the Koreiden (State Hall) in the ceremony known as Jimmu Tennosai, within his role as the nation's high priest. Thus he emphasises his mythical genealogical roots back to the Sun Goddess, the Great Foundress of the koshitsu (Imperial House).

On 23 November too, Emperor Akihito, clad in shimmering white and purified in body and spirit, approaches the Shinkaden (Deity Venerating Hall) to give veneration to the Sun Goddess and parade her sword, jewels and mirror, the Imperial Regalia. The Emperor then communes with the goddess in mystic ritual and a sacrament of rice and rice wine. This is the sacred ritual the Daijosai. In this way the Emperor and the nation are deemed invigorated for a year in body and spirit. And herein is the paradox; although the Emperor celebrates all this in private he juxtaposes his democratic, constitutional and state roles with the supernatural.

Emperor Akihito comes under regular pressure from three socio-political groupings. First there are those, largely within Japan's main political parties, who wish to manage him for political advantage. The ex-Liberal Democrat Sori-Daijin Yasuhiro Nakasone (who was Premier 1982-87) is a good example to cite in this connection. He is amongst those who believe that all 'American influence' should be removed from the constitution. They consider the idea (as stated in the 1946 Constitution) that the Emperor 'derives his position from the people with who resides sovereign power' is not the true Japanese way. Their opponents counter that to expunge this concept would compromise the Emperor's position.