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The imperial household of Japan (also referred to as the imperial family
or koshitsu) refers those members of the extended family of the reigning
Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties, as well as their
minor children. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the emperor is the
symbol of the state and unity of the people. The other members of the
imperial family perform ceremonial and social duties, but have no role in
the affairs of government.
The Japanese monarchy is the oldest continuous hereditary monarchy in the
world. The imperial household recognizes one hundred twenty-five legitimate
monarchs since the ascension of Jimmu Tenno. Most historians regard the
first fourteen emperors (Jimmu to Chuai) as legendary figures. The reigning
emperor, Akihito, is the one hundred twenty-fifth monarch in the official
chronology.
Current Members of the Imperial Family:
The 1947 Imperial Household Law defines the imperial household as: the
empress (kogo), the empress dowager (kotaigo), the grand empress dowager
(go-kotaigo), the crown prince (kotaishi) and his consort, the imperial
grandson who is heir apparent (kotaison) and his consort, the shinno and
their consorts, the naishinno, the o and their consorts, and the nyoo. The
legitimate children and male line grandchildren of an emperor are shinno
(imperial princes) in the case of males and naishinno (imperial princesses)
in the case of females. More distant male line descendants are o (princes)
or nyoo (princesses).
After the removal of eleven families from the imperial household in
October 1947, the official membership of the imperial family has effectively
been limited to the male line descendants of the Emperor Taisho, excluding
females who married outside the imperial family and their descendants. There
are presently twenty-three members of the imperial family. Their personal
names appear in parentheses:
His Majesty the Emperor (Akihito) was born at the Imperial Palace in
Tokyo on 23 December 1933, the elder son and fifth child of the Emperor
Showa (Hirohito) and Empress Kojun (Nagako). He was married on 10 April 1959
to Her Majesty the Empress (Michiko). The Empress, formerly Miss Shoda
Michiko, was born in Tokyo on 24 October 1934, the eldest daughter of the
late Mr. Shoda Hidesaburo, president and honorary chairman of Nisshin Flour
Miling Company. Emperor Akihito succeeded his father as emperor on 7 January
1989.
His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince (Naruhito), the eldest son of the
Emperor and the Empress, was born at the Tsugo Palace in Tokyo on 23
February 1960. He became heir apparent upon his father's ascension to the
throne. Crown Prince Naruhito married on 6 May 1993 to Miss Owada Masako.
Her Imperial Highness the Crown Princess (Masako) was born on 6 December
1963, the daughter of Mr. Owada Hishashi, former vice minister of foreign
affairs and former permanent representative of Japan to the United Nations.
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess have one daughter, Princess Aiko, who
was born on 1 December 2001 and who holds the childhood title Princess Toshi
(Toshi no miya).
His Imperial Highness Prince Akishino (Fumihito), the Emperor's second
son, was born on 11 November 1965. His childhood title was Prince Aya ( Aya
no miya). He received the title Prince Akishino (Akishino no miya) and
permission to start a new branch of the imperial family upon his marriage to
Miss Kawahima Kiko on 29 June 1990. Her Imperial Highness Princess Akishino
(Kiko) was born on 11 September 1966, the daughter of Dr. Kawashima
Tatsuhiko, professor of economics at Gakushuin University. Prince and
Princess Akishino have two daughters: Princess Mako (born 23 October 1991)
and Princess Kako (born 29 December 1994).
Her Imperial Highness Princess Sayako, the third child and only daughter
of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, was born on 18 April 1969. Her
childhood title is Princess Nori (Nori no miya).
His Imperial Highness Prince Hitachi (Masahito) was born on 28 November
1935, the second son and sixth child of the Emperor Showa (Hirohito) and
Empress Kojun (Nagako). His childhood title was Prince Yoshi (Yoshi no
miya). He received the title Prince Hitachi (Hitachi no miya) and permission
to set up a new branch of the imperial family on 1 October 1964, the day
after his wedding. Her Imperial Highness Princess Hitachi (Hanako), was born
on 19 July 1940, the daughter of late former Count Tsugaru Yoshitaka. Prince
and Princess Hitachi have no children.
Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamatsu (Kikuko) is the widow of His
Imperial Highness Prince Takamatsu (Nobuhito) (born 1 March 1905, died 3
February 1987), the third son of Emperor Taisho and Empress Teimei (Sadako).
The princess was born in Tokyo on 26 December 1911, the second daughter of
Prince Tokugawa Yoshihisa [peer] and his wife Princess Miyeko. He parternal
grandfather, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, was Japan's last shogun. Her maternal
grandfather, His Imperial Highness Prince Arisugawa (Takahito), was the heir
to one four cadet branches of the imperial family during the Edo period. As
Miss Tokugawa Kikuko she married Prince Takamatsu on 4 February 1930. Prince
and Princess Takamatsu had no children.
His Imperial Highness Prince Mikasa (Takahito) was born on 2 December
1915, the fourth son of Emperor Taisho and Empress Teimei (Sadako). He is
the surviving brother of Emperor Showa and the surviving parternal uncle of
Emperor Akihito. His childhood title was Prince Sumi (Sumi no miya). He
received the title Prince Mikasa (Mikasa no miya) and permission to start a
new branch of the imperial family on 2 December 1935. He married on 22
October 1941. Her Imperial Highness Princess Mikasa (Yoriko) was born on 6
June 1923, the second daughter of the late Viscount Takagi Masanori. Prince
and Princess Mikasa have two daughters and three sons. Their youngest son,
Prince Takamado (Norihito), is deceased.
His Imperial Highness Prince Tomohito of Mikasa is the eldest son of
Prince and Princess Mikasa and a first cousin of Emperor Akihito. He is also
heir apparent to his father's title, Mikasa no miya. He was born on 5
January 1946. Prince Tomohito was married Miss Aso Nobuko on 7 November
1980. Her Imperial Highness Princess Tomohito of Mikasa was born on 9 April
1955, the daughter of the late Mr. Aso Takakichi, chairman of Aso Cement Co.
and his wife, Kazuko, a daughter of former prime minister Yoshida Shigeru.
Prince and Princess Tomohito of Mikasa have two daughters: Princess Akiko
(born 20 December 1981) and Princess Yoko (born 25 October 1983).
His Imperial Highness Prince Katsura (Yoshihito) is the second son of
Prince and Princess Mikasa and a first cousin of Emperor Akihito. He was
born on 11 February 1948. Originally known as Prince Yoshihito of Mikasa, he
received the title Prince Katsura (Katsura no miya) and authorization to
start a new branch of the imperial family on 1 January 1988.
Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado (Hisako) is the widow of His
Imperial Highness Prince Takamado (Norihito) (born 29 December 1954, died 21
November 2002), the third son of Prince and Princess Mikasa and a first
cousin of Emperor Akihito. The princess was born 10 July 1953, the daughter
of Mr. Tottori Shigejiro. She married the prince on 6 December 1984.
Originally known as Prince Norihito of Mikasa, he received the title Prince
Takamado (Takamado no miya) and permission to start a new branch of the
imperial family on 1 December 1984. Princess Takamado has three daughters:
Princess Tsuguko (born 6 March 1986), Princess Noriko (born 21 July 1988),
and Princess Ayako (b. 15 September 1990).
Living Former Members of the Imperial Family:
Under the terms of the 1947 Imperial Household Law, naishinno (imperial
princesses) and nyoo (princesses) lose their titles and membership in the
imperial family upon marriage, unless they marry the Emperor or another
member of the imperial family. Three of the five daughters of Emperor Showa
and the two daughters of Prince Mikasa left the imperial family upon
marriage, taking the surnames of their husbands. (The eldest daughter of
Emperor Showa married the eldest son of Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko in 1943.
The Higashikuni family lost its imperial status along with the other
collateral branches of the imperial household in October 1947). The living
former imperial princesses (whose personal names are in parentheses) are:
- Mrs. Ikeda Takamasa (Atsuko), born 7 March 1931, fourth daughter of
Emperor Showa and surviving elder sister of Emperor Akihito.
- Mrs. Shimazu Hisanaga (Takako), born 2 March 1939, fifth daughter and
youngest child of Emperor Showa and younger sister of Emperor Akihito.
- Mrs. Konoe Tadateru (Yasuko), born 26 April 1944, eldest daughter and
eldest child of Prince and Princess Mikasa.
- Mrs. Sen Soshitsu (Masako), born 23 October 1951, second daughter and
fourth child of Prince and Princess Mikasa.
In addition to these former princesses, there are also descendants of the
eleven cadet branches of the dynasty (Asaka, Fushimi, Higashifushimi,
Higashikuni, Kan'in, Kaya, Kitashirakawa, Kuni, Nashimoto, Takeda, and
Yamashina) that left the imperial household in October 1947.
Succession:
Historically, the succession to Japan's Chrysanthemum Throne has
generally passed to male descendants in the imperial lineage. In part, the
Japanese imperial dynasty owes its longevity to the use of concubines, a
practice that only ended in the Taisho period (1912-1926). The Japanese
monarchy also relied on the specially designated collateral lines or
shinnoke (shinno houses). If the imperial household failed to produce an
heir, one of the shinnoke could provide the future emperor. There were four
such collateral lines in the Edo period: Fushimi, Katsura, Arisugawa, and
Kan'in. Emperor Kokaku (reigned 1780-1817), the lineal descendant of all
subsequent emperors, was a scion of the Kan'in house. The Katsura and
Arisugawa houses died out in 1881 and 1913, respectively. A scion of the
Fushimi house succeeded to the Kan'in house in 1884. The Fushimi house was
the progenitor of nine other cadet branches (oke) of the imperial family
during the Meiji period. It and its offshoots were reduced to commoner
status in 1947.
Before the Meiji Restoration, Japan had six female tenno or reigning
empresses. Imperial daughters and granddaughters, however, only ascended the
throne as a "stop gap" measure. Each abdicated once a suitable male
descendant in the male line of imperial descendants became available. Three
empresses regnant, Suiko, Kogyoku, and Jito, were widows of deceased
emperors and princesses of the blood royal in their own right. One, Gemmei,
was the wife of a crown prince and a princess of the blood royal. The other
four, Gensho, Koken (Shotoku), Meisho and Go-Sakuramachi, were the unwed
daughters of previous emperors. None of theses empresses gave birth or
married after ascending the throne.
Article 2 of the 1889 Meiji Constitution (or 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 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 16 January 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 and princess lose their status as imperial family members if they
marry outside the imperial family; and that the Emperor and other members of
the imperial family may not adopt children.
There is a potential succession crisis since no male child has been born
into the imperial family since Prince Akishino in 1965. Following the birth
of Prince Aiko, there was some public debate about amending the Imperial
Household Law to allow women to succeed to the throne. As of July 2003,
however, the National Diet has not enacted such an amendment.
The order of succession is as follows:
- His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito
- His Imperial Highness Prince Akishino (Fumihito)
- His Imperial Highness Prince Hitachi (Masahito)
- His Imperial Highness Prince Mikasa (Takahito)
- His Imperial Highness Prince Tomohito of Mikasa
- His Imperial Highness Prince Katsura (Yoshihito)
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