Emperor system (天皇制, ''Tennōsei'') means the Japanese monarchy or state-system centered on the emperor, known in Japanese as the '' Tennō''. In a narrow sense, "emperor system" refers to the monarchy or the emperor-centered system in the Constitution of the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

. In a broad sense, "Emperor system" includes even the . Under Empire of Japan's political system, which called for the legitimacy of political domination by ''Tennō'' rule, the term "Emperor system" was officially prohibited; it became an academic term when free discussions on the term "Emperor system" were held in

postwar Japan Postwar Japan is the period in Japanese history beginning with the surrender of Japan to the Allies of World War II on 2 September 1945, and lasting at least until the end of the Shōwa era in 1989. Despite the massive devastation it suffered ...

and research papers using the term "Emperor system" were published.

History

Around the A.D. 3rd century, the decomposition of the primitive community progressed, and the leaders of the primitive community elevated themselves as priests of the primitive religion to transcendental beings close to God and reigned as military and political rulers. In this phone call from the primitive monarchy to the ancient monarchy, regimes were formed in each Japanese region with the powerful head as the king. In it, the head of power in

Kinai is a Japanese term denoting an ancient division of the country. ''Kinai'' is a name for the ancient provinces around the capital Nara and Heian-kyō. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kinai''" in . The five provinces were called ''go-kin ...

formed the Yamato regime, calling it "

Okimi Ōkimi (, also read as ''Daiō''), or Ame no shita Siroshimesu Ōkimi (, Chi Tenka Daiō), was the title of the head of the Yamato Kingship, or the monarch title of Wakoku (Old Japan).

" as the leader of a coalition of governments. The title "Emperor" (天皇) was in

689 __NOTOC__ Year 689 ( DCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 689 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Euro ...

( Jitō period) that the Japan's king. Under the

Ritsuryō is the historical Japanese legal system, legal system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Legalism (Chinese philosophy), Chinese Legalism in Feudal Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei" (). ''Kya ...

established at the beginning of the 8th century, the emperor established himself as a Chinese style emperor with diplomatic and military authority, control authority, appointment of officials, and punishment rights. However, at the end of the 12th century, when

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1192 until 1199, also the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako ...

destroyed the

Taira clan The was one of the four most important Japanese clans, clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period, Heian period of History of Japan, Japanese history – the others being the Minamoto clan, Minamoto, the Fujiwara clan, Fuji ...

and established the

Kamakura Shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Yori ...

, he effectively deprived the emperor of an important part of his rule, and later, before the Meiji era, the

Shogunate , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

system was maintained as the ''de facto'' ruler of Japan for a long time. By the end of the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, the ''

Sonnō jōi was a '' yojijukugo'' (four-character compound) phrase used as the rallying cry and slogan of a political movement in Japan in the 1850s and 1860s, during the Bakumatsu period. Based on Neo-Confucianism and Japanese nativism, the movement sou ...

'' movement had spread, while the ''Tennō'' emerged as the core of the (倒幕運動, lit. "anti-

movement"). The new

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...

overthrew the Edo Shogunate and established the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

and established the

Meiji Constitution The Constitution of the Empire of Japan ( Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: , ), known informally as the Meiji Constitution (, ''Meiji Kenpō''), was the constitution of the Empire of Japan which was proclaimed on February 11, 1889, and remained in ...

, establishing the ''Tennō'' as the head of state.

Government of Meiji Japan The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empir ...

is recognized the introduction of a

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their Election, democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of t ...

amid the disgruntled

shizoku The was a social class in Japan composed of former ''samurai'' after the Meiji Restoration from 1869 to 1947. ''Shizoku'' was a distinct class between the ''kazoku'' (a merger of the former ''kuge'' and ''daimyō'' classes) and ''heimin'' ( comm ...

rebellion and the growth of the

Freedom and People's Rights Movement The Freedom and People's Rights Movement (自由民権運動, ''Jiyū Minken Undō'') was a Japanese political and social movement for democracy during the Meiji era, Meiji period. It pursued the formation of an elected legislature, revision of the ...

. The Meiji government was modeled after that of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. Under this style of government, Japan became a modern state; the culture of sanctifying the emperor helped it to achieve unity. During the prewar

Shōwa era The was a historical period of History of Japan, Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) from December 25, 1926, until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death on January 7, 1989. It was preceded by the T ...

ultranationalism Ultranationalism, or extreme nationalism, is an extremist form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its specific i ...

was exploited by militarists and

statist In political science, statism or etatism (from French, ''état'' 'state') is the doctrine that the political authority of the state is legitimate to some degree. This may include economic and social policy, especially in regard to taxation an ...

politicians who put forward ''Tennō'' is authority, which was considered sacred, leading to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The

Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (), or SCAP, was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the United States-led Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. It issued SCAP Directives (alias SCAPIN, SCAP Index Number) ...

, which occupied Japan after its defeat in the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

, dismantled the "Emperor system". Among its results was the

Humanity Declaration The is an imperial rescript issued by Hirohito, the emperor of Japan, as part of a New Year's statement on 1 January 1946 at the request of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. In the rescript, which started with his citation of the ...

issued by the then reigning ''Tennō'',

Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...

. The "Emperor system" was replaced by the "Symbolic Emperor System", with the ''Tennō'' as a national symbol with no political power.

References

Government of the Empire of Japan * Monarchy {{Empire of Japan

History

See also

References