For the first time in a quite while, here's an article from the rubric of the Culture Studies. As the title implies, it's about two things related to the Japanese Emperor's family being the the oldest ruling dynasty still in existence you probably didn't know about.
The standard symbol of the Japanese Emperor's family |
About the Japanese Emperor's family, an entire seminar series and entire lectures might be held but of course, as for the two things you probably didn't know, I'm gonna sum them up for you in a way you'll be able to take it home.
Well then, without further ado, let's get started. Let's go:
1. The Imperial Household Agency and why it's a millstone around historians' necks
Basically, as the name imples, the Imperial Household Agency (宮内庁 , kunai-chō) is an institutional entity being in charge of everything which has primarly to do with the Japanese Emperor. For instance, they do administrative tasks and organize Emperor-related ceremonies. Furhermore, they also organize guided visits as well as exhibitions in the imperial palace.
This is how the Imperial Court Agency looks like. It's located in Tokyo in the special ward Chiyoda (千代田区 , Chiyoda-ku). |
Futhermore, it hasn't been confirmed until now that the first ten Emperors of Japan have even existed, yet, for instance, a grave in Nara is attributed to the supposed very first Japanese Emperor who's also known as the Jimmu Tennō (神武天皇).
Those restrictions being maintained by the Imperial Household Agency make it more difficult for archeologists and historians to learn anything about the first ten Emperors. Hence, it's indeed a millstone around their necks.
2. About the Miyake, the Japanese Emperor family's branch house
The crest of the Miyake |
First at all, the term Miyake (宮家) literally means house of the imperial prince and refers to said branch of the Japanese imperial family. Members of the Miyake branch are usually male-line descendants of a former emperor or a branch of the imperial family that has been separated from the main line. In other words, the Miyake is a group of the Emperor's relatives who ain't eligible to succeed to the throne anymore nowadays.
Basically, the Miyake is a family collective having seceded from the Emperor. Origninally, they were one of many insurances for maintaining the Emperor's house.
Concretly, if the Emperor had three sons, no one but the eldest was eligible to become the successive Emperor but when he suddenly died, the second-born son became the successor. However, it was relatively rare it continued like this. Then again, they established additional families. This is how the Miyake has been emerged. As for the members of the Miyake, it had been made sure that they always handed down the throne to the male-descendant succession.
The thing is: The individual succession (i.e. the handling that only the first-born son can be the throne successor) wouldn't have properly contributed to the Imperial House's maintenance in the long run. Thus, if the DIRECT imperial bloodline ebbed away at some point, whether, for instance, because no males were born or no descendant weren't be in existence for the throne succession, a member of the Miyake could be chosen and appointed as Emperor - virtually as a trump card emperor.
In other words, it was no accident that the Japanese Emperor's family is the oldest ruling dynasty in existence.
By said constitution, every single privilege and the like of the Miyake members were taken away by the US-American Occupation Force which administrated Japan from 1945 to 1952. The latter uses the following argument for this action: The Miyake wouldn't already belong to the Emperor's household anymore.
Thus, the Miyake members were forced to analogously say to the then Emperor Hirohito: "We don't wanna belong to the Emperor's household anymore, we wanna resign from it."
Consequently, the members of the Miyake branch ain’t entitled to any special privileges or special status simply by virtue of their royal lineage. Therefore, the members of the Miyake branch live as ordinary citizens in Japan nowadays and don't have any official duties or responsibilities related to the Emperor's household. They ain't supported by the Emperor's family, let alone, by the government. Therefore, the members of the Miyake branch are expected to support themselves through their own means and their role in Japanese
society is primarily that of private citizens.
All in all, the Imperial Household Agency is a double-edged sword in terms of the administration of everything being related with the Japanese Emperor and moreover, it's truly their fault that no one can tell if the first ten Emperors have even existed. As for the Miyake, they don't officially belong to the Emperor's family anymore, despite of their lineage.
Now, I ask you: Did you know that the Imperial Household Agency is a thing? And have you ever taken into account that there's a branch family from the Japanese Emperor's family? And do you have any suggestions about which topic from the Japanese history, culture and society I might write an article next? Don't hesitate writing it in the comment section below.
PS: Here you can go to my other articles from the "Culture Studies"-rubric: