Reflections on the Emperor System – The Need to Reveal Japan’s True Past
KAWATO Akio / Former Ambassador to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan
June 25, 2019
Emperor Akihito has abdicated his throne, in what is being treated as a special one-time case. I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on Japan’s Emperor System.
“Heads of State” vary from country to country. For example, in the United States and France, it is the President, who is chosen through direct election and wields the supreme power. In Germany and India, the post is given to a President elected by representatives of the Federal or State assembly. And then there are monarchs who inherit the throne by birth, as in the United Kingdom.
The history of the Japanese emperor goes back to the seventh century, when the ruler of the land – who until then had been resigned to his status as the “King of Wa (the name by which the ancient kingdom was known)” – began to call himself “Tenno.” The choice of this title – “heavenly sovereign” – was perhaps a sign of defiance and a declaration of complete independence from the custom in which the kings of Japan were authorized by the Emperor of China. It is reminiscent of the way Western monarchs in the early modern period upheld the “divine right of kings” to rebuff the authority of the Vatican. From then on, the Japanese Imperial House is said to have maintained an unbroken lineage that continues to this day, without any change in dynasties as in China or Europe (though it should be noted that various conflicting views exist on this point). In any case, the Emperor is a unique existence that has come to convey Japan’s identity to the world.
Yet, the Emperor’s status has repeatedly been at the center of turbulence since the end of the Edo period, through the Meiji Restoration, defeat in World War II and under the new Constitution. This has caused distortions that remain unattended, with the Emperor himself bearing the brunt. He has no choice but to become Emperor due to his lineage and is given next to no privacy. He is placed on a pedestal as the “symbol of the state,” and while he plays a role in “affairs of the state” by formally appointing prime ministers and promulgating laws, such acts require the advice and approval of the Cabinet, which is ultimately held accountable. And since the Constitution does not allow him to “have powers related to government,” he must strictly refrain from taking actions or making comments of a political nature. It is quite a tough position to fill.
Let us reflect on the historical background. During the Edo period ruled by the samurai class that lasted from 1603 to 1868, the Emperor was stripped of almost all power. However, as Japan opened its doors to the West towards the end of the period, the authority of the Emperor took on a significant meaning. The dominant clans of Satsuma and Choshu allied with the Emperor and overthrew the shogunate under the Imperial Standard, thereby launching the Meiji period.
The Satsuma-Choshu alliance went on to justify their rule by championing the monarchy under the Meiji Constitution, which took effect in 1889. Consequently, the Emperor wielded actual power as the “head of the Empire, combining in himself the rights of sovereignty." On several occasions, he ordered the dissolution of the National Diet (parliament), which was in constant disarray since it was established in 1890.
The Imperial Rescript on Education issued in 1890 laid down the principles of an authoritarian regime under the Emperor. Sovereignty did not rest with the Japanese people, who were to serve the Imperial state as the Emperor’s loyal subjects. Religious rituals handed down by the Imperial Family were refined into Shintoism and placed above religion as the state ideology. The traditional syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism came under review, and Shinto shrines around the country were reorganized under the Ministry of the Interior to create the equivalent of a state church.
Japan’s defeat in World War II destroyed this authoritarian structure and brought the power of the Emperor closer to what it was during the Edo period. General Douglas MacArthur, who oversaw the postwar occupation of Japan, needed the Emperor’s authority to facilitate his government, while Japan’s ruling elite needed the Emperor to protect the “national polity” – in other words, the basis of their control and vested interests – from a communist revolution. Retaining the Emperor System was in their mutual interest. Yet, as we have seen above, the status given to the Emperor under the postwar Constitution is incomplete, and the conclusion of the Tokyo War Crimes Trials put an end to any questions concerning the Emperor’s responsibility in the war.
Consequently, the Emperor has continued to exist with inadequate protection for his human rights under the new Constitution. Then again, if he were given any real authority –the ability to refrain from signing laws that are deemed unconstitutional, for example – it would immediately place him at the center of a political dispute between various conflicting factions on the left and right, causing a division within Japanese society.
Nevertheless, I believe the Emperor System is mired too deeply in past constraints to make it a convincing institution for new generations of Japanese in the 21st century. Why not begin by authorizing major excavations of ancient tumulus? These are burial mounds found around the country that are mostly attributed to members of the Imperial House. Allowing excavations would shed light on the true history of Japan. Otherwise, the early history of Japan will continue to be limited to accounts compiled by those in power in the eighth century that contain myths.
Until now, it has been difficult to obtain approval for excavating the tombs of the Imperial House. We should do away with this taboo. Artifacts recovered during recent excavations of tumuli in the Nara region have amply demonstrated the strong ties that existed between Japan’s ancient dynasty and the Eurasian continent. Excavations on an even grander scale will no doubt reveal the true picture of Japan’s past.
It should enable people to take a more dispassionate view of Japan’s place in Asia based on facts, instead of the narrow-minded, arrogant understanding based on myths. And unless our sense of intimacy and respect towards the Emperor and the Imperial Family are based on facts rather than myths, the institution is unlikely to survive into the 22nd century.
Akio Kawato is a former Japanese ambassador to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
“Heads of State” vary from country to country. For example, in the United States and France, it is the President, who is chosen through direct election and wields the supreme power. In Germany and India, the post is given to a President elected by representatives of the Federal or State assembly. And then there are monarchs who inherit the throne by birth, as in the United Kingdom.
The history of the Japanese emperor goes back to the seventh century, when the ruler of the land – who until then had been resigned to his status as the “King of Wa (the name by which the ancient kingdom was known)” – began to call himself “Tenno.” The choice of this title – “heavenly sovereign” – was perhaps a sign of defiance and a declaration of complete independence from the custom in which the kings of Japan were authorized by the Emperor of China. It is reminiscent of the way Western monarchs in the early modern period upheld the “divine right of kings” to rebuff the authority of the Vatican. From then on, the Japanese Imperial House is said to have maintained an unbroken lineage that continues to this day, without any change in dynasties as in China or Europe (though it should be noted that various conflicting views exist on this point). In any case, the Emperor is a unique existence that has come to convey Japan’s identity to the world.
Yet, the Emperor’s status has repeatedly been at the center of turbulence since the end of the Edo period, through the Meiji Restoration, defeat in World War II and under the new Constitution. This has caused distortions that remain unattended, with the Emperor himself bearing the brunt. He has no choice but to become Emperor due to his lineage and is given next to no privacy. He is placed on a pedestal as the “symbol of the state,” and while he plays a role in “affairs of the state” by formally appointing prime ministers and promulgating laws, such acts require the advice and approval of the Cabinet, which is ultimately held accountable. And since the Constitution does not allow him to “have powers related to government,” he must strictly refrain from taking actions or making comments of a political nature. It is quite a tough position to fill.
Let us reflect on the historical background. During the Edo period ruled by the samurai class that lasted from 1603 to 1868, the Emperor was stripped of almost all power. However, as Japan opened its doors to the West towards the end of the period, the authority of the Emperor took on a significant meaning. The dominant clans of Satsuma and Choshu allied with the Emperor and overthrew the shogunate under the Imperial Standard, thereby launching the Meiji period.
The Satsuma-Choshu alliance went on to justify their rule by championing the monarchy under the Meiji Constitution, which took effect in 1889. Consequently, the Emperor wielded actual power as the “head of the Empire, combining in himself the rights of sovereignty." On several occasions, he ordered the dissolution of the National Diet (parliament), which was in constant disarray since it was established in 1890.
The Imperial Rescript on Education issued in 1890 laid down the principles of an authoritarian regime under the Emperor. Sovereignty did not rest with the Japanese people, who were to serve the Imperial state as the Emperor’s loyal subjects. Religious rituals handed down by the Imperial Family were refined into Shintoism and placed above religion as the state ideology. The traditional syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism came under review, and Shinto shrines around the country were reorganized under the Ministry of the Interior to create the equivalent of a state church.
Japan’s defeat in World War II destroyed this authoritarian structure and brought the power of the Emperor closer to what it was during the Edo period. General Douglas MacArthur, who oversaw the postwar occupation of Japan, needed the Emperor’s authority to facilitate his government, while Japan’s ruling elite needed the Emperor to protect the “national polity” – in other words, the basis of their control and vested interests – from a communist revolution. Retaining the Emperor System was in their mutual interest. Yet, as we have seen above, the status given to the Emperor under the postwar Constitution is incomplete, and the conclusion of the Tokyo War Crimes Trials put an end to any questions concerning the Emperor’s responsibility in the war.
Consequently, the Emperor has continued to exist with inadequate protection for his human rights under the new Constitution. Then again, if he were given any real authority –the ability to refrain from signing laws that are deemed unconstitutional, for example – it would immediately place him at the center of a political dispute between various conflicting factions on the left and right, causing a division within Japanese society.
Nevertheless, I believe the Emperor System is mired too deeply in past constraints to make it a convincing institution for new generations of Japanese in the 21st century. Why not begin by authorizing major excavations of ancient tumulus? These are burial mounds found around the country that are mostly attributed to members of the Imperial House. Allowing excavations would shed light on the true history of Japan. Otherwise, the early history of Japan will continue to be limited to accounts compiled by those in power in the eighth century that contain myths.
Until now, it has been difficult to obtain approval for excavating the tombs of the Imperial House. We should do away with this taboo. Artifacts recovered during recent excavations of tumuli in the Nara region have amply demonstrated the strong ties that existed between Japan’s ancient dynasty and the Eurasian continent. Excavations on an even grander scale will no doubt reveal the true picture of Japan’s past.
It should enable people to take a more dispassionate view of Japan’s place in Asia based on facts, instead of the narrow-minded, arrogant understanding based on myths. And unless our sense of intimacy and respect towards the Emperor and the Imperial Family are based on facts rather than myths, the institution is unlikely to survive into the 22nd century.
Akio Kawato is a former Japanese ambassador to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
The English-Speaking Union of Japan
天皇制について想う — 日本の真の過去を明らかにすることが必要
河東 哲夫 / 元駐ウズベキスタン・タジキスタン大使
2019年 6月 25日
明仁天皇が今回だけの特例として生前退位された。この機会に天皇制を考えてみたい。
「国家元首」は様々だ。米国やフランスでは直接選挙で選ばれる大統領（文字通りの最高権力者）、ドイツ、インドでは連邦・州議会の代表が選ぶ大統領、そして英国を筆頭に血筋で継承される国王……。
その中で日本の天皇は7世紀、それまで単なる「倭王」の地位に甘んじていたのが、天皇を名乗る。「天」命による「皇」帝、その心はバチカンの権力を否定した西欧近世の「王権神授説」に似て、中国皇帝による日本国王授権を拒絶し、完全な独立を標榜したものだったろう。
以後日本の皇室は万世一系、中国や欧州諸国のような王朝の交代もなく続いてきたことになっている（その点については異説が多々あるが）。「日本」のアイデンティティーを世界に示すものとして、かけがえのない存在である。
しかし幕末・明治維新、そして敗戦と新憲法と、天皇の地位をめぐって繰り返された激動がもたらしたねじれは放置され、天皇という生身の人間個人にその負担がしわ寄せされている。生まれの故に否応なしに天皇となり、プライバシーはほぼゼロ。国家の象徴と祭り上げられ、総理大臣の任命、法律の公布等「国事」に携わりながら、これは全て内閣の助言と承認を要するものとされ、責任は内閣が負う。そして「国政に関する権能を有しない」(憲法）ため、政治的な行為・発言は厳に控えるべきものとされる。酷な立場だ。
こうなった歴史を振り返る。江戸時代（1603年―1868年の武家政権時代）、天皇の権力は限りなく無に近づいた。しかし幕末の開国に当たって、天皇の権威が意味を持つ。天皇を抱き込んだ薩摩藩・長州藩(当時の有力な藩）が天皇の印の錦の御旗を押し立てて討幕を実現し、明治体制を開いた。
1889年には明治憲法を発布し、天皇をトップに立てて薩長支配を正当化したのである。天皇は「統治権の総攬者」として、1890年の発足当初から混乱を極めた国会を何度も解散するなど、実際に権力を振るう。
1890年の教育勅語は、天皇をトップとする絶対主義的支配の原則を定めた。国民に主権はなく、天皇の「臣民」として皇室国家の為に尽すこととされた。また天皇家に伝わった祭祀は神道として、宗教の上を行く国家イデオロギーに昇華。それまでの神仏混淆は改められ、全国の神社は内務省神社局の下に一種の国教会として存在することとなる。敗戦はこの絶対主義的構造を破壊し、天皇の権力を江戸時代のレベルに近づけた。戦後日本の行政を円滑に行うために天皇の権威を必要としたマッカーサーと、日本の「国体」、つまり支配・利権構造を共産革命から守るために天皇を必要とした日本エリート層の利害は一致して、天皇制は残されることとなったが、新憲法が天皇に与えた地位は前述のように中途半端。天皇の戦争責任の問題は不問のまま、極東裁判でけりがつけられた。
こうして、新憲法の下では天皇は普通の人権さえ十分には享受していない状況なのだが、さりとて、天皇に実質的な権限―例えば憲法に違反すると思われる法律には署名しない等―を認めた途端、天皇は左右相対立する諸政治勢力の政争の核となり、社会の分裂を起こすだろう。
それでも天皇制は、21世紀の新世代にも納得してもらうには、あまりにも過去のしがらみに取り巻かれている。まず全国の古墳(天皇家の墓が多い）の大々的な発掘調査を認めることで、本当の日本史を明らかにすることあたりから始めてはどうか。さもないと、日本史の初めの頃は、8世紀に当時の当局が編纂した「神話」混じりのものしかないままだ。
これまでは、天皇家の墓所は発掘をなかなか認めてもらえなかったのだが、そのタブーを解けばいいのである。奈良地方の古墳からの最近の出土品は、当時の王朝のユーラシア大陸との紐帯を余すところなく明らかにしている。もっと大々的に発掘を進めれば、日本史の実像は更に明確になってくるだろう。
人々もアジアにおける日本の地位について、神話に基づく夜郎自大的な理解ではなく、真実に基づくもっと冷静な気持ちを持つだろう。天皇、天皇家に対する尊敬、親しみの感情も、神話ではなく真実に基づくものでなければ、22世紀に向けて続きはするまい。
筆者は元ウズベキスタン・キルギスタン大使
「国家元首」は様々だ。米国やフランスでは直接選挙で選ばれる大統領（文字通りの最高権力者）、ドイツ、インドでは連邦・州議会の代表が選ぶ大統領、そして英国を筆頭に血筋で継承される国王……。
その中で日本の天皇は7世紀、それまで単なる「倭王」の地位に甘んじていたのが、天皇を名乗る。「天」命による「皇」帝、その心はバチカンの権力を否定した西欧近世の「王権神授説」に似て、中国皇帝による日本国王授権を拒絶し、完全な独立を標榜したものだったろう。
以後日本の皇室は万世一系、中国や欧州諸国のような王朝の交代もなく続いてきたことになっている（その点については異説が多々あるが）。「日本」のアイデンティティーを世界に示すものとして、かけがえのない存在である。
しかし幕末・明治維新、そして敗戦と新憲法と、天皇の地位をめぐって繰り返された激動がもたらしたねじれは放置され、天皇という生身の人間個人にその負担がしわ寄せされている。生まれの故に否応なしに天皇となり、プライバシーはほぼゼロ。国家の象徴と祭り上げられ、総理大臣の任命、法律の公布等「国事」に携わりながら、これは全て内閣の助言と承認を要するものとされ、責任は内閣が負う。そして「国政に関する権能を有しない」(憲法）ため、政治的な行為・発言は厳に控えるべきものとされる。酷な立場だ。
こうなった歴史を振り返る。江戸時代（1603年―1868年の武家政権時代）、天皇の権力は限りなく無に近づいた。しかし幕末の開国に当たって、天皇の権威が意味を持つ。天皇を抱き込んだ薩摩藩・長州藩(当時の有力な藩）が天皇の印の錦の御旗を押し立てて討幕を実現し、明治体制を開いた。
1889年には明治憲法を発布し、天皇をトップに立てて薩長支配を正当化したのである。天皇は「統治権の総攬者」として、1890年の発足当初から混乱を極めた国会を何度も解散するなど、実際に権力を振るう。
1890年の教育勅語は、天皇をトップとする絶対主義的支配の原則を定めた。国民に主権はなく、天皇の「臣民」として皇室国家の為に尽すこととされた。また天皇家に伝わった祭祀は神道として、宗教の上を行く国家イデオロギーに昇華。それまでの神仏混淆は改められ、全国の神社は内務省神社局の下に一種の国教会として存在することとなる。敗戦はこの絶対主義的構造を破壊し、天皇の権力を江戸時代のレベルに近づけた。戦後日本の行政を円滑に行うために天皇の権威を必要としたマッカーサーと、日本の「国体」、つまり支配・利権構造を共産革命から守るために天皇を必要とした日本エリート層の利害は一致して、天皇制は残されることとなったが、新憲法が天皇に与えた地位は前述のように中途半端。天皇の戦争責任の問題は不問のまま、極東裁判でけりがつけられた。
こうして、新憲法の下では天皇は普通の人権さえ十分には享受していない状況なのだが、さりとて、天皇に実質的な権限―例えば憲法に違反すると思われる法律には署名しない等―を認めた途端、天皇は左右相対立する諸政治勢力の政争の核となり、社会の分裂を起こすだろう。
それでも天皇制は、21世紀の新世代にも納得してもらうには、あまりにも過去のしがらみに取り巻かれている。まず全国の古墳(天皇家の墓が多い）の大々的な発掘調査を認めることで、本当の日本史を明らかにすることあたりから始めてはどうか。さもないと、日本史の初めの頃は、8世紀に当時の当局が編纂した「神話」混じりのものしかないままだ。
これまでは、天皇家の墓所は発掘をなかなか認めてもらえなかったのだが、そのタブーを解けばいいのである。奈良地方の古墳からの最近の出土品は、当時の王朝のユーラシア大陸との紐帯を余すところなく明らかにしている。もっと大々的に発掘を進めれば、日本史の実像は更に明確になってくるだろう。
人々もアジアにおける日本の地位について、神話に基づく夜郎自大的な理解ではなく、真実に基づくもっと冷静な気持ちを持つだろう。天皇、天皇家に対する尊敬、親しみの感情も、神話ではなく真実に基づくものでなければ、22世紀に向けて続きはするまい。
筆者は元ウズベキスタン・キルギスタン大使
一般社団法人 日本英語交流連盟