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60-563: The Imperial Household Council ( 皇室会議 , Kōshitsu Kaigi ) is a ten-member body to approve the statutory matters on the Imperial House of Japan . The Council was established in 1947, when the current Imperial Household Law took effect. The Imperial Household Law provides that the Council shall be summoned by the prime minister to approve of: The Imperial Household Council has been convoked eight times hitherto. At each time,

120-723: A 24-piece traditional orchestra ( gagaku ) with 1,000 year-old instruments such as the koto and the shō , 30 gardeners, 25 chefs, 40 chauffeurs as well as 78 builders, plumbers and electricians. There are 30 archaeologists to protect the 895 imperial tombs. There is a silkworm breeder of the Momijiyama Imperial Cocoonery. The Emperor has four doctors on standby 24 hours a day, five men manage his wardrobe and 11 assist in Shinto rites. The Imperial Palace in Tokyo has 160 servants who maintain it. This

180-611: A 622 acres (252 ha) farm which supplies produce and meat for the Imperial Family. The farm costs were £3 million per year as of 2003 ; the emperor and his family had a monthly water bill of approximately £50,000, also as of 2003 . The Imperial Guard is a special over 900 strong police force that provides personal protection for the Emperor and other members of the Imperial Family including their residences for £48 million per year. Wakoku Wakoku (倭國)

240-565: A commoner upon marriage and her husband will never be a member of the Imperial House under the rule of patrilineal succession. Seven princesses have married without the Council's approval since it was established. In the summer of 2016, the aged Emperor Akihito indicated his desire to retire, leading to special legislation permitting the first abdication in over two centuries. The council met in December 2017 to formalize how and when

300-611: A male lineage succeeded to the throne of Yamato, but in the late 2nd century, a large-scale conflict broke out between the various political forces within Yamato (the Great War of Yamato ). This great uprising was settled when Himiko , who resided in Yamatai/Ibataikoku (see Ibataikoku ), was appointed queen regnant of Japan. Himiko died in the 240s , and the next king of Japan was a male, but civil war broke out again, and

360-695: A number of Imperial farms, residences and game preserves. The Imperial Household Agency administers the Shosoin Imperial Repository in Nara . The Imperial properties are all owned by the State . The Emperor can spend £150 million of public money annually. The imperial palaces are all owned and paid for by the State . Until 2003, facts about the Japanese Imperial Family's life and finances were kept secret behind

420-823: A seal with a tassel. It is believed that this was the result of the consolidation of Japanese polities in northern Kyushu, and that the Yamato State sent an envoy to the Eastern Han Dynasty as a representative of these groups. The Nakoku found in the Wajinden of the Records of the Three Kingdoms is said to be located in the Fukuoka Plain. The King of Na gold seal , described in the Book of

480-537: A stock farm in the Chiba region. They were all transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries . Imperial property holdings were further reduced since 1947 after several handovers to the government. When Emperor Shōwa died, he left a personal fortune of £11 million in 1989. In 2017, Emperor Akihito had an estimated net worth of US$ 40 million. Currently the primary Imperial properties are

540-466: A £2 million-a-year clinic with 42 staff and 8 medical departments. An example of lavish spending is the prior redecoration of a room for £140,000 where Crown Princess Masako gave birth to Princess Aiko in 2001. Emperor Akihito spent £140,000 on building a wine cellar. It has 4,500 bottles of 11 types of white wine and seven types of red such as Chateau Mouton Rothschild (1982) and champagne Dom Perignon (1992). The Imperial properties includes

600-591: Is found in the 81st volume of the Suisho Wakoku historical record, specifically in the 46th Dongyi Wakoku section. In 607, a messenger of the Mission to Sui brought a national book to Sui. In this book, instead of using the notation "Wakoku," the country is referred to as "the place where the sun rises ( 日出處天子 ) ," . This notation is simply to indicate that Wakoku is in the east, as in Buddhist scriptures of

660-477: Is mythical, and that Jimmu is a mythical figure. Historical evidence for the first 25 emperors is scant, and they are considered mythical, but there is sufficient evidence of an unbroken agnatic line since the early 6th century. Historically, verifiable emperors of Japan start from 539 CE with Emperor Kinmei , the 29th tennō . The earliest historic written mentions of Japan were in Chinese records, where it

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720-475: Is partly due to demarcation rules, such as a maid who wipes a table cannot also wipe the floor. There are also separate stewards in charge of handling silverware and the crystal. The Kyoto Imperial Palace has a staff of 78 people. There are also 67 who care for the horses at the Tochigi ranch. There are scores of additional staff for the summer palaces at the beach and in the mountains. The Imperial Palace has

780-449: Is said to have been located in northern Kyushu (along the coast of Hakata Bay ), received a gold seal ( King of Na gold seal ) from Emperor Guangwu of Han . In the 2nd year of the jianwu zhongyuan reign period [AD 57], the Na state of Wa sent an envoy with tribute. The envoy introduced himself as a high official. The state lies in the far south of Wa. [Emperor] Guangwu bestowed on him

840-742: Is the head of the Japanese imperial family. Article 3 and 4 of the Law for Special Exception of the Imperial House Law concerning Abdication, etc. of Emperor ( 天皇の退位等に関する皇室典範特例法 , Tennō no taii nado ni kansuru Kōshitsu Tenpan Tokureihō ) define the Emperor Emeritus ( 上皇 , jōkō ) and Empress Emerita ( 上皇后 , jōkōgō ) . Article 5 of the Imperial Household Law ( 皇室典範 , Kōshitsu Tenpan ) defines

900-819: Is therefore numerous. Other terms used for the dynasty are also Kōka (皇家, Imperial House). Formerly the term Kyūshitsu (宮室, Palace Household) was also used under the old Imperial Constitution and the Imperial Household Law, as well as Teishitsu (帝室, Imperial Household). The Emperor The Empress The Emperor Emeritus The Empress Emerita Naruhito [REDACTED] Fumihito [REDACTED] Shigeru Ishiba ( LDP ) Second Ishiba Cabinet ( LDP – Komeito coalition ) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Fukushiro Nukaga Kōichirō Genba [REDACTED] Masakazu Sekiguchi Hiroyuki Nagahama Saburo Tokura Kazuo Ueda The emperor ( 天皇 , tennō )

960-559: The Shinnōke of which the most senior branch Fushimi-no-miya (伏見宮) is first in the order of succession . Out of the Fushimi branch the Ōke branches split, which are the Kuni (久邇), Kaya (賀陽), Asaka (朝香), Higashikuni (東久邇) and Takeda (竹田) families as of 2024. Furthermore there are branches created from sons of the emperor who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into

1020-746: The Bank of Japan , other major Japanese banks, the Imperial Hotel and Nippon Yusen . After World War II , all of the 11 collateral branches of the Imperial Family were abolished under the Allied occupation of Japan , and the subsequent constitutional reforms imposed under Allied supervision forced those families to sell their assets to private or government owners. Staff numbers of the Imperial Household Ministry were slashed from roughly 6000 to about 1000. The Imperial Estates and

1080-661: The Book of Han and the Geographical Survey of Japan from around the 2nd century BC . In the late 7th century , the Yamato kingdom, which had been called Yamato, changed its external name to Japan , but its relation to Japan since Book of the Later Han is not clear. There are discrepancies in the descriptions of the Old Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang . In 57 AD, the chief of Na-no-Kuni of Wa, which

1140-777: The Fushimi-no-miya . The Japanese monarchy was considered to be among the wealthiest in the world until the end of World War II . Before 1911, there was no distinction between the Imperial Crown Estates and the Emperor's personal properties. When the Imperial Property Law was enacted in January 1911, two categories were established namely hereditary (crown estates) and personal property of the Imperial Family. The Imperial Household Minister had

1200-456: The Nashimoto branch in 1951, Kachō or Kwachō branch in 1970, Yamashina branch in 1987, and Kitashirakawa branch in 2018. The main Fushimi branch will become extinct upon the death of the current head, Fushimi Hiroaki (b. 1932), as he has no male offspring to succeed him; although he does not have any sons, his adoptive grandnephew has male issue who can be expected to become the head of

1260-609: The Prince Takamado , and most recently, the eldest daughter of Crown Prince Akishino , left the Imperial Family upon marriage, joining the husband's family and thus taking the surname of the husband. The living eight former imperial princesses are: Additionally, there are several people of Imperial descent in the Fushimi cadet branch ( Shinnōke ), which itself consists of a main branch and five extant sub-branches ( Ōke ). The cadet royal families lost membership in

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1320-771: The Tang dynasty and Silla , but they were defeated and forced to withdraw completely from the Korean peninsula. The first time the country was divided into two regions was in the 1960s. Emperor Tenmu , who won the Imjin War in 672, accelerated the construction of the Ritsuryo State, and in the process, he tried to prevent the Tang Dynasty from invading Japan by showing the Northern Tang Dynasty that Japan

1380-888: The Tokyo Imperial Palace and the Kyoto Imperial Palace . The estimated landholdings are 6,810 acres (2,760 ha). The Tōgū Palace is located in the larger Akasaka Estate where numerous other Imperial Family members reside. There are privately used imperial villas in Hayama , Nasu and the Suzaki Imperial Villa in Shimoda . The Katsura Imperial Villa , Shugakuin Imperial Villa and Sentō Imperial Palace are in Kyoto . There are

1440-473: The "Chrysanthemum Curtain." Yohei Mori (former royal correspondent for the Mainichi Shimbun and assistant professor of journalism at Seijo University) revealed details about finances of the Imperial Family in his book based on 200 documents that were published with the public information law. The Japanese Imperial Family has a staff of more than 1,000 people (47 servants per royal). This includes

1500-488: The Council meeting was headed by the Prime Minister and gave a unanimous consent and approval to the agenda. Fifty-one members lost their Imperial status in 1947 with an approval of the Council. The Council has discussed and approved of six marriages since its establishment. No princess of the blood needs a marriage approval unless she marries a member of the Imperial House, because she will automatically become

1560-420: The Eastern Han Dynasty and presented 160 slaves. In the first year of the reign of Emperor An's Yongchu, the king of the Japanese kingdom, Suishō, and others presented a hundred and sixty people to the court. The oldest person in Japanese history to have his name recorded in annals, Suishō was also the first person to be named King of Japan in historical records. Furthermore, the term "wakoku" also appeared for

1620-511: The Emperor's personal fortune (then estimated at $ 17.15 million in 1946, or roughly $ 270.70 million as of 2023) were transferred to state or private ownership with the exception of 6,810 acres (2,760 ha) of landholdings. The largest imperial divestments were the former imperial Kiso and Amagi forest lands in Gifu and Shizuoka prefectures, grazing lands for livestock in Hokkaido and

1680-568: The Imperial Family by the American Occupation Authorities in October 1947, as part of the abolition of collateral imperial houses and the kazoku (hereditary peerage ). However, there are still unofficial heads of the living collateral families. These are the living Kyū-Miyake ( 旧宮家 , "former Miyake") : The Higashifushimi or Komatsu collateral branch became extinct in the male line in 1922, followed by

1740-538: The Imperial Family members ( 皇族 , kōzoku ) as the Empress ( 皇后 , kōgō ) ; the Grand empress dowager ( 太皇太后 , tai-kōtaigō ) ; the Empress dowager ( 皇太后 , kōtaigō ) ; the Emperor's legitimate sons and legitimate grandsons in the legitimate male line ( 親王 , shinnō ) , and their consorts ( 親王妃 , shinnōhi ) ; the Emperor's unmarried legitimate daughters and unmarried legitimate granddaughters in

1800-522: The Imperial Grandson and the consort of the Imperial Grandson, in addition to properties held for Imperial Family members who were minors, were exempted from taxation. Up to 1921, the Imperial Crown Estates comprised 1,112,535.58 acres (450,227.18 ha). In 1921, due to the poor economic situation in Japan, 289,259.25 acres (117,059.07 ha) of crown lands (26%) were sold or transferred to

1860-516: The Imperial Household Council by mutual election among the adult members of the Imperial Family excluding the emperor . They vote to elect two reserve members from the imperial family in the same way. Princess Yori ceased to be a reserve member of the Council because she married on 10 October 1952 and thus became a commoner. Princess Takamatsu became a reserve member in replacement for her. On 3 September 2003, Prince Mikasa

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1920-483: The Imperial properties was estimated at ¥650 million in 1935 which is approximately US$ 195 million at prevailing exchange rates and $ 19.9 billion as of 2017 . Emperor Shōwa's personal fortune was an additional hundreds of millions of yen (estimated over $ 6 billion as of 2017 ). It included numerous family heirlooms and furnishings, purebred livestock and investments in major Japanese firms, such as

1980-522: The Japanese archipelago would refer to itself as Yamato. The New Tang Book and the Old Tang Book describe the change of the country's name at this time, saying that the name "Japan" was changed to "Japan. In both books, there is also a description that "Japan, originally a small country, annexed Japan," which is generally understood to refer to the Imjin War in which Emperor Tenmu destroyed

2040-602: The Japanese government and the private sector . In 1930, the Nagoya Detached Palace ( Nagoya Castle ) was donated to the city of Nagoya and six other imperial villas were sold or donated. In 1939, Nijō Castle was donated to the city of Kyoto . The former Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa shogunate which became an imperial palace in the Meiji Restoration , was donated to the city of Kyoto. At

2100-471: The Later Han , has been excavated from this area, and a Western Han mirror dating back to the 1st century BC has also been excavated. A royal tomb dating back to the 1st century BC has been found at the San'unnamikoji site ( Itoshima City ), which is thought to have been the center of the ancient "Ito Province”. About 50 years later, in the first year of Yongchu ( 107 ), the Japanese king Suishō sent an envoy to

2160-596: The Omi Imperial Court of Emperor Kōbun . The "K" in "K" is the first letter of the Japanese alphabet. In the Sangokushi , a history book of the Korean Peninsula , "Shilla honki", December of the 10th year of King Munmu (670), there is an article that reads, "Japan is renamed as the Japanese nation. The article states, "Japan was renamed as 'Japan' in the 10th year of King Munmu's reign (670), and

2220-508: The Yamato kingdom, which is said to have been established by a confederation by the first half of the Kofun era in the 4th century, were known externally as "Yamato kings" or "Yamato kings," but the early Yamato kingdom was an alliance of Regional states of various powerful families and was not a despotic kingdom or dynasty. It was not. It is thought that kings of regional states sometimes referred to themselves externally as Wakoku Kings . From

2280-667: The dynasties of the Southern Dynasty on the continent, and domestically he was called "King" or "Okimi", as the inscription on an iron sword excavated from the Eta Funayama Kofun in Kumamoto Prefecture reads. According to the Book of Sui , Wakoku is a country located in the southeastern part of Baekje/Silla, in the land of Sansenri. The country's territory stretches five months from east to west and three months from north to south. This information

2340-486: The end of 1935, the Imperial Court owned 3,111,965 acres (1,259,368 ha) landed estates according to official government figures. 2,599,548 acres (1,052,000 ha) of that was the Emperor's private lands. The total landholdings of the crown estates was 512,161 acres (207,264 ha). It comprised palace complexes, forest and farm lands and other residential and commercial properties. The total economic value of

2400-489: The event would take place. Article XXVIII of the Imperial Household Law provides that the Imperial Household Council shall consist of: Article XXX of the Imperial Household Law provides that other ten members shall be appointed as reserve members of the Council: The reserve members are as follows: Kōzoku Giin ( 皇族議員 ) , literally Imperial Representative , refers to the Imperial Family members elected as members of

2460-462: The first time. These facts suggest that it was during this period that the Wa polity was formed. The Book of the Later Han was compiled in a much later period, and although this has led some to believe that a powerful political force representing the Japanese state to some extent emerged between the end of the 1st century and the beginning of the 2nd century , there is no evidence that Gōzoku in each of

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2520-588: The late 4th century , tribute to the Northern and Southern dynasties , such as the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was seen, and this tribute to the Southern Dynasty continued intermittently until the end of the 5th century . These were the Five kings of Wa , as described in the Book of Song , and five kings are known: San, Jin, Je, Heung, and Wu. The king of Japan was called "King of Wako" or "King of Japan" to

2580-558: The legitimate male line ( 内親王 , naishinnō ) ; the Emperor's other legitimate male descendants in the third and later generations in the legitimate male line ( 王 , ō ) and their consorts ( 王妃 , ōhi ) ; and the Emperor's other unmarried legitimate female descendants in the third and later generations in the legitimate male line ( 女王 , joō ) . In English, shinnō (親王) and ō (王) are both translated as " prince " as well as shinnōhi (親王妃), naishinnō (内親王), ōhi (王妃) and joō (女王) as " princess ". After

2640-451: The main line of the dynasty does not have a name and is referred to as Kōshitsu (皇室, imperial house), there are agnatic cadet branches which split during the course of centuries who received their own family names in order to distinguish them from the main line. They were considered a part of the imperial family (皇族 Kōzoku ), with members carrying the title "Imperial Highness", until the laws changed in 1947. The most important branches were

2700-408: The members and reserve members were re-elected. Imperial House of Japan The imperial house recognizes 126 monarchs , beginning with Emperor Jimmu (traditionally dated to 11 February 660 BCE), and continuing up to the current emperor, Naruhito . However, scholars have agreed that there is no evidence of Jimmu's existence, that the traditional narrative of the imperial family's founding

2760-418: The predominant character. The word "Japan" was initially read as "Yamato," but eventually came to be read phonetically as "Zippon" or "Nippon," which became established around the Heian era and has continued to the present day. In the Middle Ages Islamic world , the ninth-century Ibn Khordadbeh wrote " Book of Roads and Kingdoms ( Arabic : كتاب المسالك والممالك , Kitāb al-Masālik w'al-Mamālik )" and

2820-404: The ranks of the court ( kuge ) or sword ( buke ) nobility. Such families are the Minamoto (源 also known as Genji), Taira (平 also known as Heishi) and Abe (安倍), as well as through in-laws the Tachibana (橘) for example. Out of these families further branches split through male descent who were also considered noble Japanese clans . The line of legitimate direct male descendants of emperors

2880-450: The rebellion ended when another female, Taeyeo/Ichibayo (see Taiyo ), became queen of Japan. In the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Wei, Biography of the Eastern Barbarians, Wajinden, there are several detailed descriptions of Emataikoku , Tsushima Province , Ichiji Province, Suerokoku, Itsukoku, Nakoku , and other provinces. It takes 20 days by water to reach Toumadai from Fumikuni, and 10 days by water and 1 month by land to reach

2940-403: The regions of the Japanese archipelago had any influence on the development of the Japanese state. The possibility that the king of Japan was also known as the King of Japan cannot be ruled out. In any case, from this time until the end of the 7th century , the political power representing/uniting the Yamato people continued to refer to itself externally as "Wakoku". After Suishō, it is said that

3000-462: The removal of 11 collateral branches from the imperial house in October 1947, the official membership of the imperial family has effectively been limited to the male-line descendants of the Emperor Taishō , excluding females who married outside the imperial family and their descendants. There are currently 16 members of the imperial family: The following family tree shows the lineage of current members of Japanese imperial family: Notes Under

3060-429: The responsibility for observing any judicial proceedings concerning Imperial holdings. According to the law, Imperial properties were only taxable if there was no conflict with the Imperial House Law. However, crown estates could only be used for public or imperially-sanctioned undertakings. Personal properties of certain members of the Imperial Family, such as Empress Dowager , the Empress, Crown Prince and Crown Princess,

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3120-410: The south from Toumadai to Yamataikuni. Queen Himiko of Yamatai-koku also paid tribute to Wei and was given the title of Wei-familial King of Wa. After Iyo, the record of tribute to the Chinese dynasty by Wakoku was cut off for a while. According to the Kujiki , there were more than 120 Kuni-no-Miyatsu in various parts of the Japanese archipelago, forming regional states. Among them, the kings of

3180-422: The terms of the 1947 Imperial Household Law , naishinnō (imperial princesses) and joō (princesses) lose their titles and membership in the family upon marriage, unless they marry the Emperor or another male member of the imperial family. Four of the five daughters of Emperor Shōwa , the two daughters of the Prince Mikasa , the only daughter of Emperor Emeritus Akihito , the second and third daughter of

3240-400: The time. As Japan developed, the word "倭" used to refer to the country became inappropriate, and there is a theory that it was changed to "Japan" for that reason. However, the notation of the national name remained Wakoku/Wa until the latter half of the 7th century. When Baekje was destroyed in 660, the Japanese attempted to revive it, and the Battle of Baekgang broke out in 663 between

3300-410: Was a separate country from the Southern Tang Dynasty and Japan from the Southern Tang Dynasty. The compilation of the Daiho Ritsūritsu , which regulated the new state system, was almost completed at the end of the 7th century, and it is said that the country name was changed from Wa (Japan) to Japan around 701 , just before the implementation of the said code. Thereafter, the central political power in

3360-408: Was named after its proximity to the rising sun. In the New Book of Tang , it is written that Me-tarishibikō was the first emperor to have contact with China. For a while afterwards in Japan, "Yamato" was sometimes used to refer to Japan, but around the middle of the Nara period (the Tempyō-shōhō era), "Wa" (和), which has the same pronunciation, began to be used in combination, and gradually became

3420-476: Was reelected to his fifteenth consecutive term of office since the Council's establishment. Crown Prince Naruhito was voted out. It was for the first time since 1963 that the crown prince was not elected as a member or reserve member of the Council. On 5 September 2007, Empress Michiko , six princes and nine princesses voted to elect Prince and Princess Hitachi as members of the Council, and Princess Mikasa and Prince Akishino as reserve members. Prince Mikasa

3480-508: Was referred to as Wa (倭 later 和), which later evolved into the Japanese name of Wakoku (倭國). Suishō (帥升, ca. 107 CE) was a king of Wa, the earliest Japanese monarch mentioned in Volume 85 of the Book of the Later Han from 445 CE. Further records mention the five kings of Wa (倭の五王, Wa no go ō ), of which the last one Bu of Wa is generally considered to be Emperor Yūryaku (417/18 – 479 CE). The existence of his reign has been established through modern archaeological research. While

3540-448: Was reported to have excused himself for his old age in advance. Crown Prince Naruhito was not elected again while his brother, Prince Akishino was voted in for the first time. The next election was in September 2011. On 7 September 2011, the regular election was held by the 18 adult members of the imperial family. This time the elections were not held at the Imperial Palace, but in an Agency conference room to reduce energy consumption. Both

3600-425: Was the name used by early imperial China and its neighbouring states to refer to the nation usually identified as Japan . There are various theories regarding the extent of power of the early kings of Japan . According to the Book of Sui and the History of the Northern Dynasties , its borders were five months from east to west and three months from north to south. The Wajin appear in historical documents such as

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