THE JAPANESE EMPEROR 天皇 | 10 Things You Didn't Know In december, for most places, it’s all about Christmas. In Japan, Christmas is big too. But just prior to Christmas, on the 23rd of December, it is the current Japanese Emperor, Akihito’s birthday. It is a national holiday in Japan (天皇誕生日). This year he turns 82, and I thought let’s do a video on The Japanese Emperor. So here’s 10 things you didn’t know about the Japanese Emperor! 1) WORLD'S OLDEST MONARCHY The Japanese monarchy, The Imperial House of Japan, is the oldest, continuous hereditary monarchy in the world. Compared to other monarchies, you have the British Monarchy starting at 1066 and the the Danish Monarchy at 935. For the Japanese Monarchy, we’re going back to 660BC, which started with the legendary Japanese Emperor Jimmu. 2) DESCENDENT OF GODS Shinto is the largest religion in Japan, and the line of Japanese Emperors are said to be the direct descendants of several Shinto gods, the most notable being the Sun goddess, Amaterasu. The Emperor is the ceremonial head of state in Japan, but it makes sense that with his divine ancestry, he is also officially the head of the Shinto religion itself. 3) TERRITORY-INDEPENDENT PHENOMENON As odd as it may seem, the title of Emperor (or Tennō) has never really been about territorial designations. Contrast this with European monarchs who often wanted to conquer and control additional territory. In fact, the position of Emperor is a territory-independent phenomenon. In other words, the Emperor is the Emperor regardless if he has followers in the whole of Japan or in only one province. 4) EMPEROR'S CAPACITY From 1192 to 1867, the shoguns held the real power (Shoguns being the military commanders of the time). The Emperor still officially nominated the Shoguns to their positions, but this was largely ceremonial. Today, the Japanese Constitution vests executive power in the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. The Emperor of Japan holds no power but is said to be “the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people." 5) POLYGAMY The Japanese imperial dynasty consistently practiced official polygamy. That is openly having more than one spouse or wife. Besides his empress, the Emperor could take several secondary consorts or concubines; which helped produce more offspring for the imperial clan. 6) FIRST COMMONER WIFE In the history of the Japanese Imperial Family, there was never an Emperor who had a commoner as wife or even concubine. That is, until now. The current Emperor of Japan married Empress Michiko, a commoner! She was not from the former court nobility nor from one of the former branches of the Imperial Family. Michiko was the daughter of an industrialist. This had never happened before. 7) FISH SCIENCE Emperor Akihito has shown to be a unique one. Add to that his interest in Fish Science (Ichthyology). The Emperor is a published ichthyological researcher, having written papers for several scholarly journals, and has specialised studies within the taxonomy of the family Gobiidae. Random. 8) STOP GAP EMPRESSES Generally, it has been males who have ascended Japan’s Chrysanthemum Throne; as in Emperors not Empresses. However, if a suitable male was not available, there have been times where women have ascended the throne; almost as a stop gap measure. Of the 125 monarchs, there have been 8 women who have reigned on 10 different occasions. 2 of them reigned twice. Once a suitable male descendant was considered old enough to rule, many Empresses, and even Emperors, abdicated or relinquished the throne. But, what is considered old enough? 9) CHILD EMPERORS Over a thousand years ago, a tradition started that an Emperor should ascend young. If he had passed his toddler years, he was said to be old enough. Being a child was apparently a fine property. Thus, a multitude of Japanese Emperors ascended as children; as young as 6 to 8 years old. In fact, Emperor Antoku, the 81st Emperor of Japan, became Emperor at the age of 2! 10) ABDICATING TREND Abdication was very common. Actually it was more frequent than death on the throne. The Emperors tasks involved so many repetitive rituals that after about ten years of service, it was deemed a reasonable compensation to live the rest of their lives in pampered retirement! In fact, many emperors were pretty welcoming to the idea of relinquishing their title. And even some teenage Emperors were happy to retire and live a life like Scrooge McDuck. If you have any suggestions for other Asian-related topics, let us know in the comments, and we might just do a video on it in the future. Thanks for watching! And if you enjoyed this video, don't forget to LIKE, SHARE & SUBSCRIBE ^^ SOCIAL MEDIA Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentobento2015 Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kento-Bento/1541570546113993

• published: 23 Dec 2015
• views: 4552