Discussion on the History of Imperial Succession
Makoto Okawa／Professor, Faculty of Letters, Chuo University
Area of Specialization: Japanese Intellectual History
1. Imperial succession, a matter of national concern
Imperial succession has attracted significant attention from Japanese citizens. In particular, before the birth of Prince Hisahito of AkishinoMiya, the succession of the imperial throne by a male member of the male-line imperial family was in a crisis situation. In December 2004, "a panel of intellectuals for the Imperial House Act," a private advisory panel established by the then prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, submitted a conclusion that "In order to continue imperial succession in a stable manner, it is indispensable to pave the way for the enthronement of a female emperor and female-line succession" in November of the following year. After Prince Hisahito of Akishino was born, the expression of such opinions by the panel of intellectuals and the government became less frequent, but a deluge of opinions about female emperors and female-line emperors are still uploaded in social media and so on. Among them, quite a few arguments are based on an ingrained assumption or a misunderstanding of facts. Awful defamatory comments against current and former imperial family members are posted on a daily basis. We have to say that this is an infringement of basic human rights beyond the freedom of speech. Such comments are posted by a small number of people but could lead to the split of the nation. This is a grave situation. I study and discuss the background for the establishment of the current imperial succession system and how imperial succession has been considered in the Japanese history of ideas and spirits from the viewpoint of academic research so that we can have calm, mature discussions while avoiding such a grave situation, .
2. Female emperors in ancient eras
The history of the imperial family is closely related to the identity of Japanese people, but we cannot say that the history is understood by citizens sufficiently and accurately. For example, there were 8 female emperors in 10 generations before the enactment of the Imperial House Act in the Meiji Period in 1889. As the latest female emperor, Empress Go-Sakuramachi served as the 117th monarch of Japan from 1762 to 1771. In ancient Japan, 6 female emperors were enthroned in 8 generations－Empress Suiko, who served as the 33rd monarch of Japan, Empress Kōgyoku, who served as the 35th monarch of Japan and reascended the throne as the 37th monarch of Japan under the name of Empress Saimei, Empress Jitō, who served as the 41st monarch of Japan, Empress Genmei, who served as the 43rd monarch of Japan, Empress Genshō, who served as the 44th monarch of Japan, and Empress Kōken, who served as the 46th monarch of Japan and reascended the throne as the 48th monarch of Japan under the name of Empress Shōtoku. It is noteworthy that the succession from Empress Genmei, who served as the 43rd monarch of Japan, to Empress Genshō, who served as the 44th monarch of Japan, is a mother-daughter one. Such a large number of female emperors were enthroned during the historic turning point from the late 6th century to the late 8th century in which a new system called Ritsuryō was created and enforced. This is one of the facts relatively unknown to Japanese citizens. Those female emperors achieved remarkable results in projects for developing laws and cultivating land in Japan and interacting with China and the countries in the Korean Peninsula. Around that era, China saw the ascension of Empress Wu Zetian and Silla in the Korean Peninsula witnessed the ascension of Queen Seondeok, Queen Jindeok, Queen Jinseong, and others, but the number of female monarchs in Japan stood out in East Asia.
3. 正統(shoutou／legitimacy) in imperial succession
It is the Imperial House Act promulgated in 1947 that stipulates the imperial succession by a male-line emperor. It originates from the old Imperial House Act enacted in 1889. In pre-modern times, there was no codified law regarding imperial succession, so actors in the imperial family, the kuge (aristocratic class) and the buke (warrior class) determined who would ascend the throne. However, our ancestors believed that some kind of custom or reason was applied to imperial succession, which has been continued. The representative idea is the theory of 正統(shoutou／legitimacy), in which it is considered that the emperors who possess splendid virtue and have conducted ideal politics deserve the throne and the emperors who own the three Imperial Regalia are legitimate. It is globally rare that the ownership of sacred treasures is an important condition for imperial succession. This is a key point for discussing the Japanese history of imperial succession. Whether or not the buke (warrior class) was faithful to an emperor is another key point for determining the legitimacy of the emperor.[i]
The argument on the legitimacy of either the Northern or the Southern Dynasty was heated in the Meiji Period, based on the theory of legitimacy in pre-modern times. Please note that it is different from the current debate over whether or not we should accept a female emperor or a female-line emperor.
4. Study of the old Imperial House Act from the viewpoint of history of ideas
In this light, it seems necessary to delve into the period before the enactment of the old Imperial House Act, which is closely related to the current Imperial House Act, when discussing the imperial succession in the present age. The previous studies on the old Imperial House Act analyzed mainly the behavior, publications, and arguments of influential politicians and high-ranking government officials, including Hirobumi Ito, Sakimitsu Yanagiwara, and Kowashi Inoue. However, activities of government officials in charge of legal systems who engaged in the production of bills were discussed only partially. Nobody tried to focus on their translations of the constitutions of European countries and elucidate the ideological path toward the old Imperial House Act by carefully studying the translation, until I did so.
The first Japanese translation of a European constitution is the constitution of the Kingdom of the Netherlands amended in 1848. Studying the translation of all articles in detail, I paid attention to the fact that the Dutch term "wettige nakomelingen," which means legitimate offsprings (recognized in the constitution), was translated into the Japanese word "正統 (shoutou／legitimacy)" at the beginning of the Meiji Period. Around that time, the word "嫡出 (chaku-shutsu)," which means legal succession, was widely known, and translators knew that it means the birth from a legal wife, but they intentionally used the word "正統(shoutou／legitimacy)" used in pre-modern Japan, as this implies that the imperial successor owns the three Imperial Regalia and the buke (warrior class) is faithful to the successor. From the end of the Edo Period to the beginning of the Meiji Period, there was the area of confluence of the theory of imperial succession in pre-modern Japan and the theory of royal succession in modern western countries.[ii]
5. Concept of "male-line" and "female-line"
As far as I know, the word "男系 (dankei／male-line)" was not used in pre-modern times. The first articles of the first to third drafts (1867-1880) of the constitution produced by the Chamber of Elders stipulate that the imperial throne shall be ascended by a "legitimate" emperor. The words "男系(dankei／male-line)" and "女系 (jyokei／female-line)" appeared for the first time in Article 1 of the regulations for the Imperial Family, which were enacted by the political system interrogation office established in the Imperial Court on the initiative of Hirobumi Ito in March 1884.
When the old Imperial House Act was being developed in the Meiji Period, not only the Salic law, which allows the succession by males only, but also the quasi-Salic law, which allows the succession by females and female-line succession when there are no patrilineal male successors, like the constitution of the Kingdom of the Netherlands amended in 1848 was introduced, and government officials in charge of legal systems understood them well. Accordingly, the regulations for the Imperial Family basically prioritized the patrilineal succession by males, but Article 1 recognizes female emperors and Article 6 mentions the enthronement of a female emperor. Then, Kowashi Inoue, et al. opposed it strongly, advocating the patrilineal succession by males. As a result, the old Imperial House Act was enacted.[iii]
6. Imperial succession from now on
In October 2024, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) urged the Japanese government to amend the Imperial House Act, which stipulates that the imperial throne shall be ascended by a male patrilineal emperor. The Japanese government rejected it, arguing that imperial succession is the essential matter of the Japanese nation. I think that Japan needs to openly make a rational argument against such pressure on the global stage. While current and former imperial family members are receiving a wave of awful bashing, I would like to make efforts as a researcher so that citizens will recognize the facts accurately and have rational, mature discussions.
[i] Saito, K. Theory of legitimacy in the divine country: Early modern and modern periods in which Jinnō Shōtōki was accepted, Perikansha, 2019.
[ii] Okawa, M. "The 1848 Constitution of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Japanese Imperial Lineage Theory", Journal of Japanese intellectual history, 54, 2022.
[iii] Okawa, M. "Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Debates on Female and Female-Lineage Emperors," SGRA Report, 90, 2020.
Makoto Okawa／Professor, Faculty of Letters, Chuo University
Area of Specialization: Japanese Intellectual HistoryMakoto Okawa was born in Gunma Prefecture in 1974. He completed the Doctoral Program in the Graduate School, of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University. He holds a Ph.D. in literature. He served as Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University, a curator of the Yoshino Sakuzo Memorial Museum, and Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy of the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences in the Faculty of Letters, Chuo University before assuming the position of Professor in 2020.
His area of specialization is the Japanese history of thoughts and spirits.
His written works include Early Modern Royal Authority and the Historical Turn of the 'Rectification of Names' and the papers “Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Debates on Female and Female-Lineage Emperors,” “The 1848 Constitution of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Japanese Imperial Lineage Theory” and more.
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