What Is The Emperor of Japan?

Historically, the emperor of Japan has been known as the Tenno and served as the locus of Power and authority at the heart of the Japanese state. The legitimacy of all organized state power can be seen as lying rhetorically within the position of Tenno throughout Japanese history. 

The earliest rhetoric of authority and power in the Japanese archipelago centers around the position of Tenno as the envoy for the higher Kami. This position seems to have waxed and waned in legitimate power throughout time as different families and factions fought and vied for control of that position. 

The position of Tenno seems to be respected on a rhetorical level but ignored as it pertained to actual power throughout the archipelago. 

We can see this illustrated in the shifting family and power centers throughout Japanese history. 

Seven Other families that have controlled the imperial Family 

• Soga - 530s–645   (115) 

• Fujiwara - 850 - 1070   (220) 

• Taira  - 1159 - 1180  (21) 

• Minomoto - 1192 - 1199  (7) 

• Hojo - 1199 - 1333  (134) 

• Ashikaga - 1336 - 1565  (229) 

• Tokugawa - 1603 - 1867  (264) 

The position of Tenno comes from continental influence and seemingly in imitation of the Sons of Heaven wielding power and influence in the Chinese states. The Japanese state itself began in the Nara basin and spread out from there incorporating other territories, polities and people. As these people were incorporated into the Yamato Empire, they transitioned from being independent ethnic groups and became “Japanese” 

The Tenno cites the origin of their authority as the will of Amaterasu - the Kami of the Sun. This was first recorded in a propaganda document compiled over the lifetimes of several rulers of the Japanese Empire.  This narrative served as a very successful narrative to spread the domination of the Yamato court throughout the lands of Japan and bring their populations under the control of the Yamato region. 

When the Tokugawa Shogunate rule ended in the late 19th century, the Emperor took an active role in the new government administration. The new Meiji government took shape and did so by adapting to the new world order that had emerged with the rise of Europe's colonizing powers. The emperor formed a new style of government modeled after the monarchs of Europe. 

In a similar way to how the Japanese adapted to the Chinese political structures and etiquette in the 7th and 8th centuries to begin and expand Japan., The Emperor of Japan adapted to the political etiquette of Europe and The United States in the 19th and 20th centuries by wantonly invading, colonizing, and using its military to intervene in the affairs of other nations. As one notable Japanese politician of that time has pointed out.

“When we engage in peaceful cultural exchange, we are looked down upon and called barbarians, but when we commit atrocities and violate the sovereign rights of other nations, we are welcomed into the collective of world powers.” (paraphrase but that's basically what he said. )

And this did seem to be the case because Japan’s government was applauded for annexing Korea, and after WW,1 Japan was invited to the League of Nations. 

But with the ever-fickle dispositions of world power governments, Japan chose the wrong side during the Second World War, and all of their “overseas” possessions were stripped from them, except for Okinawa and Hokkaido.  

At this time, the power of the Tenno was fully brought into question and the foundational nature of the Japanese government shifted from being a divine directive to being a representative body of the will of the people. 

Since the end of The War in 1942 the Government of Japan has been one that is centered around the Diet, The Prime Minister, and the Supreme Court and where authority is directed through the will of the people and filtered through the constitution. 

The role of the emperor today is a nostalgic one and a position that is ceremonial in nature. The Tenno’s role in Japanese society is to act as the ritualist for the decisions and acts of the branches of government. He holds absolutely zero political power but still commands an incredible amount of soft power through his title, the legacy of his position, and his role as head of the Shinto religion.