Hirohito Tsuji | University of East Anglia
One of the characteristics of the Imperial Family of Japan is that the 126 successive generations of emperors have been succeeded by the patrilineal line without exception since the first, Emperor Jinmu. For this reason, they have never experienced a dynastic change and have no family name or surname. On the other hand, it is less well-known that there have been eight female emperors in the past. Six of them were ancient (and two enthroned twice) and two were early modern emperors. Of these, the 117th Empress Go-Sakuramachi is the most recent female emperor. Even the counting continues with an empress on the throne, so she was the 117th empress, not the 10th.
As in modern times, during the Edo period the emperor was head of state of Japan, however, the position was only nominal. National politics were dominated by the Shogunate, and the Imperial Court had little political power. It should be noted that the premodern Imperial system was different to that in the modern era following the establishment of the Meiji Imperial House Law.
The shōgun was a vassal appointed by the emperor, but in practice, the Shogunate kept the Imperial Family and the Imperial Court under control by the Laws for the Imperial and Court Officials. All of the Imperial Court’s decisions had to be reported to and approved by the Shogunate through two nobles in the position of buketensō. The Imperial Court's expenses and the salaries of the members of the Imperial Family and nobles depended entirely on the Shogunate, making it impossible for them to resist the Shogunate without an economic base and military power.
Since branch families of the Imperial House, known as miyake, were part of the Imperial Family, they were also under the power of the Shōgun. The fact that the head of each miyake had to go to Edo Castle to greet the Shōgun and thank him for the relief of his domain each time they were replaced indicates the power relationship between the Shogunate and the Imperial Family. Although the princes were members of the Imperial Family and not aristocrats, their position was subordinate to that of the five regent families: Konoe, Ichijō, Kujō, Takatsukasa, and Nijō, and the three lords, who were also aristocrats. The politics at the Imperial Court were exclusively run by the heads of the five regent families and the three lords. With very few special exceptions, in principle, miyake were ceremonial entities that could not be involved in politics. It was not until the arrival of the American naval ships at the end of the Edo period that the princes appeared on the political stage.
Each miyake were not necessarily closely related to the Imperial House by blood. This is due to the complex dual structure of the traditional family concept of uji [clan] and ie [household]. The former is a large group of blood relatives who regard the succession of ancestral rituals through paternal blood relations as absolute and are not necessarily concerned with the remoteness of blood relations. This concept was considered important by East Asian monarchs. The latter, on the other hand, is a concept which emphasises inheritance of family name, family property, family jobs, and household organisation, etc., but the reality of this concept varies greatly according to period, region, class, and religion, etc. Sometimes proximity to blood relations is required, however, especially among the common people, it was not always a matter of blood relations or gender. The Kan'in-no-Miya, which produced 119th Emperor Kōkaku (see below), was at the time the miyake closest to the Imperial House.
In 1762, the 116th Emperor Momozono died suddenly. At the time, Crown Prince Hidehito was only five years old. The heads of the five regent families, the highest-ranking nobilities, therefore held a secret meeting and decided to retain Empress Go-Sakuramachi, the elder sister of Emperor Momozono, as one point of relief for the Crown Prince until he came of age. They obtained ex post facto approval from the Shogunate on the grounds that it was an emergency situation. The reasons behind this decision included the threat of a new entourage emerging from the young emperor's accession to the Chrysanthemum Throne, the need for a former emperor to support Prince Hidehito, and the desire to involve his birth mother, Ichijō Tomiko, in his upbringing.
However, many nobles were very dissatisfied. For example, Nomiya Sadaharu was critical as there were only examples of female emperors in ancient times, and the accession of 109th Empress Meishō, another female emperor in early modern times, was too special an example to set a precedent, and lamented that the choice to have a female emperor despite having a crown prince was the symbol of a time of decline of the Imperial line. He also lamented that the Imperial succession from the younger brother to the elder sister was unprecedented and was outraged that ‘it is as if my heart is torn’. This was influenced by the religious background. Successive emperors are not only heads of the state of Japan, but also Shinto priest kings. However, in Shinto at the Imperial Court, women cannot engage in rituals during the menstrual period. In addition, rituals at the Imperial Court require the emperor to sit upright all night outdoors even in sub-zero temperatures, which is perceived as unsuitable for women when considering pregnancy or other medical reasons. Indeed, during her reign, Empress Go-Sakuramachi did not attend some of the most important ceremonies, such as the Shihō hai on New Year's Day. An emperor who could not host Shinto rituals was considered imperfect.
Just a few months ago, the UN’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) recommended that Japan's Imperial House Law be amended, on the grounds that it was sexist, and some Japanese feminists, liberalists, and anti-monarchists strongly supported it. On the other hand, Shinto priests, right-wingers, and conservatives vehemently opposed the idea; that it is illogical to label the law 'sexist' without even reading primary Japanese-language historical documents. Especially when similar precedents already exist all over the world, including in the selection of new Popes, the Dalai Lama, Sultan, Cohen and others. The issue of female emperors and religion has always been an issue.
Let us return to Empress Go-Sakuramachi. As noted above, she was considered imperfect; in 1771, she abdicated in favour of the Crown Prince, as originally promised. He became 118th Emperor Go-Momozono. Empress Go-sakuramachi continued to have a regent for the entirety of her reign. Usually, a regent was appointed when an emperor was a minor, while a chancellor was appointed for a post-adult emperor. In addition, Sennyjiū-ji Temple in Kyoto has portraits of emperors during the Edo period, but for some reason, none of her and another female emperor, Empress Meishō, have survived. This may be an important clue as to what positions the female emperors held. In other words, her role as emperor was essentially only that of a middle successor.
However, in 1779, Emperor Go-Momozono died without leaving behind any sons. As the unwritten rule for female emperors is lifelong celibacy after accession to the Chrysanthemum Throne, Empess Go-Sakurachi had no children. The heads of the five regent families therefore decided that the Emperor Kōkaku from Kan’in-no-Miya, one of the four miyake, would succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne at the age of only nine.
Empress Go-Sakuramachi often provided the young Emperor Kōkaku with guidance. She often visited the Imperial Palace and met with Emperor Kōkaku to explain to him what the monarchy should be like. In a letter she sent to Emperor Kōkaku, she wrote: ‘An emperor must show mercy and benevolence to the people, so that he can obtain the blessings of the kami [Shinto deities] and Buddha and maintain peace’. She was often referred to as the ‘national mother’ for her appearance.
In 1789, Emperor Kōkaku attempted to bestow the title of Emperor Emeritus on his father Prince Sukehito. During the Edo period, the seat of a prince from a miyake was a lower rank than the five regent families, and Emperor Kōkaku felt inferior to this. The Shogunate opposed the presentation of the title to a prince who had never been an emperor, as it was unprecedented, but Emperor Kōkaku remained firm, bringing up ancient and medieval examples and academic arguments, which led to a strained relationship between the Shogunate and the Imperial Court. Concerned by this, Empress Go-Sakuramachi persuaded Emperor Kōkaku that the best filial duty was to prolong the imperial line, then Emperor Kōkaku gave up his idea and the situation was settled.
In 1787, there was a boom among citizens suffering from famine and rising prices, who visited the gates of the Imperial Palace and threw money to worship the emperor in the same way as at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. This was their appeal to the sanctity of the emperor, at a time when many people were disappointed with the Shogunate's failure to respond adequately. Even though the Shogun held the real political and military power, the formal head of state of Japan was still the emperor. In other words, the emperors in the Edo period lacked real power but remained symbolically authoritative over the people.
To the 30,000 people gathered, Empress Go-Sakuramachi distributed apples, one for each person, without permission from the Shogunate. The Shogunate told the Imperial Court to stop such group behaviour as it was disruptive to order, but Empress Go-Sakuramachi refused on the grounds of religious freedom. On the contrary, Emperor Kōkaku asked the Shogunate to take responsibility for providing relief for the sick, the elderly, orphans and other weak people. This is clearly an expression of the monarchical consciousness based on the teachings of Empress Go-Sakuramachi. This was the first time in the early modern period that the Imperial Court without power had complained to the Shogunate, and it is an important event that can be seen as a pioneering example of modern empire-building.
Also, since the Middle Ages, traditional rituals had been discontinued at several Shinto shrines due to the chaos caused by warfare. It was also Emperor Kōkaku who devoted his efforts to their revival. Based on the teachings by Emperess Go-Sakuramachi, he worked to promote the flourishing of rituals with the awareness that he was the priest king. He promoted both the modernisation and restoration of the Imperial Court in a balanced manner.
In this way, Emperor Kōkaku is famous for his efforts to improve the authority of the Imperial Court, and for setting the tone for the later ideology of the Imperialism and the Meiji Restoration, which was largely due to the support of Emperess Go-Sakuramachi. Conventional studies have mainly focused on the literary aspects of Emperess Go-Sakuramachi, such as the waka poems she composed during her reign. However, as mentioned above, the role she played after the abdication was extremely significant. Of course, as with other female emperors, she must be a middle successor in terms of genealogical and religious aspects. On the other hand, her presence cannot be ignored when considering the beginnings of the modern Imperial Family.
Finally, I would like to mention what can be learnt from the case of Empress Go-Sakuramachi in the contemporary debate on the pros and cons of accepting female emperors. As mentioned above, Empress Go-Sakuramachi made her presence felt not as an emperor, but as the guardian of Emperor Kōkaku. This is because in the Imperial Court from late antiquity to the Meiji Restoration, it was common for the post-abdication emperor to reign as the de facto supreme authority. In other words, it is not logical to make a parallel comparison between the period of the Empress Go-Sakuramachi, which was based on the assumption of accession, and the current Imperial House Law, which is based on the assumption of non-accession. In addition, Empress Go-Sakuramachi educated Emperor Kōkaku on how to be a priest-king, however, did not herself fulfil the role of a priest-king. Considering that, unlike European monarchs like the UK, emperors are supposed to be Shinto priests, it is necessary to give due consideration to what successive female emperors, including her, were like. In addition, as was the case with Empress Go-Sakuramachi, female emperors after their succession to the Chrysanthemum Throne are assumed to be celibate for the rest of their lives. This is to prevent outside men from entering the Imperial Family, changing the family name and causing a change of dynasty. As the Shinto right to ancestral rituals can only be inherited via patrilineality, a change of dynasty would shake the very foundation of the Imperial Family's existence. Nevertheless, under the modern sense of human rights, can a female emperor be forced to remain unmarried for the rest of her life? In the first place, as the fact that Emperor Kōkaku is from a branch of the family shows, the traditional Japanese family concept is a complex double structure of ‘clan’ and ‘household’, which cannot be understood solely in terms of the modern European concept of a simple nuclear family. Regardless of political thoughts and positions, it is desirable that the debate progresses from an academic and objective perspective with these points in mind.
Further Reading
Peter Martin, The Chrysanthemum Throne: A History of the Emperors of Japan (University of Hawai'i Press, 1997).
Richard Arthur Brabazon Ponsonby-Fane, The Imperial House of Japan (Ponsonby Memorial Society, 1959).
Ben-Amy Shillony, ed., Critical Readings on the Emperors of Japan (Leiden: Brill, 2012).
Kiyoko Takagi, The Eight Female Emperors of Japan: A Brief Introduction to Their Lives and Legacies (Fuzanbo International, 2018). Translated by Masako Hamada, et al.
Herschell Webb, The Japanese Imperial Institution in the Tokugawa Period (Columbia University Press, 1968).
Hirohito TSUJI is a Postgraduate Researcher (PhD candidate) at the University of East Anglia. He has completed an MA in interdisciplinary Japanese studies at the University of East Anglia, an MA in history and minor programme of museology at Kokugakuin University, and a BA in Japanese history and minor field of Shinto studies at Kogakkan University. He specialises in the Imperial Family of Japan. He is also a Visiting Fellow at the Research Institute of the History and the Culture, and a Conference Manager and Editor, The Digital Orientalist.
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