Emperor of Japan

“ It has been stated, and often repeated, that the Emperor of Japan sits on a throne all day without moving his hands, or even his eyes; that he is treated as a god, and that his subjects believe that the empire totters if he is unsteady. ”

“ The patriotism of the Japanese is blind and unswerving loyalty to what is practically an absolutism. The Emperor can do no wrong, nor can the five ambitious great men who have his ear and control the destiny of Japan.
No great race adventure can go far nor endure long which has no deeper foundation than material success, no higher prompting than conquest for conquest’s sake and mere race glorification. To go far and to endure, it must have behind it an ethical impulse, a sincerely conceived righteousness. ”

“ Even after the establishment of the Shogunate, nobody in Japan had ever thought it possible that the Emperor could be placed in rank equal to or under a Shogun or any other sort of dictator, however virtually powerful he might have been. Through all political vicissitudes the Emperor has remained always the noblest personage in Japan, and in this sense he has been the focus toward which the heart of the whole nation turned. ”

“ The Emperor of Japan, without the slightest exaggeration, can say, 'L'état, c'est moi.' The Japanese believe that all their happiness is bound up with the Imperial line and have no respect for any system of morality or law that fails to take cognizance of this fact."
Mr. Yamaguchi, professor of history in the Peeresses' School and lecturer in the Imperial Military College, thus writes in the Far East: "The sovereign power of the State cannot be dissociated from the Imperial Throne. It lasts forever along with the Imperial line of succession, unbroken for ages eternal. ”

“ To us the country is more than land and soil from which to mine gold or reap grain—it is the sacred abode of the gods, the spirit of our forefathers; to us the Emperor is more than the Arch Constable of a Reichsstaat, or even the Patron of a Kulturstaat; he is the bodily representative of heaven on earth, blending in his person its power and its mercy.”
The religion of Japan is practically a worship of the State itself. Patriotism is the expression of this worship. The Japanese mind does not split hairs as to whether the Emperor is Heaven incarnate or the State incarnate. ”

“ This system of government has almost always been misunderstood in America and Europe. Two rulers in two capitals gave to foreigners the impression that there were two emperors in Japan, an idea that has been incorporated into most of the text books, and encyclopedias of Christendom. Let it be clearly understood however that there never was but one emperor in Japan, the mikado, who is and always was the only sovereign, though his measure of power has been very different at different times. Until the rise and domination of the military classes, he was in fact, as well as by law, supreme. ”

“ The present imperial palace at Tokyo is, to be sure, protected by a moat and great stone walls, but that was originally built for shoguns, and was taken over by the Imperial House only at the time of the Restoration.
"Our old Japanese idea is that the Emperor is the father of his people. There is a certain reverence, yet a certain democracy, too, in our feeling on this subject. We who have the old ideas regret that the Emperor now appears in a military or naval uniform. It is too much like the European way, too much like abandoning the feeling that he is the head of the family. ”

“ Without laying any stress upon the traditional way among the Japanese of ascribing all manner of success and prosperity to the virtues of the Emperor, it is simple matter of historical fact that the patience, wisdom, and benevolence of their present ruler are, either directly or indirectly, responsible for the escaping of much evil and the securing of much good on the nation’s behalf. Japan has been guided out of the old era into the new by a very remarkable body of men ”

“ I have spoken of the four audiences which I have had the honour to enjoy, with His Majesty, the Emperor of Japan, with some detail and with all the frankness within the limits of a courteous reserve, because they seem to me to throw light upon his personality as a man and as a ruler of men. ”

“ No fault or lack in character can be attributed to him. I question if any rulers have ever been more truly apotheosized by any nation than the Emperors of Japan. The essence of patriotism to-day is devotion to the person of the Emperor. It seems impossible for the people to distinguish between the country and its ruler. He is the fountain of authority. Lower ranks gain their right and their power from him alone. Power belongs to the people only because, and in proportion as, he has conferred it upon them. Even the Constitution has its authority only because he has so determined. ”

“ By the constitution of 1889, the emperor of Japan transferred a large part of his former powers as absolute monarch to the representatives of the people, but as head of the empire he appoints the ministers, declares war, makes peace and concludes treaties, acting generally as a constitutional sovereign but with all the personal authority attaching to his august position. ”

“ The long arduous labours of these historians were consummated in expounding the doctrine that the Japanese nation had something unique in its civilisation which was worthy to be guarded carefully and fostered, and that the only bond which could unite the nation spiritually was fidelity towards its common centre, the Emperor, whose family had continued to reign over the country since time immemorial. ”

“ The government of Japan is a constitutional monarchy in which the emperor not only claims to rule by divine right but by right of divine birth. He is described as Heaven born, and according to the accepted history there has been no break in the family line for twenty-five hundred years. ”

“ The Japanese proclamation may be translated as follows:
"We, by the grace of Heaven, Emperor of Japan, seated on a throne occupied by the same dynasty from time immemorial, do hereby make proclamation to all our loyal and brave subjects, as follows:
"We hereby declare war against China. We command each and all of our competent authorities, in obedience to our wish, to carry on hostilities by sea and land against China, and to make [263] effort to attain the national aim. We command them, each according to his power, to use all the means at their disposal, consistently with the Law of Nations. ”

“ While retaining its time-honored culture, Japan rapidly absorbed Western technology during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After its devastating defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become the second most powerful economy in the world and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, actual power rests in networks of powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business executives. ”

“ It is proper to state that in regard to this exaltation of the family over the individual Japan is now in a transition period, and that the individual is becoming more and more important in the eyes of the law.
A marked characteristic of the Japanese is their strong patriotism. There is no more patriotic people on the face of the earth. It is said that the name of the emperor, whispered over the heads of an excited mob, will calm it as readily as oil poured on troubled waters. ”

“ As to who is the sovereign of Japan, it is a question on which no one in Japan can entertain a doubt. The Emperor is the sovereign. My object from the first has been to take the will of the nation as to the future government. If the nation should decide that I ought to resign my powers, I am prepared to resign them for the good of my country..... ”

“ The personal name of the sovereign is rarely written or spoken in Japan, it being regarded almost as a discourtesy to allude to the ruler as other than the Ten-shi, the son of the heavens, or more elegantly as the Tenno, the heaven-sent Emperor. The theory of the supernatural origin of the imperial dynasty ceased to have weight with the educated classes long ago, but that in no way lessens the respect and affection which his subjects have for their sovereign. ”

“ In theory the emperor, as the divine head of the nation, cannot go wrong, and whatever he does is necessarily right. It is the duty of every subject unquestioningly to obey the will of the emperor. To this all Japanese will readily agree, but in practice the people are often found arraigned against the government, which has the emperor for its head. Lines of policy which the emperor himself has mapped out and pursued for years are often bitterly opposed ”

“ In point of military discipline and bravery, the Japanese far exceed the [pg 181] Chinese, and are by no means of so base and effeminate dispositions as most of the inhabitants of that great empire. The government also of Japan is perfectly uniform and well settled, so that there cannot be any diversity of interests; for, though several of its provinces are denominated kingdoms, yet all these petty kings are under the strictest subjection to the emperor, and the laws of the country extend over all. ”

“ The rise of the influence of the new-born bourgeois class in modern Japan may be said to have dated from this epoch. Europeanisation in manners and customs became more and more striking year by year.
What is unique in our modern history is that, parallel with the growth of the democratic tendency in the nation, the imperial prestige effected a remarkable increase. This seemingly contradictory phenomenon may be explained easily by considering how our present notion of fidelity to the Emperor has evolved. ”

“ The Japanese government is in the hands of a progressive and able emperor, supported by a cabinet composed of the foremost statesmen of the east, and reigning under constitutional forms. Naturally elated by the wonderful success of their arms, it is to be fairly expected that they will continue in the progressiveness which has marked the island empire’s history since Perry opened the door for western light to shine in. In the east they should become by virtue of the abilities the dominant power, unless by chance the Chinese have learned a lesson which they will put into effect. ”

“ To have Japan strongly centralised, it was necessary for her to have an individual, that is to say the Emperor, as a nucleus of centralisation.
We have seen the process by which the predominant stock of the Japanese grew in power and influence, as well by exploring new lands and installing there men of their own stock as lords, as by organising more and more new groups out of the immigrants who came over to this country, and, perhaps, also out of a certain number of autochthons. Within the predominant stock itself the imperial family was no doubt the most influential. ”

“ But Commodore Perry breaks down that isolation; and Japan enters, first merely into amity, but afterwards into commercial intercourse, with foreign nations. The break up of the old foreign policy accelerates the break up of the old national policy of government, and civil commotions culminate in the restoration of the Emperor to his lawful authority. Japan is then reconstructed on new lines; and a tremendous internal development prepares the Japanese to be admitted by their generous Emperor into a share of his inherited prerogatives. ”

“ While laying in the roads at Macao, a young Russian officer who had, with a squadron from his country, visited the port of Nangasaki, brought the intelligence that the emperor of Japan had died after our visit, and that the Japanese said they would have to mourn him for three years, during which time they could have no transactions or negotiations with193 foreigners. ”

“ On December 28, 1905, the Emperor of Japan opened the first Diet following the war and the new Alliance Treaty with England, referring in his speech to the fact that Japan had become a world power and that it was the duty of Parliament and of all citizens to assist to the utmost in fulfilling the country’s newly acquired obligations. ”

“ The fervor of patriotism that restored to the emperor his original authority wrought wonders in Japan. The feudal lords came forward and voluntarily turned their vast estates over to the emperor and relinquished the authority which they had exercised over their tenants; then they joined with the samurai (their former retainers) in supporting the emperor in abolishing all social distinctions. From that day to this the country has grown more and more democratic, the reforms working from the upper classes down. ”

“ The day after the audience we went over to the palace, and signed our names in the Imperial books.
[pg 73] The reigning Emperor is the one hundred and twenty-fourth of his line. It is said that he wishes to travel beyond his kingdom, but although the Japanese people themselves seek to be up to date and familiar with the ways of the Western world, many of them do not wish their ruler to be so, and therefore do not quite approve of his taking so much interest in foreigners. In his boyhood the Emperor went to school and seemed quite well and strong ”

“ The prerogatives of the Crown had to be secured from excessive interference by the governed,—the government must be absolutely free to employ all the nation’s resources. Without this clear perception of the attributes of sovereignty at the outset, it might have been difficult to have brought all Japan’s strength to bear in the critical situations which have in later years arisen. As matters stand, however, the direct rule of the sovereign, though in some respects the idea of limited monarchy is preserved, remains practically unfettered, and the supreme control rests in the Emperor’s own hands. ”