Posts Tagged: imperial family

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31
May 10

Kyoto: The Original Capital of Japan

With nearly 1.5 million residents, the city of Kyoto in the Kyoto Prefecture is the 7th largest city in Japan, but it’s also one of the nation’s most important cities, in terms of history and culture. The city, located about 300 miles southwest of Tokyo (and accessible from Tokyo in around 3 ½ hours by train), is centrally inland, so you can’t see the Pacific Ocean or the Sea of Japan from the city limits. The large population’s water needs are met by the plethora of locations at which a water table breaks through the ground’s surface, leading to attractive ponds and small lakes. There are also three rivers surrounding the city: the Kamogawa, the Katsuragawa, and the Ujigawa.

Home to historic locations such as the Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion Temple), Kyoto was once Japan’s capital city for a period of almost 1100 years from 794 CE to 1868 CE. (There was a brief time in the 1180s CE, however, in which it was not the capital.) During this time, Kyoto was known as Heian-kyo. Kyoto was home to the imperial family for all of these years, even when the imperial family lost much of its power to the shoguns (military leaders), so it served as the nation’s capital, at least on paper. In fact, the label of “capital” was never officially transferred from Kyoto to Tokyo in the 1800s even after the imperial family moved, so there are some who believe that Kyoto remains the capital officially, despite the modern government being seated in Tokyo.

Originally modeled after the Chinese city of Xi’an (at the time the capital of the Tang Dynasty), the city of Kyoto retains much of its imperial and historical significance. There are plenty of modern buildings, but there are far more historic buildings per square mile than you would find in Tokyo and much more of the traditional history is preserved in Kyoto culture. For example, the most prestigious area of geisha culture remains in Kyoto, not Tokyo. Other sites of interest include the Heian Shrine, the Shimogamo Shrine, the Daigo-ji, Ninna-ji, and much more.

The American military knew about Kyoto’s rich cultural and historical significance to Japan and strongly considered Kyoto as a target for the atomic bomb during World War II, hoping to devastate the Japanese people’s morale by destroying so much of their history at once. However, it was spared from the atomic bomb and even from the rest of the bombings thanks to Edwin O. Reischauer, a “Japan expert” liaison to the U.S. military (and later ambassador to Japan), who had been to Kyoto and wanted to preserve its beauty.

Have you ever been to Kyoto? What’s your favorite historical site in Kyoto? Do you agree with America’s World War II decision to spare Kyoto in favor of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Tokyo (which was devastated by firebombing), and other cities? Why or why not?

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5
May 10

Japan’s Golden Week, Part 2

Golden Week continues in Japan and we continue our coverage of the holidays. April 29th was the first day to feature a specific holiday. The next is May 3rd, which is Constitutional Amendment Day (kenpou kinenbi).

Constitutional Amendment Day was established in 1947 to honor the first day the country came under the laws of the Constitution of Japan, which was developed alongside the Allied Forces. The Constitution turned Japan into a liberal democracy. (It was previously a militaristic, imperialistic system.) It greatly lessened the role of the imperial family, making them more figureheads than policy makers, and also declared that the country would never again declare war. Instead, Japan would only defend itself if necessary, which is why the Japanese military is now called the “Japanese Self-Defense Forces.” The meaning behind the day is for Japanese citizens to reflect on democracy and government. It’s also the one day per year in which the National Diet Building (where the government—the House of Councillors and the House of Representatives—convenes) is open for public tours.

As discussed previously, the next holiday, Greenery Day, takes place on May 4th. Golden Week’s last national holiday is on May 5th —today! Children’s Day (kodomo no hi) is meant to celebrate children and their fun-loving, innocent personalities as well as to honor parents (particularly mothers) for raising them. It was originally known as Boys’ Day and was meant only to celebrate sons (as there is another holiday in March to celebrate daughters), but it was changed in 1948 to Children’s Day to celebrate all children.

An iconic symbol of Children’s Day is the koi (carp)-shaped koinobori flags. Households traditionally hang these flags from their rooftops, one for each of the parents and each of the children who live inside. Another tradition is to display a Kintarou (a fabled adventurous boy) doll and a kabuto (samurai helmet) inside the house, as these are symbols of healthy and strong boys. Today in Japan, many families are eating kashiwa-mochi (red bean rice cakes wrapped in oak leaves) and chimaki (sweetened rice paste in a bamboo or iris leaf) to celebrate.

Have you ever heard of Children’s Day or Constitutional Amendment Day? Do you think it’s fair that Boys’ Day was changed to Children’s Day when there’s still a Girls’ Day?

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3
May 10

Japan’s Golden Week, Part 1

This week, Japanese students and many Japanese businesspeople are sitting back, relaxing and enjoying their week off. The first week in May (actually April 29th to May 5th) is called “Golden Week” (ougon shuukan) in Japan because the close proximity of national and cultural holidays means that schools and many businesses close for 7 to 10 days. Of course, many shops remain open, public transportation continues to run, hospitals are still open, etc., so not every worker in Japan has the time off, but after the time around New Year’s, Golden Week is the second most important nation-wide vacation from school and work and the most popular time for travel.

What holidays make up this Golden Week? April 29th is Showa Day (Showa no hi). The day was the Showa Emperor (better known as Emperor Hirohito in the West)’s birthday and the birthday of the emperor is always a national holiday in Japan. (The current emperor’s birthday is in December.) This should no longer have been a holiday following the Showa Emperor’s death in 1988, but it was first changed to Greenery Day (midori no hi) immediately after his death to continue honoring him (read on for more information on Greenery Day). In 2007, Greenery Day was moved and replaced with Showa Day.

Showa Day, unlike Greenery Day, is not intended to honor the deceased emperor himself. Also, unlike Greenery Day, it publicly acknowledges that the Showa Emperor held his position during “turbulent times” in Japanese history. (The Showa Emperor was emperor during World War II in his youth and encouraged the country’s imperialistic war.) The day encourages Japanese citizens to reflect on that period in history and the way the country drastically changed before, during, and after the war. The Showa Emperor held his position until his death, meaning that during the Showa Era, he ruled during war time, depression, economic recovery and the transformation of Japan into a global industrial and economical leader.

Greenery Day, now May 4th, was originally intended to honor the Showa Emperor indirectly by honoring his love for nature and gardens. The day asks the Japanese citizens to honor nature and recognize all that nature provides, even in a technology-heavy world.

Come back Wednesday as Golden Week continues to learn more about the other holidays during this week.

Do you know any Japanese people who have off for Golden Week? Do you like the idea of Greenery Day or Showa Day better to recognize the late emperor’s birthday? Why?

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24
Mar 10

Japanese Royalty

Japan is currently the only nation in the world in which a monarch is addressed with the title of “Emperor.” The Japanese Imperial Family is also the oldest remaining monarchy with a single continuing bloodline. The Yamato Dynasty, the name for this family’s reign, is believed to have begun in 660 BCE with the ascension of Emperor Jimmu. Today, the 125th emperor in the line, Emperor Akihito, is the monarch of the country.

Emperors in Japan have enjoyed varying levels of involvement in the government and political actions of the country over the course of the Yamato Dynasty, perhaps most famously losing direct control over the country during the many on- and off-decades of military rule (called Shogunates) beginning in the 12th century and ending in the 18th century.

In much more recent memory, the current emperor’s father, Emperor Hirohito, ruled during World War II and helped rally the country’s support for its then imperialistic crusades. Emperor Hirohito quite famously got off without any punishment from the world community for his involvement in World War II, as this was one of the sole terms of surrender upon which the Japanese government insisted at their defeat. However, upon American insistence post-World War II, the Imperial Family has been uninvolved with political matters since.

Why was Emperor Hirohito’s position so sacred that he escaped punishment for any of his actions? The debate over his level of knowledge and direct involvement in the military proceedings aside, the Japanese government believed that keeping the Imperial Family intact was essential to the nation’s morale. The Imperial Family is said to be direct descendants of the Japanese goddess Amaterasu, who, according to the Shinto religion, created and founded the nation of Japan.

The Emperor is a symbol of Japanese unity and of the country as a whole. He also serves as the head of the Shinto religion due to his deity blood. Effectively, he is a ceremonial figurehead as the nation of Japan is a democracy and he does not interfere with political matters.

However, the Emperor impacts many aspects of Japanese culture, such as the calendar system. While Japan does use the Christian Gregorian method of counting years (in other words, that this year is 2010 AD/CE), this was adopted only after the opening of the country to the West in the 19th century. The earlier system, which is used interchangeably with the Gregorian calendar today, was based on the ruling years of each emperor. Emperor Akihito began his rule in 1989 after the death of his father, so according to this system, 2010 is called Heisei 22, “Heisei” being the name of his rule. The current emperor’s birthday also becomes a national holiday. During Emperor Akihito’s reign, it’s December 23rd.

However, while the Imperial Family is more of a cultural tradition than a series of rulers, there is one aspect of the Imperial Family that draws some controversy in Japan. The line of succession is purely patriarchal and there has never been an exception. The line is passed from father to oldest son, and if there are no sons, the line passes to the oldest brother, nephew or male cousin. The current Crown Prince of Japan, Emperor Akihito’s oldest son Crown Prince Naruhito, only has a daughter and his wife, Crown Princess Masako, has allegedly become stressed and disillusioned with the family after the pressure to continue trying for a son.

Do you think it’s important for the Japanese to preserve this ancient tradition, even if the Imperial Family has no political power? Do you believe that it’s time for the Imperial Family to recognize an empress if the eldest child is a daughter?