Tenno Heika(His Majesty the Emperor)
Japan is a society whose culture is steeped in the traditions and symbols of the past: Mt. Fuji, the tea ceremony, and the sacred objects of nature revered in Shintoism. The most important tradition and symbol in Japan, the Emperor, endured through Shogunates, restorations of imperial rule, and up to the present day. The leaders of the Meiji Restoration used these traditions to gain control over Japan and further their goals of modernization. The institution of Emperor has declined in recent decades due to its' conflict with democracy, western thought and religion. These perceptions are vital to understanding different peoples' reactions to the death of Hirohito as described in Field's book "In the Realm of a Dying Emperor." For example, in the Japanese papers, "two relatively unfamiliar words entered the national vocabulary: toketsu and geketsu." (1) These words more or less mean vomiting blood and rectal bleeding and were being used by the media to refer to the condition !of the Emperor. "Later, journalists assessing the media coverage of the Emperor's illness and death observed that the use of the word geketsu was tantamount to a second human declaration." (2) This shows me that many people believed the E
"In the Japanese nineteenth century an imperial system refurbished to serve as potent symbol for unchanging tradition was harnessed to an economic transformation envisioned initially without but subsequently within a cosmos defined by the terms of Western modernity." (3) The Meiji leaders had realized that they needed to harness the concept of the Imperial Will in order to govern effectively. In the years leading up to 1868 members of the Satsuma and Choshu clans were part of the imperialist opposition. This opposition claimed that the only way that Japan could survive the encroachment of the foreigners was to rally around the Emperor. The imperialists pressed their attack both militarily and from within the Court of Kyoto. The great military regime of Edo which had been all powerful floundered not because of military weakness, or because the machinery of government had broken but instead because the Japanese public and the Shoguns supporters felt they had lost the Imperial Wi! (1), (2), (3), (9), (10) Norma Field, In the Realm of a Dying Emperor (First Vintage Books Edition, 1993) pgs. 19,20,26,70,21 Japanese rulers historically have used the symbolism of the Imperial Institution to justify their rule. The symbolism of the Japanese Emperor is very powerful and is wrapped up in a mix of religion (Shintoism) and myths. According to Shintoism the current Emperor is the direct descendent of the Sun Goddess who formed the islands of Japan out of the Ocean in ancient times. (5) According to these myths the Japanese Emperor unlike a King is a living descendent of the Gods and even today he is thought of as the High Priest of Shinto. Despite the powerful myths surrounding Japan's imperial institution the Emperor has enjoyed only figurehead status from 1176 on. In Japan the Emperor reigned but did not rule. This was useful; it kept the Emperor a mythic and powerful symbol. (6) The traditions and symbols of Confucianism and the Imperial institution were deeply ingrained in the psyche of the Japanese. However, the Meiji rulers, through both an education system, and the structure o! The symbol of the Emperor did not end with the en
Some common words found in the essay are:
Dying Emperor, Emperor Hirohito's, Imperial Throne, Japanese Meiji, Meiji Restoration, Cult Meiji, Majesty Emperor, Japan Emperor, Imperial Ancestors, World War, imperial institution, realm dying emperor, realm dying, dying emperor, education system, meiji era, meiji leaders, japanese education, modern japan, japan emperor, world war, japanese education system,
Approximate Word count = 1445
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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