Series ・ 10 parts

The Imperial Household: A Thousand Years Alongside Japan

The story of Amaterasu Omikami as told in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, the tradition of the heavenly descent, and the tale of the first emperor, Jimmu. Episode 1 traces, with respect and neutrality, the boundary between the myths surrounding the origins of the imperial house and the facts that history can verify.

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01 Myth and Origin — The Beginnings of the Imperial House The story of Amaterasu Omikami as told in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, the tradition of the heavenly descent, and the tale of the first emperor, Jimmu. Episode 1 traces, with respect and neutrality, the boundary between the myths surrounding the origins of the imperial house and the facts that history can verify.
02 The Ancient Emperors — From Great King to Emperor From the great kings of the Yamato polity, through the age of Empress Suiko and Prince Shotoku, to the Temmu and Jito courts that emerged from the Jinshin War. Episode 2 follows, faithfully to the historical record and with respect, the ancient course by which the ritsuryo state took shape and the title of 'emperor' was fixed.
03 Regents and Cloistered Rule — Between Authority and Power Beneath an emperor seated at the summit of the ritsuryo state, the actual work of governing gradually passed into the hands of the nobility. The Fujiwara regency, the mechanism of the emperor's maternal kin, and the new form of power known as cloistered rule. Within the culture of the Heian court, we trace, in a neutral voice, the structure by which the emperor endured as a source of authority.
04 The Emperor in the Age of the Warrior — A Country with Two Centers The founding of the Kamakura shogunate, the Jokyu War, Emperor Go-Daigo's Kenmu Restoration, and the split of the Northern and Southern Courts into the Muromachi era. As warriors took hold of power, how were the emperor and the court positioned? We trace, in a neutral voice and grounded in the historical record, the process by which Japan's distinctive dual structure took shape — power to the warriors, authority to the court.
05 A Quiet Authority — From the Warring States to the Edo Era After the Ōnin War, it is said that the court's finances dwindled until it could scarcely afford even an enthronement ceremony. In time the Oda and Toyotomi sustained the court, and the Edo shogunate placed the emperor and nobility within an institutional framework through the Laws for the Imperial and Court Officials. This is a neutral account of how authority was preserved even as it withdrew from the political stage.
06 The Meiji Restoration and the Modern Emperor With the Great Proclamation of the Restoration of Imperial Rule, the emperor — long removed from the front of the stage — was lifted to the center of the nation. The Charter Oath of Five Articles, the Constitution of the Empire of Japan, the emperor as a constitutional monarch, and a symbol uniting the people as one. This is a neutral account, grounded in the historical record, of the modern emperor placed at the starting point of a modern state.
07 The Emperor in an Age of War From Taisho into Showa, as the military rose and the nation drifted toward war, where did the emperor stand? From the Second World War and the sacred decision to end it, to the still-divided debate over war responsibility, this account follows the path quietly and with respect, taking no particular side and presenting several views fairly side by side.
08 The Birth of the Symbolic Emperor After defeat, under the Constitution of Japan, the emperor was positioned as a 'symbol.' Through the so-called Humanity Declaration, the meaning of Article 1 of the new constitution, the postwar tours across the country, and the search for a new image of an imperial house standing together with the people, this account quietly follows, based on historical fact and with respect, the emperor's path from sovereign to symbol, taking no particular side.
09 The Imperial Household in the Heisei Era — Together with the People From Showa to Heisei. As one era gave way to the next, the imperial family made repeated visits to console disaster-stricken regions and journeys of remembrance to former battlefields, deepening a presence that stood together with the people. In time, thoughts on advancing age and official duties were shared, opening the way to an abdication unseen for two centuries. Within the bounds of public fact, we trace that path with respect.
10 Reiwa, and the Path Ahead From Heisei to Reiwa. Having passed through the Ceremony of Enthronement, the imperial household of today carries on its duties as symbol. Meanwhile, over the stable succession of the throne, various discussions continue, including the question of female and female-line succession. While setting out the differing views fairly, this final chapter surveys how the imperial household stands amid tradition and modern society, without rushing to an answer.