Josei Tennō Explained

Josei Tennō (女性天皇)
Creation Date:686
First Holder:Empress Suiko (posthumously)
Empress Jitō (officially)
Last Holder:Empress Go-Sakuramachi
Subsidiary Titles:None
Status:Extinct (unless Japan allows female rulers again)
Extinction Date:1889 (under the Imperial House Law of 1889, which barred women from ruling)[1]
Supporters:About 90% of Japanese people support the idea of a reigning empress (according to a 2024 survey)[2]

is a Japanese title referring to an empress regnant.[3] Unlike the title Kōgō, which can refer to an empress consort, Josei Tennō only refers to a reigning empress. Tennō may also refer to a reigning empress.

Origins

Before Emperor Tenmu (the first to use the title Tennō)[4] [5] all monarchs were probably called Great King/Queen of Yamato, and not Tennō/Josei Tennō. From the reign of Empress Jitō onwards, the women were called Josei Tennō and the men Tennō.

The title (much like the male equivalent Tennō) was used to greatly emphasize the emperor's power, and control, adding a divine aspect to it. Unofficially women rulers were typically also called Tennō. On most lists retaining to the emperors of Japan, the term Meishō Tennō can be seen for female rulers rather than Meishō Josei Tennō. Josei Tennō is only used to differentiate between the male and female monarchs.

Before the Fujiwara clan and in times when an heir was underaged, a female relative (typically a sister or mother) would take the throne, such as Empress Jitō (the first person to use the title Josei Tennō). Out of all empresses regnant, Empress Kōken/Shōtoku is the only one to have been granted the title "crown princess" before accession.[6]

List

The list of empresses regnant are:

Empress Jingū is not counted among the official monarchs. Princess Iitoyo's legitimacy and validity (concerning her reign) is mostly unknown.[29]

The debate for a possible future Josei Tennō

See main article: Japanese imperial succession debate. Due to the current Japanese rules of succession a woman cannot inherit the throne. Yet there has been calls to allow Aiko, Princess Toshi to become the 9th empress regnant. To this day there is an ongoing succession debate. An event was held called "Making Aiko the Imperial heir" which pushed for the rules to be changed and a new line of succession to be introduced, which would be as follows:

  1. Aiko, Princess Toshi
  2. Fumihito, Prince Akishino
  3. Princess Kako of Akishino
  4. Prince Hisahito of Akishino
  5. Masahito, Prince Hitachi
  6. Princess Akiko of Mikasa
    1. Princess Yōko of Mikasa Princess Tsuguko of Takamado[30]

There was also a Parliament meeting held in December 2023 about the matter. [31] In February 2024, the former Prime minister Yoshihiko Noda of the Democratic Party of Japan held another Parliament meeting, suggesting women should be allowed to marry without losing their titles, lead their own branch of the Imperial family, and possibly rule.[32] To this day Princess Sumiko remains one of the only women to lead a branch of the imperial family.[33] On March 15, 2024, there were more discussions about allowing women to rule [34] with discussions of women being allowed to retain their titles upon marriage on March 18 of the same year.[35] [36] As of June 2024, parties did agree women should marry without losing their title, with no conclusion on the status on their spouses.[37] Emperor Naruhito has also admitted the family is running out of male heirs.[38]

See also

Notes and References

  1. p. 1235, "The Imperial House Law - Chapter 1: Succession to the Imperial Throne," Japan Year Book 1933, Kenkyusha Press, Foreign Association of Japan, Tokyo
  2. Web site: 90% in Japan support idea of reigning empress: survey. Kyodo News. April 28, 2024. June 9, 2024. Tokyo.
  3. Book: Cherry, Kittredge . Womansword: What Japanese Words Say About Women . 2016-11-14 . Stone Bridge Press . 978-1-61172-919-1 . en. During Japan's long history eight women have ruled as female emperor or josei tenno. An older term is empress or jotei. In English "empress" can mean either a reigning monarch or the wife of an emperor, but in Japanese there are separate words for each. The title bestowed on the emperor's wife is kogo..
  4. Web site: Tennō Emperor, Imperial, Japan Britannica . 2024-01-30 . www.britannica.com . en.
  5. Book: Henshall, Kenneth . Historical Dictionary of Japan to 1945 . 2013-11-07 . Scarecrow Press . 978-0-8108-7872-3 . en.
  6. Web site: Harper . Cathy . 2022-12-08 . More than placeholders: The 'century of empresses' against modern succession laws . 2024-05-28 . Melbourne Asia Review . en-AU.
  7. Web site: -天皇陵-推古天皇 磯長山田陵(すいこてんのう しながのやまだのみささぎ) . 2024-01-24 . kunaicho.go.jp.
  8. Varley, p. 126.
  9. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 46.
  10. Web site: -天皇陵- . 2024-01-24 . kunaicho.go.jp.
  11. Book: Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon . 1834 . Oriental Translation Fund . fr.
  12. Ponsonby-Fane, p. 50.
  13. Book: Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 . 1896 . Society . 978-0-524-05347-8 . en.
  14. Web site: -天皇陵-持統天皇 檜隈大内陵(じとうてんのう ひのくまのおおうちのみささぎ) . 2024-01-24 . kunaicho.go.jp.
  15. Varley, H. Paul. Jinnō Shōtōki, p. 137.
  16. Web site: -天皇陵-元明天皇 奈保山東陵(げんめいてんのう なほやまのひがしのみささぎ) . 2024-01-24 . kunaicho.go.jp.
  17. Titsingh, p. 63.
  18. Web site: -天皇陵-稱徳天皇 高野陵(しょうとくてんのう たかののみささぎ) . 2024-01-24 . kunaicho.go.jp.
  19. Titsingh, pp. 64–65.
  20. Web site: Yoshida . Reiji . 2007-03-27 . Life in the cloudy Imperial fishbowl . 2024-04-10 . The Japan Times . en.
  21. Web site: -天皇陵-明正天皇 月輪陵(めいしょうてんのう つきのわのみささぎ) . 2024-01-24 . kunaicho.go.jp.
  22. Book: Mulhern, Chieko Irie . Heroic with Grace: Legendary Women of Japan . July 1991 . M.E. Sharpe . 978-0-7656-3265-4 . en.
  23. Web site: Dokyo Encyclopedia.com . 2024-01-30 . www.encyclopedia.com.
  24. Ooms, Herman (2009). Imperial politics and symbolics in ancient Japan : the Tenmu dynasty, 650-800. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. pp. 237–241.
  25. Web site: -天皇陵-仁孝天皇 後月輪陵(にんこうてんのう のちのつきのわのみささぎ) . 2024-01-24 . kunaicho.go.jp.
  26. Web site: 三訂版 . 精選版 日本国語大辞典,デジタル大辞泉,日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ),百科事典マイペディア,改訂新版 世界大百科事典,山川 日本史小辞典 改訂新版,ブリタニカ国際大百科事典 小項目事典,旺文社日本史事典 . 紫衣事件(しえじけん)とは？ 意味や使い方 . 2024-01-30 . コトバンク . ja.
  27. Web site: -天皇陵-仁孝天皇 後月輪陵(にんこうてんのう のちのつきのわのみささぎ) . 2024-01-24 . kunaicho.go.jp.
  28. Book: Meyer, Eva-Maria . Japans Kaiserhof in der Edo-Zeit: unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Jahre 1846 bis 1867 . 1999 . Lit . 978-3-8258-3939-0 . de.
  29. Book: Brinkley, F. (Frank) . A history of the Japanese people from the earliest times to the end of the Meiji era . 1915 . New York, London . Encyclopædia Britannica Co., University of Michigan.
  30. Web site: 2023-09-25 . Aiko on the Throne? Event Seeks to Pave the Way for a Female Emperor . 2024-02-28 . nippon.com . en.
  31. Web site: INC . SANKEI DIGITAL . 2023-12-19 . 皇位継承議論促進へ 額賀福志郎衆院議長が各党に意見集約要請 . 2024-02-28 . 産経ニュース . ja.
  32. Web site: 2024-02-20 . 女性宮家「緊急的な課題」 立民検討委の皇位継承案 . 2024-02-28 . nippon.com . ja.
  33. Donald Keene, Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912, 2010
  34. Web site: 内藤 慎二 . 永原 慎吾 . 2024-03-15 . 動くか皇位継承、与野党の議論本格化 政府は制度精通の内閣官房参与復帰の異例人事 . 2024-04-12 . 産経ニュース . ja.
  35. Web site: 2024-03-18 . 女性皇族が「結婚後も皇族の身分保持」案におおむね賛同 自民・皇室に関する懇談会｜FNNプライムオンライン . 2024-04-12 . FNNプライムオンライン.
  36. Web site: 2024-03-18 . 安定的な皇位継承 "女性皇族が婚姻後も残る案"異論出ず TBS NEWS DIG (1ページ) . 2024-04-12 . TBS NEWS DIG . ja.
  37. Web site: Shimbun . The Yomiuri . 2024-06-01 . Parties Say Japan's Married Princesses Should Keep Status; No Agreement Reached on Status of Husbands, Children . 2024-06-25 . japannews.yomiuri.co.jp . en.
  38. Web site: Tokyo . Richard Lloyd Parry . 2024-06-25 . Japanese emperor admits his family is running out of heirs . 2024-06-25 . www.thetimes.com . en.

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