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42-600: The Nashimoto ( 梨本宮 , Nashimoto-no-miya ) (princely house) was the oldest collateral branch ( ōke ) of the Japanese Imperial Family created from the Fushimi-no-miya , the oldest of the four branches of the imperial dynasty allowed to provide a successor to the Chrysanthemum throne should the main imperial line fail to produce an heir. The Yamashina-no-miya house was formed in 1870 by Prince Moriosa ,

84-703: A 24-piece traditional orchestra ( gagaku ) with 1,000 year-old instruments such as the koto and the shō , 30 gardeners, 25 chefs, 40 chauffeurs as well as 78 builders, plumbers and electricians. There are 30 archaeologists to protect the 895 imperial tombs. There is a silkworm breeder of the Momijiyama Imperial Cocoonery. The Emperor has four doctors on standby 24 hours a day, five men manage his wardrobe and 11 assist in Shinto rites. The Imperial Palace in Tokyo has 160 servants who maintain it. This

126-608: A 622 acres (252 ha) farm which supplies produce and meat for the Imperial Family. The farm costs were £3 million per year as of 2003 ; the emperor and his family had a monthly water bill of approximately £50,000, also as of 2003 . The Imperial Guard is a special over 900 strong police force that provides personal protection for the Emperor and other members of the Imperial Family including their residences for £48 million per year. Kuge The kuge ( 公家 )

168-666: A number of Imperial farms, residences and game preserves. The Imperial Household Agency administers the Shosoin Imperial Repository in Nara . The Imperial properties are all owned by the State . The Emperor can spend £150 million of public money annually. The imperial palaces are all owned and paid for by the State . Until 2003, facts about the Japanese Imperial Family's life and finances were kept secret behind

210-618: A pre– peerage context ) originally described the Emperor and his court. The meaning of the word changed over time to designate bureaucrats at the court. During the Heian period , the relative peace and stability provided freedom for the noble class to pursue cultural interests, and the kuge became leaders and benefactors of arts and culture in Japan. Most of the Kuge resided in the capital city of Kyoto . Later in

252-528: A stock farm in the Chiba region. They were all transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries . Imperial property holdings were further reduced since 1947 after several handovers to the government. When Emperor Shōwa died, he left a personal fortune of £11 million in 1989. In 2017, Emperor Akihito had an estimated net worth of US$ 40 million. Currently the primary Imperial properties are

294-466: A £2 million-a-year clinic with 42 staff and 8 medical departments. An example of lavish spending is the prior redecoration of a room for £140,000 where Crown Princess Masako gave birth to Princess Aiko in 2001. Emperor Akihito spent £140,000 on building a wine cellar. It has 4,500 bottles of 11 types of white wine and seven types of red such as Chateau Mouton Rothschild (1982) and champagne Dom Perignon (1992). The Imperial properties includes

336-470: Is partly due to demarcation rules, such as a maid who wipes a table cannot also wipe the floor. There are also separate stewards in charge of handling silverware and the crystal. The Kyoto Imperial Palace has a staff of 78 people. There are also 67 who care for the horses at the Tochigi ranch. There are scores of additional staff for the summer palaces at the beach and in the mountains. The Imperial Palace has

378-708: Is the head of the Japanese imperial family. Article 3 and 4 of the Law for Special Exception of the Imperial House Law concerning Abdication, etc. of Emperor ( 天皇の退位等に関する皇室典範特例法 , Tennō no taii nado ni kansuru Kōshitsu Tenpan Tokureihō ) define the Emperor Emeritus ( 上皇 , jōkō ) and Empress Emerita ( 上皇后 , jōkōgō ) . Article 5 of the Imperial Household Law ( 皇室典範 , Kōshitsu Tenpan ) defines

420-809: Is therefore numerous. Other terms used for the dynasty are also Kōka (皇家, Imperial House). Formerly the term Kyūshitsu (宮室, Palace Household) was also used under the old Imperial Constitution and the Imperial Household Law, as well as Teishitsu (帝室, Imperial Household). The Emperor The Empress The Emperor Emeritus The Empress Emerita Naruhito [REDACTED] Fumihito [REDACTED] Shigeru Ishiba ( LDP ) Second Ishiba Cabinet ( LDP – Komeito coalition ) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Fukushiro Nukaga Kōichirō Genba [REDACTED] Masakazu Sekiguchi Hiroyuki Nagahama Saburo Tokura Kazuo Ueda The emperor ( 天皇 , tennō )

462-695: The American Occupation 's abolition of the collateral branches of the Japanese Imperial family. On his death without male heirs in 1951, the main line of the Nashimoto-no-miya became extinct. The Nashimoto-no-miya palace was located in the Aoyama district of Shibuya , Tokyo . Imperial House of Japan The imperial house recognizes 126 monarchs , beginning with Emperor Jimmu (traditionally dated to 11 February 660 BCE), and continuing up to

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504-720: The Bank of Japan , other major Japanese banks, the Imperial Hotel and Nippon Yusen . After World War II , all of the 11 collateral branches of the Imperial Family were abolished under the Allied occupation of Japan , and the subsequent constitutional reforms imposed under Allied supervision forced those families to sell their assets to private or government owners. Staff numbers of the Imperial Household Ministry were slashed from roughly 6000 to about 1000. The Imperial Estates and

546-515: The Fujiwara family . Though they lost most of their political power, they sustained the court culture and maintained a cultural influence. In particular, after the Sengoku period they lost most of their financial basis and were no longer in a position to act as patrons of culture, but they passed on their knowledge as masters of particular fields such as writing waka poetry and playing instruments such as

588-634: The Fushimi-no-miya . The Japanese monarchy was considered to be among the wealthiest in the world until the end of World War II . Before 1911, there was no distinction between the Imperial Crown Estates and the Emperor's personal properties. When the Imperial Property Law was enacted in January 1911, two categories were established namely hereditary (crown estates) and personal property of the Imperial Family. The Imperial Household Minister had

630-522: The Kamakura period (1185–1333), kuge became an antonym to buke (warrior nobles), that is, samurai who swore loyalty to the shogunate. At this point, kuge began to be used to describe those who worked in the Court; both aristocratic noblemen and commoners. Two classes formed the kuge: the dōjō ( 堂上 ) noblemen who sat on the floor with the Emperor; and the jige ( 地下 ) who were unable to sit with

672-501: The Nashimoto branch in 1951, Kachō or Kwachō branch in 1970, Yamashina branch in 1987, and Kitashirakawa branch in 2018. The main Fushimi branch will become extinct upon the death of the current head, Fushimi Hiroaki (b. 1932), as he has no male offspring to succeed him; although he does not have any sons, his adoptive grandnephew has male issue who can be expected to become the head of

714-597: The Prince Takamado , and most recently, the eldest daughter of Crown Prince Akishino , left the Imperial Family upon marriage, joining the husband's family and thus taking the surname of the husband. The living eight former imperial princesses are: Additionally, there are several people of Imperial descent in the Fushimi cadet branch ( Shinnōke ), which itself consists of a main branch and five extant sub-branches ( Ōke ). The cadet royal families lost membership in

756-841: The Tokyo Imperial Palace and the Kyoto Imperial Palace . The estimated landholdings are 6,810 acres (2,760 ha). The Tōgū Palace is located in the larger Akasaka Estate where numerous other Imperial Family members reside. There are privately used imperial villas in Hayama , Nasu and the Suzaki Imperial Villa in Shimoda . The Katsura Imperial Villa , Shugakuin Imperial Villa and Sentō Imperial Palace are in Kyoto . There are

798-469: The biwa , and they had disciples among the daimyō and sometimes rich commoners. As masters of a certain field, kuge gave their disciples many licenses certifying that the disciples had learned a certain field and allowed them to perform in public or sometimes to teach others. Disciples were expected to pay their master a fee for each issued license. During the Edo period, this was an important source of income for

840-459: The dōjō , separating them into groups according to their office at court. These determined the highest office to which they could be appointed. Within the dojo class, the groupings were: The jige class was associated with but not a part of the dojo : Most of the highest-classed kuge belonged to the Fujiwara clan and Minamoto clan , but there were still other clans like the Sugawara clan ,

882-462: The kuge . In 1869 during the Meiji Restoration the kuge merged with the daimyō to form a single aristocratic group, the kazoku . Others associated with the kuge included Buddhist priests, Kyoto cultural patrons, geisha , and actors. The kuge were divided into two classes, the higher dojo and the lower jige . In the 12th century conventional differences were established among

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924-465: The "Chrysanthemum Curtain." Yohei Mori (former royal correspondent for the Mainichi Shimbun and assistant professor of journalism at Seijo University) revealed details about finances of the Imperial Family in his book based on 200 documents that were published with the public information law. The Japanese Imperial Family has a staff of more than 1,000 people (47 servants per royal). This includes

966-480: The 10th son of Prince Fushimi Sadayoshi , who was given his title by Emperor Meiji . As Prince Moriosa was childless, the title passed briefly first to his grandnephew Prince Kikumaro , then to Prince Morimasa , the fourth son of Prince Kuni Asahiko . Princess Masako , the eldest daughter of Prince Morimasa, was married to Crown Prince Euimin of Korea. On October 14, 1947, Prince Nashimoto Morimasa lost his imperial status and became an ordinary citizen, as part of

1008-622: The 29th tennō . The earliest historic written mentions of Japan were in Chinese records, where it was referred to as Wa (倭 later 和), which later evolved into the Japanese name of Wakoku (倭國). Suishō (帥升, ca. 107 CE) was a king of Wa, the earliest Japanese monarch mentioned in Volume 85 of the Book of the Later Han from 445 CE. Further records mention the five kings of Wa (倭の五王, Wa no go ō ), of which

1050-502: The Emperor's personal fortune (then estimated at $ 17.15 million in 1946, or roughly $ 270.70 million as of 2023) were transferred to state or private ownership with the exception of 6,810 acres (2,760 ha) of landholdings. The largest imperial divestments were the former imperial Kiso and Amagi forest lands in Gifu and Shizuoka prefectures, grazing lands for livestock in Hokkaido and

1092-438: The Emperor. Although kuge included those two classes, mainly this word described the dōjō, the noblemen. The highest offices at the court were called kugyō and eligibility was limited to members of dōjō kuge. During the Edo period there were about 130 families of dōjō kuge. The most prominent members of the kuge became regents to the emperor ( sesshō or kampaku ). These daijō-kan offices were restricted to members of

1134-550: The Imperial Family by the American Occupation Authorities in October 1947, as part of the abolition of collateral imperial houses and the kazoku (hereditary peerage ). However, there are still unofficial heads of the living collateral families. These are the living Kyū-Miyake ( 旧宮家 , "former Miyake") : The Higashifushimi or Komatsu collateral branch became extinct in the male line in 1922, followed by

1176-529: The Imperial Family members ( 皇族 , kōzoku ) as the Empress ( 皇后 , kōgō ) ; the Grand empress dowager ( 太皇太后 , tai-kōtaigō ) ; the Empress dowager ( 皇太后 , kōtaigō ) ; the Emperor's legitimate sons and legitimate grandsons in the legitimate male line ( 親王 , shinnō ) , and their consorts ( 親王妃 , shinnōhi ) ; the Emperor's unmarried legitimate daughters and unmarried legitimate granddaughters in

1218-462: The Imperial Grandson and the consort of the Imperial Grandson, in addition to properties held for Imperial Family members who were minors, were exempted from taxation. Up to 1921, the Imperial Crown Estates comprised 1,112,535.58 acres (450,227.18 ha). In 1921, due to the poor economic situation in Japan, 289,259.25 acres (117,059.07 ha) of crown lands (26%) were sold or transferred to

1260-478: The Imperial properties was estimated at ¥650 million in 1935 which is approximately US$ 195 million at prevailing exchange rates and $ 19.9 billion as of 2017 . Emperor Shōwa's personal fortune was an additional hundreds of millions of yen (estimated over $ 6 billion as of 2017 ). It included numerous family heirlooms and furnishings, purebred livestock and investments in major Japanese firms, such as

1302-520: The Japanese government and the private sector . In 1930, the Nagoya Detached Palace ( Nagoya Castle ) was donated to the city of Nagoya and six other imperial villas were sold or donated. In 1939, Nijō Castle was donated to the city of Kyoto . The former Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa shogunate which became an imperial palace in the Meiji Restoration , was donated to the city of Kyoto. At

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1344-495: The current emperor, Naruhito . However, scholars have agreed that there is no evidence of Jimmu's existence, that the traditional narrative of the imperial family's founding is mythical, and that Jimmu is a mythical figure. Historical evidence for the first 25 emperors is scant, and they are considered mythical, but there is sufficient evidence of an unbroken agnatic line since the early 6th century. Historically, verifiable emperors of Japan start from 539 CE with Emperor Kinmei ,

1386-423: The daimyō, regaining some of their status in the process, and formed the kazoku ( peerage ), which lasted until shortly after World War II (1947), when the Japanese peerage system was abolished. Though there is no longer an official status, members of the kuge families remain influential in Japanese society, government, and industry. Kuge (from Middle Chinese kuwng-kæ 公家, "ducal family", or "nobility" in

1428-580: The emperor who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the court ( kuge ) or sword ( buke ) nobility. Such families are the Minamoto (源 also known as Genji), Taira (平 also known as Heishi) and Abe (安倍), as well as through in-laws the Tachibana (橘) for example. Out of these families further branches split through male descent who were also considered noble Japanese clans . The line of legitimate direct male descendants of emperors

1470-479: The end of 1935, the Imperial Court owned 3,111,965 acres (1,259,368 ha) landed estates according to official government figures. 2,599,548 acres (1,052,000 ha) of that was the Emperor's private lands. The total landholdings of the crown estates was 512,161 acres (207,264 ha). It comprised palace complexes, forest and farm lands and other residential and commercial properties. The total economic value of

1512-440: The last one Bu of Wa is generally considered to be Emperor Yūryaku (417/18 – 479 CE). The existence of his reign has been established through modern archaeological research. While the main line of the dynasty does not have a name and is referred to as Kōshitsu (皇室, imperial house), there are agnatic cadet branches which split during the course of centuries who received their own family names in order to distinguish them from

1554-558: The legitimate male line ( 内親王 , naishinnō ) ; the Emperor's other legitimate male descendants in the third and later generations in the legitimate male line ( 王 , ō ) and their consorts ( 王妃 , ōhi ) ; and the Emperor's other unmarried legitimate female descendants in the third and later generations in the legitimate male line ( 女王 , joō ) . In English, shinnō (親王) and ō (王) are both translated as " prince " as well as shinnōhi (親王妃), naishinnō (内親王), ōhi (王妃) and joō (女王) as " princess ". After

1596-624: The main line. They were considered a part of the imperial family (皇族 Kōzoku ), with members carrying the title "Imperial Highness", until the laws changed in 1947. The most important branches were the Shinnōke of which the most senior branch Fushimi-no-miya (伏見宮) is first in the order of succession . Out of the Fushimi branch the Ōke branches split, which are the Kuni (久邇), Kaya (賀陽), Asaka (朝香), Higashikuni (東久邇) and Takeda (竹田) families as of 2024. Furthermore there are branches created from sons of

1638-517: The removal of 11 collateral branches from the imperial house in October 1947, the official membership of the imperial family has effectively been limited to the male-line descendants of the Emperor Taishō , excluding females who married outside the imperial family and their descendants. There are currently 16 members of the imperial family: The following family tree shows the lineage of current members of Japanese imperial family: Notes Under

1680-479: The responsibility for observing any judicial proceedings concerning Imperial holdings. According to the law, Imperial properties were only taxable if there was no conflict with the Imperial House Law. However, crown estates could only be used for public or imperially-sanctioned undertakings. Personal properties of certain members of the Imperial Family, such as Empress Dowager , the Empress, Crown Prince and Crown Princess,

1722-477: The terms of the 1947 Imperial Household Law , naishinnō (imperial princesses) and joō (princesses) lose their titles and membership in the family upon marriage, unless they marry the Emperor or another male member of the imperial family. Four of the five daughters of Emperor Shōwa , the two daughters of the Prince Mikasa , the only daughter of Emperor Emeritus Akihito , the second and third daughter of

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1764-554: Was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese Imperial Court in Kyoto . The kuge were important from the establishment of Kyoto as the capital during the Heian period in the late 8th century until the rise of the Kamakura shogunate in the 12th century, at which point it was eclipsed by the bushi . The kuge still provided a weak court around the Emperor until the Meiji Restoration , when they merged with

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