Imperial House of Japan

For the administration of the Imperial household, see Imperial Household Agency.
Imperial House of Japan
皇室

Kōshitsu
Imperial Seal of Japan
CountryJapan
Founded
[3][4][5]
Founder
Current headNaruhito
Titles
Cadet branches
Websitehttps://www.kunaicho.go.jp/eindex.html

The Imperial House (皇室, Kōshitsu) is the reigning dynasty of Japan, consisting of those members of the extended family of the reigning emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present constitution of Japan, the emperor is "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people". Other members of the imperial family perform ceremonial and social duties, but have no role in the affairs of government. The duties as an emperor are passed down the line to their male children. The Japanese monarchy is the oldest continuous hereditary monarchy in the world.[6] The imperial dynasty does not have a name, therefore its direct members do not have a family name.

  1. ^ Kelly, Charles F. "Kofun Culture", Japanese Archaeology. April 27, 2009.
  2. ^ * Kitagawa, Joseph (1987). On Understanding Japanese Religion, p. 145, at Google Books: "emphasis on the undisrupted chronological continuity from myths to legends and from legends to history, it is difficult to determine where one ends and the next begins. At any rate, the first ten legendary emperors are clearly not reliable historical records."
    • Boleslaw Szczesniak, "The Sumu-Sanu Myth: Notes and Remarks on the Jimmu Tenno Myth", in Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 10, No. 1/2 (Winter 1954), pp. 107–26. doi:10.2307/2382794. JSTOR 2382794.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hoye 1999 78 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "5 things to know as Japan's Emperor Akihito steps down". 29 April 2019. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Emperor of Japan". Archived from the original on 2023-10-01. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  6. ^ "5 Things to know about Japan's emperor and imperial family". 8 August 2016. Archived from the original on 25 April 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2020.