Changes

Japanese: 天皇(''tennô'')

*''Japanese'': 天皇 ''(tennô)''

Other titles: 内裏(''dairi)'', 天子(''tenshi)''

The hereditary monarch of Japan is commonly referred to in English as the "emperor." In addition to his secular political role, the ''tennô'' is also considered the highest [[Shinto]] priest in Japan.

==Emperor of Japan==

==Terminology==

===The Position===

===In Japanese===

The hereditary monarch of Japan who is now commonly referred to in English as the [[emperor]]. Ideally, the tennô is the highest Shinto priest in Japan<ref>The Cambridge History of Japan</ref>.

In present-day English, the "emperor of Japan" refers to the ''tennô'' 天皇, the monarch who has reigned over (but not necessarily ruled) Japan for virtually all of recorded history. However, it only became standard in English sometime after [[Perry|Perry's]] visit in [[1853]].

===The English term "Emperor of Japan"===

The Jesuits also called the [[daimyo|daimyô]] "kings," "dukes," or "princes," which was hardly a misuse of the European term, as the daimyô, especially in Kyushu where the Jesuits were first active, were independent rulers who really ruled their territory and fought each other. The ''tennô'' was described by St. [[Francis Xavier]] as the hereditary ruler of the whole country, but one who was no longer obeyed.<ref>Francis Xavier, quoted in Cooper, 41.</ref>

In present-day English, the "emperor of Japan" refers to the [[tenno|''tennô'']] 天皇, the monarch who has reigned over (but not necessarily ruled) Japan for virtually all of recorded history.  It is uses to refer to the tennô of any period of history. However, this English term apparently was not used for the tennô until sometime after [[Perry|Perry's]] visit in [[1853]].

The 16th-century [[Jesuits]] when describing the tennô used terms like "nobleman," "king," "prince," but not particularly "emperor," if at all. When referring to him, they usually called him the ''dairi'' 内裏, a word that originally referred to the imperial palace, but had come to be used as a title for the tennô, similarly to the title Pharaoh. (The "emperor" doll in the Doll Festival set is still called the ''dairi.'')

[[William Adams|Will Adams]], an Englishman who arrived in Japan in [[1600]], referred to [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]], who became the first [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa]] [[shogun]] in [[1603]], as "king" in a [[1611]] letter to his wife, and as "emperor" in a pamphlet of the same date. "Emperor" in Europe referred to someone who ruled over kings, so in the latter he was clearly indicating that Ieyasu ruled over all the various "kings" (i.e. the daimyô) who Europeans knew existed in Japan. The Englishmen who arrived in Japan with the [[British East India Company|East India Company]] in [[1613]] also referred to the then-retired shogun Ieyasu and the shogun [[Tokugawa Hidetada|Hidetada]] as "emperor," both in public and private.  

The Jesuits also called the [[daimyo|daimyô]] kings, which was hardly a misuse of the European term, as the daimyô, especially of Kyushu where the Jesuits were first active, were independent rulers who really ruled their territory and fought each other.  The tennô was described as the hereditary ruler of the whole country, but one who was no longer obeyed.

[[Richard Cocks]] mentioned the "''dairi''" in [[1616]], and [[Engelbert Kaempfer]], who came to the [[Dejima|Dutch settlement]] in [[1690]], referred to the ''tennô'' as the "Ecclesiastical Hereditary Emperor," though more frequently his use of the term "emperor" (as in "Embassy to the Emperor's court") referred to the shogun.

One sometimes comes across statements to the effect that during the [[Edo period]] the secretive Japanese told the Dutch that the shogun was the emperor, hiding the existence of the real emperor, but such statements are misconceptions deriving from a lack of familiarity with the history of early Japanese-European contact. It is clear that the Europeans, though they knew of the ''tennô'', chose "emperor" as the word most suitable to their minds to describe the shogun.

 

 

One sometimes comes across statements to the effect that during the Edo period the secretive Japanese told the Dutch that the shogun was the emperor, hiding the existence of the real emperor, but such statements are made in unawareness of early Japanese-European contact. It is clear that the Europeans, though they knew all about the tennô, chose "emperor" as the word most suitable to describe the shogun.

==Notes==

==Notes==

==References==  

==References==  

*[[They Came to Japan]]

*[[Michael Cooper]], ''[[They Came to Japan]]'', University of California Press, 1965.

*The Cambridge History of Japan

*[[John Whitney Hall]] (ed.), ''The Cambridge History of Japan'', vol. 4, Cambridge University Press, 1991.

[[Category:Political Institutions]]

[[Category:Political Institutions]]