History
Japan is the oldest continuing hereditary monarchy in the world. In much the same sense as the British Crown, the Chrysanthemum Throne is an abstract metonymic concept that represents the monarch and the legal authority for the existence of the government.
Unlike its British counterpart, the concepts of Japanese monarchy evolved differently before 1947 when there was, for example, no perceived separation of the property of the nation-state from the person and personal holdings of the emperor.
According to legend, the Japanese monarchy is said to have been founded in 660 BC by Emperor Jimmu and the current Emperor is the 125th monarch to occupy the Chrysanthemum Throne. The extant historical records only reach back to Emperor Ōjin, who is considered to have reigned into the early 4th century.
In the 1920s, Hirohito served as Regent during several years of his father's reign, when Emperor Taishō was physically unable to fulfill his Imperial duties. However, the Prince Regent lacked the symbolic powers of the throne which he could only attain after his father's death.
The current Constitution of Japan considers the Emperor as a "symbol of the state and the unity of its people." The modern emperor is a constitutional monarch.
The metonymic meanings of "Chrysanthemum Throne" encompass the modern monarchy and the chronological list of legendary and historical monarchs of Japan. It is a term with fungible uses.
Read more about this topic: Chrysanthemum Throne
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“History, as an entirety, could only exist in the eyes of an observer outside it and outside the world. History only exists, in the final analysis, for God.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
“Don’t you realize that this is a new empire? Why, folks, there’s never been anything like this since creation. Creation, huh, that took six days, this was done in one. History made in an hour. Why it’s a miracle out of the Old Testament!”
—Howard Estabrook (1884–1978)
“They are a sort of post-house,where the Fates
Change horses, making history change its tune,
Then spur away o’er empires and o’er states,
Leaving at last not much besides chronology,
Excepting the post-obits of theology.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)