Eli5: Why is the Japanese emperor an emperor if Japan is not an empire and doesn’t have a king or multiple Kings below him?

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Eli5: Why is the Japanese emperor an emperor if Japan is not an empire and doesn’t have a king or multiple Kings below him?

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19 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

PhD here. We call the Tenno an emperor in English because this became a standard term for the monarch during the nineteenth century, which conveniently was when Japan also began to actually create a modern imperial state, ie conquering and controlling surrounding countries and territories.

Prior to that, Europeans used the term in diplomatic correspondence during the late medieval and Edo periods, but interestingly, officials did not interpret the term to refer to the Tenno, but rulers like the shogun. Empire and emperors are traditionally connected with military conquest, which prior to the nineteenth century, actually makes “emperor” a poor translation for the monarch, who functioned more like a priest king. We are stuck with this term because of rather uninformed European diplomacy (which assumed that the Japanese monarchy was just like the Chinese) and then the Japanese monarchy embracing the term themselves when they began a modern empire.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Ask the rest of Asia how a Japanese Empire worked out for them. Hint hint nudge nudge wink wink, the other Asian countries got oppressed for resources to subdue the KMT in China.

Anonymous 0 Comments

One part of it is the title puts the Japanese Emperor on a par with the Emperor of China. So technically equals. Since China refused to recognise any other state as equal, this made diplomacy awkward, but avoided any formal recognition of subordination on the part of the Japanese (so it put them above Korean or other ‘kingdoms’).

Under the Tokugawa, Ming and later Manchu would not receive Japanese diplomats, so the two sides conversed through intermediaries – Tsushima, Ryukyu and frequent meetings at the Korean court.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Eli5: What is the difference between emperor and king?

Anonymous 0 Comments

For a time in the 19th Century the Japanese “Emperor” was sometimes translated to English as “Pope,” Shogun was translated as Emperor, and Daimyo was translated as King. This was never universally accepted and pretty much died out after the Meiji Restoration, but it’s an interesting idea that illustrates the answer to your question:

Japan has a culture and History that developed independently from Europe’s, and no ideas are going to directly translate. We call the Emperor of Japan “Emperor” because it’s the best fit for a lot of reasons, despite not being perfectly equivalent to European titles. “King” is less suitable because it is even less accurate in comparison, despite avoiding some of the “specific” issues Emperor raises.

The real reason, though, that we translate it to “Emperor?” *It’s Japan’s preference*. Aristocratic Hierarchy was important in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and as Japan emerged as a major world power, they did not want their Emperor to be of lower rank than the European Emperors (and British King, which is a weird exception and had the “status” of an Emperor if not the title, as a reminder that these things aren’t always cut and dry). At that point in time it was MUCH more important than being “just a translation,” as you have called it ITT. It matters a lot less now, but Japan continues to translate their monarch’s title as “Emperor,” and it’s frankly not our “job” or “place” to tell them otherwise.

Anonymous 0 Comments

history. Japan at one point had feuding states and multiple different lords and clans. there was allegiance paid by these clans to the emperor, as well as feuds over lines of succession and ruling families. additionally, the emperor’s power comes from their connection to the God’s, so their right to head the govt at that time connected to those godly origins. the word used for emperor reflects those origins. remember, the use of the word emperor doesn’t mean an exact analogue to the english meaning of the word. it’s just the closest thing, really. additionally, Japan WAS an empire in Asia in the early half of the 20th century. it was Imperial Japan at that time in the modern era, and the emperor as we know him now is a remnant of that time. that the imperial family continued was part of the negotiated settlement if WWII.

Anonymous 0 Comments

It’s a cultural thing and not so much a literal thing. Some countries have a long history of having rulers such as kings, queens, and emperors. They have moved away from these types of governments to a more Democratic style of governance, but they keep these figureheads as more of a cultural thing. Their power is generally quite limited, especially when compared to those in history of the same position.

TLDR: it’s a cultural thing mostly and these leaders tend to have less power than previously. Think of it like the Queen of England. They have a fully functioning government and no real need for her, but culturally England has always had a royal family.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Unfortunately, CK3 isn’t a one-to-one historical sim

The idea of an Emperor being a monarch with subservient Kings is mostly associated with the Holy Roman Empire, where the Empire had multiple kingdoms beneath it- in pretty much every western context, “emperor” 9/10 times is just a monarch who considers themselves an heir to Rome- the Russian Tsars, the German Kaisers, and the French Empires, all follow this line of thinking.

In Asia, Emperor as a translated title is just the best way to refer to the monarch of a large and diverse nation- and the Japanese monarchy very closely mirrors the Chinese one, and if China has an Emperor, than Japan shall too.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Adding one thing: At the end of WWII, Emperor Hirohito was basically forced to disavow himself of divine power. He was allowed to keep the title due to McArthur’s insistence in order to keep the Japanese people from fighting the surrender and to give them some sense of pride as they recovered from the destruction that had been wrought on their country. Many people wanted Hirohito to stand trial for war crimes as so many Nazi’s did and also many Japanese leaders.

Anonymous 0 Comments

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