Unlike many constitutional monarchs, the emperor is not even the nominal chief executive. Most constitutional monarchies formally vest executive power in the monarch, but the monarch is bound by conventionto

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Although the emperor has been a symbol of continuity with the past, the degree of power exercised by the emperor has varied considerably throughout Japanese history.

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The Japanese language has two words equivalent to the English word "emperor": tennō (天皇, "heavenly sovereign"), which refers exclusively to the

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In Japanese mythology, the sacred treasures were bestowed on Ninigi-no-Mikoto, the grandson of the goddess Amaterasu, at the advent of Tenson kōrin. Amaterasu sent him to pacify Japan by bringing the three celestial gifts that are used by the emperor. The

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The origins of the Japanese imperial dynasty are obscure, and it bases its position on the claim that it has "reigned since time immemorial". There are no records of any emperor

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During the Kofun period, so-called "archaic funerals" were held for the dead emperors, but only the funerary rites from the end of the period, which the chronicles describe in more detail, are known. They were centered around the rite of the mogari (殯), a provisional depository

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Throughout history, Japanese emperors and noblemen appointed a spouse to the position of chief wife, rather than just keeping a

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