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 convention to

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

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

The origins of the Japanese imperial dynasty are obscure, and it bases its position on the claim that it has "reigned since time immemorial

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

Throughout history, Japanese emperors and noblemen appointed a spouse to the position of chief wife, rather than just keeping a harem or an assortment of female attendants.
The Japanese imperial dynasty consistently practiced

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