Recently, in response to the hotly discussed succession of the emperor from all walks of life in Japan, the famous scholar Takamori Akira put forward a bold hypothesis in his book "The Establishment of the Female Emperor", which was praised by most of the Japanese people.
It is also a new perspective for the "Meeting of the Insightful," an institution that studies how to ensure the continuation of Japan's emperor system. As a result, there has been a lively discussion in various circles in Japan.
Akira Takamori's book The Establishment of the Female Emperor
(1) Refreshing proposals
In recent years, in the face of the increasingly depleted population of the imperial family, various japanese circles have proposed various solutions to solve the problem of "ensuring the number of imperial families".
It is the custom of the Japanese imperial family so far for male members of the royal family to marry wives and children to retain their imperial status, and for female members of the imperial family to marry commoners to leave the imperial family. This practice led to a smaller and smaller royal population, and it was on the verge of making it impossible for the royal family to continue.
Succession to the throne of the Emperor of Japan
The current succession chart shows that once Prince Yuhito has some kind of accident, the Japanese imperial family, which has been passed down for more than two thousand years, will face the crisis of no successor.
In his book, Takamori emphasized that even the royal family should follow the principle of "family unity". Like ordinary Japanese families, members of the imperial family will marry and have children, and then each family member will have their own social status. For example, the husband is a clerk in a certain unit, the wife is responsible for the work of the housewife, the children are in school...
But the current members of the imperial family do not live such a life, they are more like the mythical beasts provided by the Japanese people. Perhaps Princess Yoshiko's description is more apt, she says she is nothing more than a caged bird.
Princess Yoshiko complains that she is a caged bird
According to the current "Royal Model", after a male member of the royal family marries a commoner woman, both husband and wife are members of the royal family, and the children born are also royal. But after a female member of the royal family married a commoner male, both husband and wife were commoners and the children born were also commoners. Takamori Akira said, "Isn't it strange that in today's world of equality between men and women, such a phenomenon is not strange?" ”
Princess Mako, who married a commoner who broke away from the royal family, was on the streets of america
Although the marriage of the eldest daughter, Mako, was unsatisfactory to Akishinomiya, their family was second to none in the Japanese imperial family for half a century when it came to having children. Princess Noriko was born into a commoner family, and after marrying into the imperial family, she gave birth to two princesses, Mako and Yoshiko. Twelve years later, she gave birth to the only man in forty years for the Japanese imperial family, Prince Yuhito, the future heir to the imperial throne.
Mr. and Mrs. Akishinomiya and Yujin Yoshiko take a group photo
However, there are also cases in which female members of the Japanese imperial family have married civilians happily. On October 29, 2018, Princess Ayako, the third daughter of the Kodan-gun family, married Akira Moritani, who served on a Japanese mail ship, and on November 17, 2019, a year after their marriage, they gave birth to a boy.
Moriya Keiyo Wife And Child Moriya Ayako
(2) Model 1: The wife is a royal, but the husband and children are commoners
In Takamori's proposal, there is a more moderate model: "The wife is a royal, but the husband and children are commoners." Although imperfect, Takamori feels that as a transition, perhaps this model is indispensable.
The female royal family continued to retain the royal family case after marriage
The advantage of this model lies in the retention of the status of female members of the royal family after marriage. Take, for example, Princess Aiko, the only daughter of Emperor Naruhito, who, according to current law, must break away from the imperial family and become an ordinary citizen after getting married, and then have to go out to find work on her own to earn money to support her family. However, after the change of the pattern, Princess Aiko can continue to stay in the royal family after marriage, so that the subsequent imagination space has unlimited possibilities.
Netizens asked Aizigong what kind of husband he was looking for
(3) Mode 2: Adopt a boy from the old palace family into the palace as an adopted son, but there is no right to inherit the throne...
In the case of the adopted son proposed by the "Council of the Insightful", the boy who was brought into the palace from the old palace family had two purposes. One is the "spare tire" as the heir to the throne, and the other is to marry female members of the royal family and create a female palace family to ensure the number of the royal family.
Old Palace adopted son adoption case
However, in the case of the adopted son proposed by Takamori Akira, the boys who entered the palace as adopted sons had different roles.
In his plan, after the boys were adopted into the palace, they did not have the right to inherit the throne and did not marry the women of the royal family. Their role was only that of the adopted sons of the royal family, but the boys they would give birth to after marrying a commoner woman in the future would have the legal right to inherit the throne.
The advantage of this model is that it not only ensures the number of royal members, but also opens up branches for the royal family.
Group photo of members of the Japanese Old Palace family
Akira Takamori's plan has been widely debated. Proponents argue that it is reasonable, and although it is a grievance for a lifetime for those who are raised in the palace, it is actually worth it considering the possibility of future generations.
Opponents argue that since the generation that was brought into the palace did not have the right to inherit the throne, why did the boy he gave birth to with a commoner woman have the right to inherit?
Takamori asked, "According to this theory, why do you still have to raise a boy from the old palace family?" It would be nice to raise them directly from civilian families! Isn't the traditional idea of blood at work?! ”
Japanese media reports on the case of the adopted son of the old palace were approved by the public
(4) Model three: women are royalty, but husbands are politicians
In his book, Takamori pointedly pointed out that the Japanese imperial family, which seems to be far away from politics, is inextricably linked to today's Japanese political circles. There are also many politicians who have inexplicable blood entanglements with the royal family.
Map of the Relationship between Japanese Politicians and the Imperial Family
That being the case, isn't it a shortcut to marry a politician?
Compared with Princess Aiko, who has just turned twenty, the marriage of Princess Jiazi, the second daughter of the Akishinomiya family, who has turned twenty-seven, is currently the focus of the most attention of all walks of life in Japan. In the past two years, the news of the love affair between Princess Jiazi and many young masters in the political and economic circles may be the prototype of this model.
Princess Kaneko of the Japanese Imperial Family
(5) What are the obstacles to princess Aiko, who is supported by the people and instructed by her parents, to become a female emperor?
A silver coin commemorating the birth of Princess Aiko
Princess Aiko, the only daughter of the current Emperor Naruhito, is now supported by more than 80% of the population in Japan to become the future emperor. However, it is not legally supported.
Royal family model
The Imperial Family Model is the code of law governing the Japanese imperial family by the Japanese Imperial Household Agency. According to the regulations, only male members of the Japanese imperial family can inherit the emperor's throne.
At the age of 10, princess Aiko and her mother, Empress Masako
In the process of princess Aiko's growth, she was widely concerned by the Japanese people. Although she did not have the right to inherit the throne under the influence of patriarchal preference, most Japanese people did not think so.
Princess Aiko at the coming-of-age ceremony
On December 1, 2021, Princess Aiko turned twenty years old. Emperor Naruhito and his wife held a grand coming-of-age ceremony for their daughter. Faced with the aggressiveness of the family of Prince Wenren, the younger brother of the legal heir to the throne, the high-tongued Emperor Naruhito was no longer silent, and repeatedly preached equality between men and women in public, hoping to open up a shortcut for his daughter to inherit the throne.
The hypothesis proposed by Akira Takamori in the book may provide a theoretical basis for princess Aiko's future empress path.