上皇明仁と平成：象徴天皇の歴史Akihito's Heisei Era of Compassionate Unity
Today, Emperor Emeritus Akihito (Joko, referring to a retired Emperor) was hospitalized at the University of Tokyo Hospital due to suspected myocardial ischemia. In Japan, the era name (gengo, 元号) changes with each emperor; the current era is “Reiwa,” but his era was called “Heisei,” lasting from January 8, 1989, to April 30, 2019. The Heisei era lasted 11,070 days, nearly 30 years, making it the fourth-longest reign among historical emperors. I was born in 1991, so I was literally born during the era of Emperor Akihito, and have spent the majority of my life within the Heisei period. Emperor Akihito abdicated during his lifetime, and now we are in the era of Emperor Naruhito. However, personally, I believe Emperor Akihito’s era was perhaps the most peaceful and stable period in the long history of Japanese emperors.
When people outside Japan think of the Japanese Emperor, they often associate him with the post-World War II era, viewing him as a purely symbolic figure without political power. However, the history of Japanese emperors is, in fact, deeply entangled with extremely complex political intrigues. Historically speaking, Japanese emperors have rarely held direct political authority; rather, their symbolic authority was utilized by influential political figures of each era. To those in power, emperors conveniently served as a façade behind which true political maneuvers could be hidden. From ancient times, emperors in Japan have been esteemed primarily as figures performing religious ceremonies or cultural symbols, rather than as wielders of military or political power. Their authority has typically remained nominal at best. Consequently, when the victorious Allied Powers after World War II decided to keep the emperor purely as a symbolic figure, the Japanese accepted this change with relatively little resistance, because, historically speaking, the emperor had almost never actually exercised genuine political authority.
Ever since Japan established a centralized bureaucratic system modeled after China’s Tang Dynasty (ritsuryo system, 律令制度) in ancient times, emperors have formally been regarded as rulers. However, practical governance increasingly fell into the hands of aristocrats and influential families. Particularly during the Heian period (794-1185), as aristocrats gained prominence, the Fujiwara clan established regency politics (sekkan seiji, 摂関政治) by marrying into the imperial family, becoming regents (sessho, 摂政) and advisors (kanpaku, 関白) to child emperors, effectively dominating power. During this regency period, emperors were stripped of actual political control, with only their symbolic authority exploited. In other words, the Fujiwara clan exercised real power from behind the scenes, even though emperors were publicly presented as political authorities. From the late 11th century, retired emperors (joko, 上皇) occasionally exercised political authority through cloistered rule (insei, 院政), as in the cases of Emperor Shirakawa and Emperor Go-Shirakawa. However, the rise of samurai regimes, notably the Kamakura shogunate, increasingly diminished imperial influence.
After the imperial forces were defeated by samurai warriors in the Jokyu War of 1221, the shogunate firmly controlled the imperial court, completely removing any political initiative from the emperor. This loss of political power lasted approximately 700 years, from the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate in 1185 to the end of the Edo shogunate in 1867. During this period, actual governance rested firmly in the hands of shoguns and military leaders, and emperors rarely had the opportunity to govern directly. In fact, during the Edo period under Tokugawa rule, emperors were confined to Kyoto and largely remained unnoticed by the general population.
There was an exceptional period when Emperor Go-Daigo (reigned 1318–1339) briefly regained imperial governance after overthrowing the Kamakura shogunate, but his direct rule quickly ended, and emperors again were confined to a ceremonial role under samurai authority. Specifically, the Edo shogunate explicitly prohibited political engagement by the imperial court, establishing a clear separation where emperors were only involved in rituals and succession ceremonies. Therefore, during the Edo period, emperors existed solely as cultural and ceremonial figures in Kyoto, with even less visibility and more limited symbolic influence than in the post-WWII period.
In reaction against the nearly 700-year samurai dictatorship, a movement advocating the restoration of political authority to the emperor arose in the late 19th century, aiming to overthrow Tokugawa rule. As the samurai-led political system weakened, the slogan of “Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians” (sonno joi, 尊王攘夷) spurred the movement to topple the shogunate. This led to the Meiji Restoration in 1868, formally re-establishing direct imperial governance. During the Meiji government’s efforts to build a modern state, the newly enthroned Emperor Meiji was positioned as the head of state, and under the Meiji Constitution, the emperor was officially granted supreme governance authority. However, this arrangement was largely a rhetorical device employed by the new political elites who had orchestrated the coup against Tokugawa rule. Actual political power was held by key figures involved in the coup, government cabinets, and legislative bodies. Emperor Meiji thus functioned primarily as a mediator among policy-makers, remaining essentially a symbolic figurehead for the nation.
Today, even after the Meiji Restoration, it was extremely rare for emperors themselves to lead politics directly; instead, for most of the era, military leaders and bureaucrats misused imperial authority to legitimize their own power. Especially during the early Showa era (1926–1989), as the military rapidly expanded its influence, there were significant abuses of imperial authority to strengthen wartime mobilization. Although Emperor Showa (Hirohito) attempted to assert his own will amidst tensions with the increasingly uncontrollable military, the military consistently manipulated and utilized him to fulfill their own ambitions. Thus, even during the modern imperial system before the end of World War II, the emperor often remained merely a tool of political factions, with his symbolic authority exploited independently of his intentions. After World War II, under the newly established Constitution of Japan (promulgated in 1946 and enacted in 1947), the emperor was formally defined as the “symbol of the State,” explicitly stripped of all political power. However, one must question what significance this truly had.
In fact, the postwar arrangement merely institutionalized a reality that had historically existed for centuries—the emperor as a symbolic figure—under modern constitutionalism. The framework fixed during the occupation can be seen as an extension of this long history. Within this framework, Emperor Showa himself explicitly distanced the imperial family from political power by issuing the “Humanity Declaration” in 1946 after Japan’s surrender. Following his death, Crown Prince Akihito ascended the throne in 1989, inaugurating a new era of symbolic imperial rule, named Heisei.
In a sense, Emperor Akihito (the current Emperor Emeritus) was the first emperor in Japanese history to assume the throne explicitly as a “symbolic emperor” under the postwar constitution from the very beginning of his reign. Throughout his tenure, he consistently maintained political neutrality and exemplified a deep commitment to being close to the citizens. At the core of the symbolic imperial image that Emperor Akihito sought and embodied was “constantly empathizing and sharing in the joys and sorrows of the people.” Indeed, his actions during his reign fully embodied this ideal, earning deep respect and affection from the Japanese people as an exemplary emperor. Particularly notable was his behavior during the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, among other natural disasters. Emperor Akihito personally visited disaster-stricken areas and memorials nationwide, kneeling down to offer words of comfort directly to survivors and bereaved families. Such actions—an emperor kneeling down to speak directly to ordinary citizens—were previously unimaginable. Moreover, no politician in Japan had ever shown such humility and compassion. His unprecedented behavior starkly contrasted with the traditional image of emperors as distant rulers, highlighting the immense effort he invested to fulfill his symbolic role as a unifier of the nation.
Under Emperor Akihito’s reign during the Heisei period, Japan enjoyed an exceptionally stable era, largely free from political turmoil or internal conflict. While the era name changed with his abdication, Heisei remains recognized as one of Japan’s most peaceful periods. Throughout his tenure, Emperor Akihito steadfastly performed his duties within the constitutional framework, quietly communicating profound messages about human dignity and the value of peace through his words and actions. For instance, in August 2016, concerned about the increasing burden of official duties due to his advanced age, he delivered an unprecedented video message discussing the nature of his role as a symbol, subsequently paving the way for his eventual abdication. Even this decision was made without exercising political power, purely aiming for institutional stability. Compared to emperors of the Meiji or early Showa eras who wielded significant political and military authority, Emperor Akihito demonstrated remarkable integrative strength precisely from a non-political position, leading many to recognize him historically as an exceptionally influential “strong symbolic emperor.” In other words, his authority derived not from political power, but uniquely from his character, behavior, and sincere commitment, earning widespread public trust.
As outlined above, historically, Japanese emperors have generally remained distant from actual political power, their symbolic authority exploited by various political factions. Amidst this extensive history, the Heisei era represented a uniquely peaceful and stable period, wherein the emperor genuinely fulfilled his role for the sake of the people, entirely free from political conspiracies or conflicts. The stable symbolic imperial model established by Emperor Emeritus Akihito thus holds a special and invaluable place in Japan’s long historical narrative.