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The Imperial Household Agency (宮内庁 Kunaichō) is a government agency of Japan in charge of the state matters concerning Japan's imperial family and also keeping the Privy Seal and the State Seal. In the 18 centuries before the Second World War, it was named the Imperial Household Ministry (宮内省 Kunaishō).
The Agency is unique among conventional government agencies in that it does not directly report to the Prime Minister at the cabinet level, nor is affected by legislation such as that which established national museums as Independent Administrative Institutions.
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History
The organization and functions of the Imperial Household were defined and regulated in the Taiho Code, which was promulgated in 701-702 during the reign of Emperor Monmu. The fundamental elements of this system evolved over the course of centuries, but the basic structures remained in place until the Meiji Restoration.[1]
Imperial Household Ministry, 1889-1947
The Imperial House Law of 1889 and the Meiji Constitution (the Constitution of the Empire of Japan) were simultaneously proclaimed by Emperor Meiji. In the context of a Westernized constitutional monarchy, the Imperial House Law established that internal matters of the Imperial Household were independent of oversight by the Diet of Japan. In this period, the officials and staff of the household were identified as the Imperial Household Ministry. An Imperial Order in 1908 confirmed that the Imperial Household Minister, as the chief official was then called, was responsible for assisting the Emperor in all matters concerning the Imperial House.[1]
Imperial Household Office, 1947-1949
The Imperial Household Law of 1947 was promulgated at the same time as the post-war Constitution of Japan. At that time, the Imperial Household Ministry became the Imperial Household Office, and was positioned in an organizational hierarchy under the office of the Prime Minister of Japan. The staff numbers were greatly reduced the organization was streamlined.[1].
Imperial Household Agency, 1949-present
In 1949, the name of Imperial Household Office was changed to the Imperial Household Agency. In this way, the Imperial Household became an external agency of the Prime Minister's Office.[1].
In 2001, the Imperial Household Agency was organizationally re-positioned under the Cabinet Office.[1]
Organization and Functions
The Agency is headed by the Grand Steward and he is assisted by the Vice-Grand Steward.[2] The main organization elements are:
- the Grand Steward's Secretariat.[2]
- the Board of the Chamberlains.[2]
- the Crown Prince's Household.[2]
- the Board of Ceremonies.[2]
- the Archives and Mausolea Department.[2]
- the Maintenance and Works Department.[2]
- the Kyoto Office.[2]
The current Grand Steward is Shingo Haketa.
The agency's headquarters is located within the grounds of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The Agency's duties and responsibilities encompass the daily activities, such as state visits, organising events, preservation of traditional culture, administrative functions, etc., the agency is also responsible for the various imperial residences scattered throughout the country. Visitors who wish to tour the Kyoto Gosho, the Katsura Detached Palace, and other sites, should register for guided tours with the agency first.
The Agency has responsibility for the health, security and travel arrangements of the Imperial family, including maintaining the Imperial line. A "Grand Master of the Household" helps manage the schedules, dining menus, and household maintenance for the family.
Criticism
The Agency has frequently[when?] been criticized for isolating members of the Imperial Family from the Japanese public, and for insisting on hidebound customs rather than permitting a more approachable, populist monarchy. These criticisms have become more muted in recent years; Emperor Akihito has himself done much to make the Japanese monarchy less aloof.[citation needed]
Prince Naruhito, in May 2004, criticised the then-Grand Steward of the Imperial Household, Toshio Yuasa, for putting pressure on Princess Masako, Naruhito's wife, to bear a male child. At a press conference, Naruhito said that his wife had "completely exhausted herself" trying to adapt to royal life, and added "there were developments that denied Masako's career (up to our marriage) as well as her personality."[3][4][5] It has officially been stated that Masako is suffering from an "adjustment disorder", but there has been extensive speculation in the press that she is suffering from clinical depression as a result of her treatment by Imperial Household officials.[6]
Increasingly in recent years, the Agency's prevention of archaeological research regarding a large number of Kofun Era tombs putatively designated as "imperial" has come under criticism from academics. Such research, particularly on the ancient tombs in the Kansai region of western Japan, has the potential to yield a great bounty of information on the origins of Japanese civilization. The possibility that such finds could verify theories of formative civilizational ties with contemporary civilizations in China and the Korean Peninsula, with commensurate influence on thought about the origins of the Imperial Household itself, is generally considered to be the greater part of the jealousy with which the agency guards its authority over this large number of tombs (many of which are likely imperial only in name), and prevents scientific inquiry into these sites.[7][8][9]
In his book Princess Masako: Prisoner of the Chrysanthemum Throne, Ben Hills portrays the Agency as controlling every aspect of the lives of the members of the Imperial Family, both public and private, and exerting near-total control over them, from staff appointments to wardrobe selection. Hills brands the Imperial Household Agency the "Men in Black" for their uniform of dark suits as well as their mysterious, behind-the-scenes power. As with the royal family itself, positions in the 1300-year-old Agency are hereditary. Hills interviewed one Agency member who claims that 9 out of 10 requests from the royals, even the Emperor himself, are rejected. Masako, for instance, was denied browsing a bookstore, visiting her family, or calling her old college friends around the world.[10]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d e Imperial Household Agency: History
- ^ a b c d e f g h Imperial Household Agency: Organization
- ^ The Future of Japan's Monarchy, Time Asia Magazine
- ^ Imperial family exposed to media speculation in 2004, Japan Policy and Politics, 10 Jan 2005
- ^ Crown prince back in Japan, will not meet press, Japan Policy and Politics, May 24 2004
- ^ About a boy: Dynasty, Japan-style, The Independent on Sunday, 8 July 2007
- ^ Hudson, M. (1999). Ruins of Identity: Ethnogenesis in the Japanese Islands. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press.
- ^ Oguma,E. (2002). A Genealogy of 'Japanese' Self-images (translated by David Askew). Melbourne: Trans Pacific Press.
- ^ Edwards, W. (2000). Contested access: The Imperial tombs in the postwar period. Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol. 26, No. 2, 371-392.
- ^ [1].
References
- Shigeru, Yoshida and Hiroshi Nara. (2007). Shigeru: Last Meiji Man. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. 13-ISBN 978-0-742-53932-7/10-ISBN 0-742-53932-6; 13-ISBN 978-0-742-53933-4/10-ISBN 0-742-53933-4; OCLC 238440967
Further reading
- Kokusai Kyōiku Jōhō Sentā. (1986). The Imperial Family of Japan. Tokyo: International Society for Educational Information. OCLC 24145536
External links
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