Editing Emperor of Japan (section)

==Reference and naming==
The Japanese language has two words equivalent to the English word "emperor": {{Nihongo||天皇|tennō|extra="heavenly sovereign"}}, which refers exclusively to the emperor of Japan, and {{Nihongo||皇帝|kōtei}}, which primarily identifies non-Japanese emperors. ''Sumeramikoto'' ("the imperial person") was also used in [[Old Japanese language|Old Japanese]].

The title given posthumously to an emperor changed after the death of [[Emperor Murakami]] in 967, who was the last to receive the title {{Nihongo|||tennō}}. From the death of [[Emperor En'yū]] in 991 onward, the title {{Nihongo||院|in}} started to be used instead of ''tennō'' as the honorary title attached to the {{Nihongo|posthumous name|諡号|shigō}}.<ref name = "Fujita">{{Cite book|title = 天皇の歴史６ 江戸時代の天皇 |trans-title = History of the Emperors 6: Emperors of the Edo Period|series = Kodansha Academic Library|isbn=978-4-065-11640-1|publisher = Kodansha|date = 2018|last = Fujita |first = Satoru|pages = 288–290 |language=ja}}</ref> The term ''in'' originally referred to both the residence and the honorific title of a {{Nihongo|retired emperor|太上天皇|[[Daijō Tennō]]}}. However, from the [[Heian period]] onward, as it became rare for emperors to pass away before abdicating, the ''in'' title became established as a posthumous title. An exception is [[Emperor Antoku]], who died during his reign in 1187, and was posthumously given a title that included ''tennō''.<ref name = "Fujita" /> Although ''tennō'' was not used for emperors from the 10th<ref>{{cite book |last1=Patricia Buckley Ebrey, Anne Walthall |title= East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History |date= 2013 |publisher= Cengage Learning |isbn=9781285528670 |page=120}}</ref> or 12th century<ref>{{cite book |last1= Charles Holcombe |title= A History of East Asia |date=2017 |publisher= Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781107118737 |page=159}}</ref> to the 19th century,<ref>Screech, (2006). ''Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822,'' p. 232 n4.</ref> it continued to be used for emperors who died before [[Juntoku]] abdicated due to the 1221 [[Jōkyū Rebellion]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Joshua A. Fogel |title=The Teleology of the Modern Nation-State: Japan and China |date=2005 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=9780812238204 |page=225}}</ref>

During their reign, the term ''tennō'' was only written in documents on limited occasions, such as when it was written as ''tennō'' but read as ''sumeramikoto'' in the {{Nihongo|imperial rescript of accession|即位宣命|sokui senmyō}}. Normally, out of respect, euphemistic expressions like {{Nihongo||禁裏|kinri}}, {{Nihongo||禁中|kinchū}}, or {{Nihongo||主上|shujō}}, which refer to the emperor's palace or supreme status, were used instead.<ref name = "Fujita"/>

However, as the use of the title ''in'', which originally referred to retired emperors, gradually expanded over time to include members of the imperial family, [[shogun]]s, [[daimyo]]s, and even commoners, it came to be seen as inappropriate for deceased emperors. The [[Edo period]] Confucian scholar [[Nakai Chikuzan]] (1730–1804) remarked, "The title ''in'' is used by everyone from feudal lords and nobles to [[samurai]] and commoners, so it lacks the supreme honor of the imperial title and is unworthy" (from ''Sōbō Kigen''). He argued that deceased emperors should be referred to as "Era Name + Tennō."<ref name = "Fujita" />

Amid this trend, when [[Emperor Kōkaku]] died in 1840, [[Emperor Ninkō]] consulted with the court nobles about reviving the title ''tennō'' and obtained permission from the [[Tokugawa shogunate]]. He then selected a posthumous name, and in 1841, bestowed the title and posthumous name {{Nihongo|Emperor Kōkaku|光格天皇|Kōkaku Tennō}}. From this point onward, the title ''tennō'' was once again used for deceased emperors.<ref name = "Fujita" />

Other titles that were recorded to be in use were ''kō'' (皇), ''tei'' (帝), ''ō'' (王), all meaning "prince" or "emperor", and ''tenshi'' (天子), or "[[son of heaven]]".<ref>{{cite book |last1= Engelbert Kaempfer |last2= Beatrice M. Bodart-Bailey |title= Kaempfer's Japan: Tokugawa Culture Observed |date=1999 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=9780824863227 |page=88}}</ref>

In English, the term ''mikado'' ({{lang|ja|御門}} or {{lang|ja|帝}}), literally meaning "the honorable gate" (i.e. the gate of the imperial palace, which indicates the person who lives in and possesses the palace; compare ''[[Sublime Porte]]'', an old term for the [[State organisation of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman government]]), was once used (as in ''[[The Mikado]]'', a 19th-century [[operetta]]), but this term is now obsolete.<ref name="Asakawa1903">Kanʼichi Asakawa. ''[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_K1MuAAAAYAAJ/page/n36 The early institutional life of Japan: a study in the reform of 645 A.D.]''. Tokyo: Shueisha (1903), p. 25. "We purposely avoid, in spite of its wide usage in foreign literature, the misleading term ''Mikado''. If it be not for the natural curiosity of the races, which always seeks something novel and loves to call foreign things by foreign names, it is hard to understand why this obsolete and ambiguous word should so sedulously be retained. It originally meant not only the Sovereign, but also his house, the court, and even the State, and its use in historical writings causes many difficulties which it is unnecessary to discuss here in detail. The native Japanese employ the term neither in speech nor in writing. It might as well be dismissed with great advantage from sober literature as it has been for the official documents."</ref>

Japanese emperors take on a [[regnal name]], which is the common and polite way to refer to the emperor as a person during their reign. Japanese regnal names are more precisely names for a period of time that begins with a historical event, such as the enthronement of an emperor. Since Emperor Meiji, it has been customary to have one [[Japanese era name|era]] per emperor and to rename each emperor after his death using the name of the era over which he presided. Before Emperor Meiji, the names of the eras were changed more frequently, and the posthumous names of the emperors were chosen differently.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sieg |first1=Linda |title=Japan new imperial era name, Reiwa - Origins, Selection, Meaning |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1RD1B6/ |access-date=20 March 2024 |work=Reuters}}</ref>

[[File:Emperor of Japan - Tenno - New Years 2010.ogv|thumb|thumbtime=7|Emperor Akihito giving a New Year's address to the people in 2010]]

[[Hirohito]] was never referred to by his name in Japan. He was given the [[posthumous name]] ''[[Shōwa Tennō]]'' after his death, which is the only name that Japanese speakers currently use when referring to him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-japan-archive-1989jan07-story.html|title=From the archives: Japan's Hirohito, 87, Dies After a Reign of 62 Years|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=January 7, 1989}}</ref>

The current emperor on the throne is typically referred to as ''Tennō Heika'' ({{lang|ja|天皇陛下}}, "His [Imperial] Majesty the Emperor"), ''Kinjō Heika'' ({{lang|ja|今上陛下}}, "His Current Majesty") or simply ''Tennō'', when speaking Japanese. Emperor [[Akihito]] received the title ''Daijō Tennō'' ({{lang|ja|太上天皇}}, Emperor Emeritus), often shortened to ''Jōkō'' ({{lang|ja|上皇}}), upon his abdication on 30 April 2019, and is expected to be renamed ''Heisei Tennō'' ({{lang|ja|平成天皇}}) after his death and will then be referred to exclusively by that name in Japanese.

===Origin of the title===
{{see also|Okimi}}
Originally, the ruler of Japan was known as either {{lang|ja|大和大王}}/{{lang|ja|大君}} (''Yamato-ōkimi'', "Grand King of [[Yamato Province|Yamato]]"), {{lang|ja|倭王}}/{{lang|ja|倭国王}} (''Wa-ō''/''Wakoku-ō'', [[Five kings of Wa|"King of Wa"]], used externally) or {{lang|ja|治天下大王}} (''Ame-no-shita shiroshimesu ōkimi'' or ''Sumera no mikoto'', "Grand King who rules all under heaven", used internally) in Japanese and Chinese sources before the 7th century. The oldest diplomatic reference to the title {{lang|ja|天子}} (''Tenshi'', Emperor or [[Son of Heaven]]) can be found in a diplomatic document sent from [[Empress Suiko]] to the [[Sui dynasty]] of China in 607. In this document, Empress Suiko introduced herself to [[Emperor Yang of Sui]] as 日出處天子 (''Hi izurutokoro no tenshi'') meaning "Heavenly son of the land where the sun rises".<ref>Huffman, James (2010). ''Japan in World History''. p.15. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-979884-1}}.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191225163843/https://business.nikkei.com/atcl/seminar/19/00080/093000003/ Satoshi Yabuuchi, ''時代背景から知る 仏像の秘密'', The Nikkei], October 10, 2019</ref> The oldest documented use of the title {{lang|ja|天皇}} (''Tennō'', heavenly emperor) appears on a wooden tablet, or ''[[mokkan]]'', that was unearthed in [[Asuka, Nara|Asuka-mura, Nara Prefecture]] in 1998 and dated back to the reign of [[Emperor Tenmu]] and [[Empress Jitō]] in the 7th century.<ref>Ooms, Herman (2009). ''Imperial Politics and Symbolics in Ancient Japan: The Tenmu Dynasty, 650–800.'' pp.154–156. University of Hawaii Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8248-3235-3}}.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180318174952/http://bunshun.jp/articles/-/6397 Masataka Kondo, ''ご存知ですか 3月2日は飛鳥池遺跡で「天皇」木簡が出土したと発表された日です''], March 2, 2018.</ref>