Editing Emperor of Japan (section)

==History==
Although the emperor has been a symbol of continuity with the past, the degree of power exercised by the emperor has varied considerably throughout Japanese history.

===Origins===
{{See also|List of emperors of Japan}}

According to the traditional account of the [[Nihon Shoki]], Japan was founded by [[Emperor Jimmu]] {{age|-659|2|11}} years ago. However most modern scholars agree to regard Jimmu and the nine first emperors as mythical.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Shillony|first=Ben-Ami|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FwztKKtQ_rAC&q=nine+first+emperors+of+japan&pg=PA15|title=The Emperors of Modern Japan|date=2008|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-16822-0|pages=15|language=en|author-link=Ben-Ami Shillony}}</ref>  [[Emperor Sujin]], the 10th emperor, may have been a real historical figure. The emperors from [[Emperor Ōjin]] are considered as perhaps factual. As one argument, the reign of [[Emperor Kinmei]] ({{circa|509}}–571 AD), the 29th emperor, is the first for whom contemporary historiography is able to assign verifiable dates.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0">Hoye, Timothy. (1999). ''Japanese Politics: Fixed and Floating Worlds,'' p. 78; "According to legend, the first Japanese emperor was Jinmu. Along with the next 13 emperors, [[Emperor Jimmu|Jimmu]] is not considered an actual, historical figure. Historically verifiable Emperors of Japan date from the early sixth century with [[Emperor Kinmei|Kinmei]]."</ref>

Archaeological information about the earliest historical rulers of Japan may be contained in the ancient tombs known as ''[[kofun]]'', constructed between the early 3rd century and the early 7th century AD. However, since the [[Meiji period]], the [[Imperial Household Agency]] has refused to open the ''kofun'' to the public or to archaeologists, citing their desire not to disturb the spirits of the past emperors. ''Kofun'' period artefacts were also increasingly crucial in Japan as the Meiji government used them to reinforce their authority.<ref>{{Cite thesis|last=Edgington-Brown |first=Luke |date=May 2016 |title=The International Origins of Japanese Archaeology: William Gowland and His Kofun Collection at the British Museum |url=https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/67858/ |type=Ph.D. |location=Norwich, UK |publisher=University of East Anglia |oclc=1079148109 |id=ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global 2164566112 <!-- Also (meaning?): Order No. 13832636 -->}}</ref> In 2016, the Imperial Household Agency reversed its position and decided to allow researchers to enter some of the ''kofun'' with limited time and way.

In the early 7th century, the emperor had begun to be called the {{Nihongo|"[[Son of Heaven]]"|天子|tenshi|or 天子様 ''tenshi-sama''}}.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kO0tUpCViA8C&pg=PA300 |title=Rethinking Japan: Social Sciences, Ideology and Thought |publisher=Japan Library |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-904404-79-1 |editor-last=Boscaro |editor-first=Adriana |volume=II |page=300 |editor2-last=Gatti |editor2-first=Franco |editor3-last=Raveri |editor3-first=Massimo}}</ref> The title of emperor was borrowed from China, being derived from Chinese characters, and was retroactively applied to the legendary Japanese rulers who reigned before the 7th–8th centuries AD.<ref name="Holcombe2001">{{cite book |last=Holcombe |first=Charles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XT5pvPZ4vroC&pg=PA198 |title=The Genesis of East Asia: 221 B.C. – A.D. 907 |date=January 2001 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=978-0-8248-2465-5 |pages=198–}}</ref>

=== Disputes and instability (10th century) ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2021}}
[[File:Emperor-Go-Daigo-by-Ogata-Gekko-1904.png|thumb|[[Emperor Go-Daigo]]]]

The growth of the [[samurai]] class from the 10th century gradually weakened the power of the imperial family over the realm, leading to a time of instability. Emperors are known to have come into conflict with the reigning shogun from time to time. Some instances, such as [[Emperor Go-Toba]]'s [[Jōkyū War|1221 rebellion]] against the [[Kamakura shogunate]] and the 1336 [[Kenmu Restoration]] under [[Emperor Go-Daigo]], show the power struggle between the [[Imperial Court in Kyoto]] and the military governments of Japan.

=== Factional control (530s–1867) and ''shōguns'' (1192–1867) ===
{{Main|Shogun}}
There have been seven non-imperial [[Japanese clans|families]] who have controlled Japanese emperors: the [[Soga clan|Soga]] (530s–645), the [[Fujiwara clan|Fujiwara]] (850s–1070), the [[Taira clan|Taira]] (1159–1180s), the [[Minamoto clan|Minamoto]] (1192–1199), the [[Hōjō clan|Hōjō]] (1199–1333), the [[Ashikaga shogunate|Ashikaga]] (1336–1565), and the [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa]] (1603–1867). However, every shogun from the Minamoto, Ashikaga, and Tokugawa families had to be officially recognized by the emperors, who were still the source of sovereignty, although they could not exercise their powers independently from the shogunate.

During the major part of 1192 to 1867, political sovereignty of the state was exercised by the ''shōguns'' or their ''[[shikken]]'' regents (1203–1333), whose authority was conferred by Imperial warrant. When [[Portuguese discoveries|Portuguese explorers]] first came into contact with the Japanese (see ''[[Nanban period]]''), they described Japanese conditions in analogy, likening the emperor with great symbolic authority, but little political power, to the [[pope]], and the ''shōgun'' to secular European rulers (e.g., the [[Holy Roman emperor]]). In keeping with the analogy, they even used the term "emperor" in reference to the ''shōguns'' and their regents, e.g. in the case of [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], whom missionaries called "Emperor Taico-sama" (from [[Sesshō and Kampaku|Taikō]] and the honorific ''[[Japanese titles|sama]]''). A Dutch embassy report used similar terminology in 1691.<ref name="jpciv">{{cite book |year=1978 |title=A Brief History of Japanese Civilization |page=147 |author1=Conrad Schirokauer |author2=David Lurie |author3=Suzanne Gay |publisher=Cengage Learning |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UaYJAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA147 |isbn=978-0495913252}}</ref> [[Empress Go-Sakuramachi]] was the last ruling empress of Japan and reigned from 1762 to 1771.<ref>Titsingh, pp. 411–412.</ref> During the [[Sakoku]] period of 1603 to 1868, there was very limited trade between Japan and foreigners. The [[Japan–Netherlands relations|Dutch]] were the only westerners who had limited access to Japan.<ref name="jpciv"/>

=== Kenmu Restoration (1333–1336) ===
{{Main|Kenmu Restoration}}
Emperor [[Emperor Go-Daigo|Go-Daigo]] succeeded in 1333 to get back the direct authority directly to the emperor after overthrowing the [[Kamakura shogunate]], with the help of [[Ashikaga Takauji]], a defected Kamakura general. The short three-year period during which the power was directly in the hand of the emperor is called the [[Kenmu Restoration]]. The direct ruling of the emperor proved however inefficient and ultimately failed, with Takauji grabbing political power for himself.

===Meiji Restoration (1868)===
{{Main|Meiji Restoration}}
[[File:武州六郷船渡図_Bushu_Rokugo_funawatashi_no_zu.jpg|thumb|The first arrival of Emperor Meiji to [[Edo (Tokyo)|Edo]] (1868)]]

In July 1853, [[Matthew C. Perry|Commodore Perry]]'s [[Black Ships]] of the [[United States Navy|US Navy]] made their first visit to [[Edo Bay]]. Japan lacked the military and industrial power to prevent it.<ref name="bs">{{Cite web |last=Dower |first=John |author-link=John W. Dower |title=Black Ships and the Samurai: Commodore Perry and the Opening of Japan (1853–1854) |url=https://visualizingcultures.mit.edu/black_ships_and_samurai/bss_essay01.html |year=2010 |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |access-date=15 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="takekoshi">Takekoshi, [https://books.google.com/books?id=mvfMKV1b1fwC&pg=PA285 pp. 285–86]</ref> Unequal treaties coerced and took advantage of Japan.<ref name="bs"/><ref name="takekoshi"/> Consequently, Japan was forcibly opened to foreign trade and the shogunate proved incapable of hindering the "barbarian" interlopers; [[Emperor Kōmei]] thus began to assert himself politically. By the early 1860s, the relationship between the [[Imperial Court in Kyoto|Imperial Court]] and the shogunate was changing radically. Disaffected [[Han system|domains]] and ''[[rōnin]]'' began to rally to the call of ''[[sonnō jōi]]'' ("revere the emperor, expel the barbarians"). The domains of [[Satsuma Domain|Satsuma]] and [[Chōshū Domain|Chōshū]], historic enemies of the Tokugawa, used this turmoil to unite their forces and won an important military victory outside of [[Kyoto]] against Tokugawa forces.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}

On 9 November 1867, the Shogun [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]] formally stepped down to restore [[Emperor Meiji]] to nominal full power.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Political Succession in The Tokugawa Bakufu: Abe Masahiro's Rise to Power, 1843–1845 |first=Conrad |last=Totman |journal=Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies |volume=26 |year=1966 |pages=102–124 |doi=10.2307/2718461 |jstor=2718461}}</ref> He issued the imperial decree of constitutionalism<ref>{{Cite web|title=御誓文ノ趣旨ニ基ク立憲政體樹立ニ關スル詔書（明治八年四月十四日）：文部科学省 |url=https://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/html/others/detail/1317934.htm |website=www.mext.go.jp |access-date=2024-03-19}}</ref> on 14 April 1875. The [[Meiji Constitution]] was adopted on 11 February 1889.<ref name="britannica1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Meiji-Constitution|title=Meiji Constitution {{!}} 1889, Japan|work=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2017-08-21|language=en}}</ref> The emperor of Japan became an active ruler with considerable political power over foreign policy and diplomacy which was shared with an elected [[National Diet|Imperial Diet]].<ref name="britannica1"/> The Japanese subjects gained many rights and duties.

The constitution described the emperor (in Article 4) as: "the head of the Empire, combining in Himself the rights of sovereignty", and he "exercises them, according to the provisions of the present Constitution". His rights included to sanction and promulgate laws, to execute them and to exercise "supreme command of the Army and the Navy". The liaison conference created in 1893 also made the emperor the leader of the [[Imperial General Headquarters]]. On Meiji's death in 1912 and the accession of his son [[Emperor Taishō|Taishō]], who suffered from ill-health and various disabilities, many of these powers were assumed by the Imperial Diet in an era known as the [[Taishō Democracy]].<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Ishida |editor-first1=Takeshi |editor-last2=Kraus |editor-first2=Ellis S |date=1989 |title=Democracy in Japan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J8LFNt_PHqMC&pg=PA7 |publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press |page=7 |isbn=978-0822954149 }}</ref>

=== World War II (1937–1945)===
[[File:Emperor Showa.jpg|thumb|Emperor Shōwa reigned from 1926 to 1989]]
[[Hirohito|Emperor Shōwa]] (Hirohito) was in power during the [[Pacific War]]; he controlled both the sovereign of the state and the imperial forces.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|author=Kawamura, Noriko|title=Emperor Hirohito and the Pacific War|date=2016|isbn=978-0-295-80631-0|location=Seattle|oclc=922925863}}{{page needed|date=February 2023}}</ref> The role of the emperor as head of the [[State Shinto]] religion was exploited during the war, creating an [[Imperial cult]] that led to [[kamikaze]] bombers and other manifestations of [[fanaticism]]. This in turn led to the requirement in the [[Potsdam Declaration]] for the elimination "for all time of the authority and influence of those who have deceived and misled the people of Japan into embarking on world conquest".<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The U.S. Army, Unconditional Surrender, and the Potsdam Declaration|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2468-1733_shafr_sim130130102|access-date=2020-12-09|journal=The SHAFR Guide Online|date=January 1976|doi=10.1163/2468-1733_shafr_sim130130102|last1=Villa|first1=Brian Loring}}</ref>

In State Shinto, the emperor was believed to be an {{Nihongo||現人神|[[arahitogami]]}} (manifest [[kami]] or [[incarnation]] of a [[deity]]).<ref>{{Lang|ja-latn|[[Nihon Shoki]]}}, Chapter 7</ref> Following Japan's surrender, the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] issued the [[Shinto Directive]] separating church and state within Japan. In 1946, Emperor Shōwa was forced to proclaim the [[Humanity Declaration]], but the declaration excludes the word {{Nihongo||現人神|arahitogami}}, including the unusual word {{Nihongo||現御神|akitsumikami|living god}} instead. As such, some experts doubt whether his divinity was renounced.<ref name="herbert"/> [[Jean Herbert]] said it would be inadmissible to deny his divine origin.<ref name="herbert">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Jean |title=Aux sources du Japon: Le Shinto |publisher=Albin Michel |place=Parigi |date=1964|page=}}{{page needed|date=June 2021}}</ref>

Emperor Shōwa was excluded from the postwar [[International Military Tribunal for the Far East|Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal]]. Scholars dispute the power he had and the role he played during WWII.<ref name=":02" /> Emperor Shōwa's reign from 1926 until his death in 1989 makes him the longest-lived and longest-reigning historical Japanese emperor, and one of the [[List of longest-reigning monarchs|longest-reigning monarchs in the world]].

=== Contemporary (1978–present) ===
The Emperors of Japan have not visited [[Yasukuni Shrine]] since 1978.<ref name="reuters.com">{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/why-yasukuni-shrine-is-controversial-symbol-japans-war-legacy-2021-08-13/ | title=Explainer: Why Yasukuni shrine is a controversial symbol of Japan's war legacy | newspaper=Reuters | date=August 14, 2021 }}</ref> Hirohito maintained an official boycott of Yasukuni Shrine after it was revealed to him that Class-A war criminals had secretly been enshrined. The boycott was continued by his son and grandson, [[Akihito]] and [[Naruhito]].<ref name="reuters.com"/>

By 1979, Emperor Shōwa was the only monarch in the world with the [[Imperial, royal and noble ranks|monarchical title]] "[[emperor]]." Emperor Shōwa was the longest-reigning historical monarch in Japan's history and the world's longest reigning contemporary monarch until he was surpassed by King [[Bhumibol Adulyadej]] of Thailand in July 2008.<ref name="bhumibol">{{cite news |date=21 May 1989 |title=King Bhumibol's reign |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/21/magazine/king-bhumibol-s-reign.html |url-status=live |access-date=23 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191022232305/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/21/magazine/king-bhumibol-s-reign.html |archive-date=22 October 2019}}</ref>

According to journalist Makoto Inoue of ''[[The Nikkei]]'', Emperor Emeritus [[Akihito]] wanted to be closer to the people, rather than be treated like a god or robot.<ref name="efe-agencia"/> Inoue believes that during his reign, he transformed the symbolic role of emperor into a human being.<ref name="efe-agencia">{{cite web |date=April 30, 2019 |title=Japanese emperor, a state symbol with scant political power |url=https://www.efe.com/efe/english/life/japanese-emperor-a-state-symbol-with-scant-political-power/50000263-3964383 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501022048/https://www.efe.com/efe/english/life/japanese-emperor-a-state-symbol-with-scant-political-power/50000263-3964383 |archive-date=May 1, 2019}}</ref> In March 2019, the [[Mainichi]] reported 87% thought Akihito fulfilled his role as symbol of the state.<ref name="efe-agencia"/>

On 30 April 2019, Emperor [[Akihito]] abdicated due to health issues and the [[Heisei era]] ended.<ref name="cnn1">{{cite news |last=Enjoji |first=Kaori |date=1 December 2017 |title=Japan Emperor Akihito to abdicate on April 30, 2019 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/30/asia/japan-emperor-akihito-abdication-intl/index.html |work=[[CNN]] |location=Tokyo |access-date=1 December 2017 |archive-date=30 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430100018/https://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/30/asia/japan-emperor-akihito-abdication-intl/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The previous time abdication occurred was [[Emperor Kōkaku]] in 1817. Akihito's eldest son, [[Naruhito]] ascended on 1 May 2019, referred to as ''[[Reigning Emperor|Kinjō Tennō]]'' and [[Reiwa era]] started.

==== Current constitution ====
In 1947 the post-war {{Nihongo|[[Constitution of Japan]]|日本国憲法|Nihonkoku-Kenpō}} became law when it received the emperor's [[royal assent|assent]] on 3 November 1946.<ref name="edict">{{cite web |website=National Diet Library |title=Text of the Constitution and Other Important Documents |url=http://www.ndl.go.jp/constitution/e/etc/c01.html |access-date=8 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106232808/https://www.ndl.go.jp/constitution/e/etc/c01.html |archive-date=November 6, 2020}}</ref> It provides for a [[parliamentary system]] of government and guarantees certain fundamental rights. Under its terms, the emperor of Japan is "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people" and exercises a purely ceremonial role without the possession of sovereignty.<ref name="oxford1">{{Cite book|last=Oda|first=Hiroshi|url=http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199232185.001.1/acprof-9780199232185|title=Japanese Law|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-19-923218-5|chapter=Sources of Law|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199232185.001.1}}</ref> It was drawn up under the [[Allied occupation of Japan|Allied occupation]] that followed World War II and changed Japan's previous Prussian-style [[Meiji Constitution]] that granted the emperor theoretically unlimited powers.{{sfn|Takemae|2002|p=270}} The [[liberal constitution]] was inspired by several European states.{{sfn|Takemae|2002|p=xxxix}} Currently, it is a rigid document and the oldest unamended constitution.<ref name="anomalous-constitution">{{cite news|title=The Anomalous Life of the Japanese Constitution |url=https://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/a05602/the-anomalous-life-of-the-japanese-constitution.html |date=15 August 2017 |access-date=11 August 2019 |website=Nippon.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811213143/https://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/a05602/the-anomalous-life-of-the-japanese-constitution.html |url-status=live |archive-date=11 August 2019}}</ref>

=== Realm and territories ===
{{multiple image
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Historically, territorial designations are not a requirement for the position of ''Tennō'' (emperor). Rather it is the emperor's symbolic and religious power of authority.<ref name="Roth, 2007:103">Roth, 2007:103.</ref> Since the [[Kamakura shogunate]], the emperor held [[de jure]] ownership of the realm. Throughout most of medieval Japan, the [[shogun]]'s legitimate authority was based on being appointed and receiving the power from the emperor even though the shogun was the ''de facto'' ruler.<ref name="Roth, 2007:103"/><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/541431/shogunate|title=Shogun|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=19 November 2014}}</ref> The emperor was considered a direct descendant of [[Amaterasu]] and of utmost importance in the [[Shinto]] religion and sentimental traditions.<ref name="Roth, 2007:103"/> Thus no shogun tried to usurp the emperor, instead they tried to keep the emperor under control and away from politics.<ref name="Fiévé & Waley, 2003:235">Fiévé & Waley, 2003:235.</ref> However, the emperor still had the power to "control time" via the Japanese [[Nengō]] which names eras on calendars after emperors.<ref name="Fiévé & Waley, 2003:235"/>

During the [[Kofun period]] the first central government of the unified state was [[Yamato Province|Yamato]] in the [[Kinai]] region of central Japan.<ref name="kofun">{{cite book |last=Henshall |first=Kenneth |year=2012 |title=A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower |pages=15–16 |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] | location=London |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vD76fF5hqf8C |isbn=978-0-230-34662-8}}</ref> The territory of Japan has changed throughout history. Its largest extent was the [[Empire of Japan]]. In 1938 it was {{convert|1,984,000|km2|sqmi|-5|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Harrison3>{{cite book|last1=Harrison|first1=Mark|title=The Economics of World War II: Six Great Powers in International Comparison|date=2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521785037|page=3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZgFu2p5uogwC|access-date=October 2, 2016}}</ref>

The maximum extent including the home islands and the [[Japanese colonial empire]] was {{convert|8510000|km2|sqmi|-5|abbr=on}} in 1942.<ref name="JapaneseEmpire">{{Cite book|last=James|first=David H.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ceklh3YT_38C&pg=PT331|title=The Rise and Fall of the Japanese Empire|date=2010-11-01|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136925467|language=en|quote=by 1942, this 'Empire' covered about 3,285,000 square miles|access-date=11 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706005539/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ceklh3YT_38C&pg=PT331|archive-date=6 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> After its defeat in [[World War II]] the empire was dismantled. The contemporary territories include the [[Japanese archipelago]] and these [[List of extreme points of Japan|areas]]. Regardless of territorial changes the emperor remains the formal [[head of state]] of Japan. During most of history, ''de facto'' power was with [[shogun]]s or [[Prime Minister of Japan|prime ministers]]. The emperor was more like a revered embodiment of divine harmony than the head of an actual governing administration. In Japan, it was more effective for ambitious [[daimyo]] (feudal lords) to hold actual power, as such positions were not inherently contradictory to the emperor's position. The shoguns and prime ministers derived their legitimacy from the emperor. The [[Government of Japan|parliamentary government]] continues a similar coexistence with the emperor.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

The first recorded instance of the name ''[[Names of Japan|Nihon]]'' {{nihongo2|日本}} was between 665 and 703 during the [[Asuka period]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=krq5CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA140 |title=The Cultural Dimensions of Sino-Japanese Relations: Essays on the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries |first= Joshua A. |last=Fogel |date=29 April 2015 |page=140 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1317457671 }}</ref> This was several centuries after the start of the current imperial line.<ref name="nussbaum707">Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric ''et al.'' (2005). "Nihon" in {{Google books|p2QnPijAEmEC|''Japan encyclopedia,'' p. 707.|page=707}}; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, ''see'' [http://dispatch.opac.ddb.de/DB=4.1/PPN?PPN=128842709 Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120524174828/http://dispatch.opac.ddb.de/DB=4.1/PPN?PPN=128842709|date=2012-05-24}}.</ref> The various names of Japan do not affect the status of the emperor as head of state.

=== Education ===
The emperors traditionally had an education officer. In recent times, [[Emperor Taishō]] had Count [[Nogi Maresuke]], [[Hirohito|Emperor Shōwa]] had Marshal-Admiral Marquis [[Tōgō Heihachirō]], and Emperor [[Akihito]] had [[Elizabeth Gray Vining]] as well as [[:ja:小泉信三|Shinzō Koizumi]] as their tutors.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Smith|first=Dinitia|date=1999-12-01|title=Elizabeth Vining, Tutor to a Future Emperor, Dies at 97 (Published 1999)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/01/arts/elizabeth-vining-tutor-to-a-future-emperor-dies-at-97.html|access-date=2020-11-13|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Members of the imperial family were obliged to be educated at the [[Gakushūin]] (Peer's School) by the 1926 Act of Education for the Imperial family, which was abolished in 1947.<ref>{{Cite web|title=皇族就学令 大正15年10月21日皇室令第8号|trans-title=Royal school enrollment order (October 21, 1918 Imperial Ordinance No. 8)|url= https://hourei.ndl.go.jp/simple/detail?lawId=0000020481&current=-1|website=National Diet Library|date=2019}}</ref>