Japan

Abstract

The Japanese claim that their empire was founded by the first Emperor Jimmu Tennō, 660 b.c., and that the dynasty founded by him still reigns. It was revived in the year 1868 (the first year of the Meiji), when the now ruling (de jure) sovereign overthrew, after a short war, the power of the Shogun (the de facto sovereign), who had held the ruling power in successive families, since the twelfth century; and in 1871 the feudal system (Hōken Seiji) was entirely suppressed. The Emperor bears title of Tennō; but the appellation by which he is called in relation to external affairs is ‘Kōtei,’ a word of Chinese origin. Only foreigners make use of the poetical title ‘Mikado.’