Kimberly Szeto
Japan Paper
History 40B – Wright
8 February 2017
Did the Emperor Have Any Power?
A nation-state defined by Merriam Webster is “a form of political organization under
which a relatively homogeneous people inhabits a sovereign state.” A nation-state is what Japan
is and was from ancient times to modern times. Japan, a country known to be strong and
powerful in Asia, was going through a lot of political and social changes throughout the
twentieth century. As stated by Nakasone, “The historical setting for the structure of Japan as an
independent nation kept changing” (117). Japan was turning from old ways and discovering
modern advances due to Western influences and a globalizing world. The emperor, who the
people looked up to, was the crux of Japanese society; there were times the Japanese people
revered the emperor as true ruler of the people and there were times the emperor was just a
figurehead and an imperial symbol, a puppet to the government’s uses. The 1900s was the later
of the two. By taking the power from the Emperor and giving it to the people is modernization in
itself and this is what the Japanese people wanted. The relationship between the government and
its people shifted significantly during this time bringing about various reformers and their ideals
for the future. Numerous people, reformers and politicians, disagreed with the Meiji Constitution
and expressed how they felt Japan should be run as a nation-state throughout the twentieth
century from Kita Ikki to Ishibashi Tanzan to Yasuhiro Nakasone.
Japan transformed from old to new when the Tokugawa Shogunate was overthrown and
Japan was taken over by Emperor Meiji. To usher in the new era, the Meiji Constitution was
created and adopted in 1890. It is stated in the Meiji Constitution in Article 5 that the emperor is
“head of the Empire, combining in Himself the rights of sovereignty, and exercises them,
Commented [1]: do not assume
Commented [2]: good argument.
according to the provisions of the present constitution” (95). In the Meiji era of Japan, the
emperor was the lead ruler over the people, but how much power and recognition did he have?
This constitution gave the emperor the head of the state, but the prime minister the head of the
government. So in a sense, the emperor was just a figure that the people could connect with but
other than that he had no power. The real power lay with the prime minister and those within the
government. This evoked issues and the Japanese people in the early 1900s wanted change. This
time period brought out many reformers such as Kita Ikki, Ishibashi Tanzan, and Yasuhiro
Nakasone. They all had different visions on what the relationship between the people and the
emperor should look like as well as voicing their own way of reorganizing the government.
Kita Ikka, a radical right wing socialist, believed that the Japanese people are not the
Emperor’s but the Emperor was one for the people. He did not believe in the Meiji Constitution
nor did he accept the Emperor system. It is expressed in “Kita Ikki and the Reform Wing of
Commented [3]: Kita Ikki
