Wendywu said:
That is very different from the absolute veneration that the Emperor of Japan experienced.... it was, I think, an act of great cruelty that forced the Emperor to abrogate his authority - I can understand the thinking behind it, but if as you say a whole people are wandering in the wilderness, its effects are too great.
It's interesting that after writing my thoughts on the Japanese Imperial system earlier, I asked a few Japanese friends (all young, international, speak English perfectly) what they thought of my overall take on it-- that the Japanese have been aimless since losing Imperial god-rule-- and they all thought I was nuts. They argued that it would never have been possible to grow into the 2nd largest economy in the world had they been at all lost, and I argued that they grew to such heights
because they're lost. It's one of those things where they think that I can't see it because I'm an outsider, and I think that they can't see it because they're too close to it. It was an "agree to disagree" sort of discussion.
Just the other day, the 23rd of December, was the Emperor's birthday. It's a national holiday and the entire nation shuts down to pay its respects. It's also one of only two days a year when the public has the opportunity to see the Emperor himself in person. One of the gates of the Imperial Palace opens, the Emperor comes out onto a balcony, and the common people have a twice a year chance to see the man himself. They come in droves too. You get nowhere near him, just view him far in the distance, as he waves, and smiles respectfully.
But why do people come? They wait outside all day in the cold, standing, hoping for just the quickest glance of a powerless figure. What holds over that brings the young and old alike? What power does the Emperor still possess to command such a level of, if nothing else, curiosity?
Also unlike the British royals, the Japanese royals next to never go out in public. Images such as Prince Harry at a nightclub could simply never occur amongst the Japanese royals. They are completely cut off from normal society. The Emperor seems almost a prisoner in his palace, which makes me wonder-- What qualities of the Hermit can we find in the Emperor? How isolating is his power?
Wendywu said:
However, there are a great many people to whom the royal family matter a great deal. My in-laws, on their 60th wedding anniversary, got a congratulatory card from the Queen - it is their proudest possession, I think. My husband would tell you he isn't an ardent royalist, but he watches programs about the Royal Family and defends them against criticism. His behaviour is typical - the mouth is blase but the heart is true - and we will have a Royal Family for quite a while, if it survives Charles as King.
No-one begins to believe they have the right to rule us. They are like the head of the family - much respected, listened to, admired and revered - but not in charge of a single one of us....
That sort of thing, a card from the Queen, I can't imagine ever happening here. I think the Japanese royals have no expectations from the people to play any part in their commoner lives. The members of the Imperial Family, certainly the Emperor most of all, are not members of the public, and would never be expected to be so. They live above the public. In that sense, a bit of the Emperor's divinity still exists. He lives so high above his people that his continued presence is never questioned. He is as much a part of people's lives as he isn't one, simply by way of that lack of any sense of challenge to his continued existence. He isn't joked about, or laughed about, or even talked about really; he just is.
Here he is btw, if you were curious. Not quite the tough, threatening Emperor on your card, is he?
