This article was written by Phineas Upham
In Japan, as with Egypt, the emperor is believed to have a divine right to rule. This concept begins in mythology, with the goddess of the sun Amaterasu. She sent her grandson to live on Earth, along with gifts he could use to summon her and a sword. The boy was immediately accepted as the ruler of Japan, and his gifts became imperial treasures that represented his divine right to rule.
The grandson married the goddess of Mt. Fuji, who bore him three sons. One of those sons was the historical first emperor of Japan.
It became customary for royal families to claim some lineage to the gods. They used genealogy to prove that their ancestors were favored by the gods, and thus their right to rule was ensured. This practice later extended to nobility, excluding the head of the household.
The Meiji period changed many of these beliefs, and turned Japan into a secular state. Emperor Hirohito, emperor of Japan during World War II, was one of the first emperors to disregard the belief that he was a god who became human.
Japan is the longest continuous hereditary monarch in the world, with a ruling class that extends to 660 B.C. Thus, the current emperor inherited his kingdom from Hirohito, and will pass the duties onto one of his kin. The emperor of Japan is a largely ceremonial office, and is not often directly involved with politics or war. The emperor was once considered the embodiment of sovereign rule, but today is little more than a figure head.
