A tradition by any other name...

The Japanese enthronement ceremony is often described as “traditional,” but the author of the Japan Times article, “Deeper than tradition: Japan's enthronement illustrates an evolving imperial house” by Kenneth Ruoff, disagrees with the use of this term without clarification. Though the ceremony is old, it has been changed many times as the political tides of Japan have ebbed and flowed and the “imperial house” has survived due to its flexibility.

The most recent emperor has expressed his desire to respond to the needs of an ever-changing Japan with a special focus on two areas. First, he believes that it is important to tolerate and celebrate the (social) diversification of Japan. Second, he wishes to use his influence to focus on global water issues.

Guided by an ever-expanding understanding of the pervasive Japanese motif of ”old and new” I am rather unsurprised by the great flexibility of the imperial house to maintain its history while existing reasonably in a modern world that has largely moved past monarchies. 

However, I was surprised to learn of the emperor’s advice towards embracing diversity. I am not certain what this diversity fully entails from the phrase “lifestyles and value systems,” but a society that considers itself to be largely homogeneous this is certainly intriguing. Whether this diversity includes the increased rates of intermarriage between Japanese and non-Japanese people; Japanese enthnic minorities such as the Buraku people, the Ainu people, the Brazilian Japanese, etc; or members of the homosexual community who may be on the verge of receiving the legal right to marry, only time can tell.

The emperor's views on water (especially that they were supposedly maintained from a young age) was also surprising. Because water is not currently an issue in Japan, this marks “a new departure for the imperial house”: a global one. This is particularly interesting as the Japanese emperor exists largely for the sake of the Japanese people yet is putting attention elsewhere.

In the next five or ten years, it will be interesting to see how the emperor and empress do or do not make a significant impact relative to these goals.