Page:Japan by the Japanese (1904).djvu/65

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THE CONSTITUTION OF THE EMPIRE OF JAPAN
33

Articles of the Constitution, Interpreted by their Author.[1]

I.—The Emperor.

1. Since the time of the First Imperial Ancestor the county has not been free from occasional checks in its prosperity nor from frequent disturbances of its tranquillity; but the splendour of the Sacred Throne transmitted through an unbroken line of one and the same dynasty has always remained as immutable as that of the heavens and of the earth. At the outset this article states the great principle of the Constitution of the country, and declares that the Empire of Japan shall to the end of time identify itself with the Imperial dynasty unbroken in lineage, and that the principle has never changed in the past, and will never change in the future, even to all eternity. It is intended thus to make clear for ever the relations that shall exist between the Emperor and his subjects. By ‘reigned over and governed’ it is meant that the Emperor on his Throne combines in himself the sovereignty of the State and the government of the country and of his subjects.

2. As to the succession to the Throne, there have been plain instructions since the time of the First Imperial Ancestor. In obedience to these instructions, the Throne has been transmitted to the sons and grandsons of the Emperors, and this rule shall remain immutable for all ages. As regards the order of succession, minute provisions have been already made in the Imperial House Law, lately determined by His Imperial Majesty. This law will be regarded as the family law of the Imperial House. That these provisions are not expressed in the Constitution shows that no interference of the subject shall ever be tolerated regarding them. By ‘Imperial male descendants’ is meant the male offspring in the male line of the Imperial succession. The present clause and Article I. of the Imperial House Law are explanatory the one of the other.

3. ‘The Sacred Throne was established at the time when the heavens and the earth became separated’ (Kojiki). The Emperor is Heaven-descended, divine and sacred; he is pre-eminent above all his subjects. He must be reverenced and is inviolable. He has indeed to pay respect to the law, but the law has no power to hold him accountable to it. Not only shall there be no irreverence for the Emperor’s person, but he shall not be made a topic of derogatory comment nor one of discussion.

4. The sovereign power of reigning over and governing

  1. ↑ The following interpretation of the Constitution, by Marquis Ito himself, is of vital importance, placing on record his own meaning when he drew up the different Articles.
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