Reconsideration of Forms of Residence in Japan’s Ancient Kingship by the title derived from the abode

The emperor is a symbolic figure in Japan and the imperial family is key to tradition and identity. By exploring the history of the Japanese imperial system it is possible to more deeply understand contemporary society. Associate Professor Midori Endo, Humanities Division, Faculty of Core Research at Ochanomizu University, Japan, is interested in how the past impacts the present. She specialises in Japanese ancient history, with a particular focus on the ancient Japanese imperial system and its lasting influence on culture. She is also interested in social structures, including changes in the status of women in Japanese society. She wants to shed light on the creation of the imperial system’s involvement in the decline of women’s political and social status after the 9th century. She is investigating the roles of women around the emperor and how these changed. In one recent study, she looked at the characteristics of Japan’s ancient rulership structure based on the residential patterns of ancient Japanese emperors and their families, focusing on words derived from residences such as ‘East Palace’, ‘Middle Palace’; and ‘Back Palace’, and carried out a comparative study between Japan and China. Endo discovered that the Empress of Japan was introduced as the ‘mother of the Emperor’s children’ rather than as the ‘wife of the Emperor’ and that the role of the empress was to give birth to the emperor’s children and take care of them as the mother. She did not hold the power to divide the royal power. This challenges the common belief that royal power was divided among the emperor’s families.