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> It is amazing and absurd that the supposed patrilineal links to the sun god remain today The current emperor is (it seems) the last one in the patrilineal li

by csa 5y ago

> It is amazing and absurd that the supposed patrilineal links to the sun god remain today The current emperor is (it seems) the last one in the patrilineal lineage. I expect strangeness when succession becomes a legit topic. Will adopting his daughter’s spouse be enough? Will they move to just blood line rather than only patrilineal blood line? Will they breed an extramarital son somehow? It will be an interesting time.

dustintrex 5y ago
Not really? Crown Prince Fumihito is the current emperor's brother, and he has a son, Hisahito. Hisahito's birth was not expected, and there was serious consideration for amending the rules to allow (restore) female succession, but as things stand there's little pressure to change anything.
- csa 5y ago
  Serious question… do you think Hisahito is the crown prince? While possible, I bet the don’t on Hisahto becoming emperor.
mistrial9 5y ago
it is more amazing and absurd that casual observers across the globe know more about how another society should be run, their values and their cultural history
- MomoXenosaga 5y ago
  Which leads to the imperialism that they claim to hate. Ironic isn't it?
  - westcort 5y ago
    How?
- disneygibson 5y ago
  Yeah I really did not like this article. How about the West lets Japan figure out its own proper government and role for the emperor, rather than continuing to insist that our ways are unquestionably superior? The entire mood of this piece is dismissive and arrogant. Poor journalism.
  - westcort 5y ago
    Journalists can draw contrasts. We are all humans and just drawing comparisons across monarchies, which until recently existed in every culture and country. In an age of global pandemics, the world is a single neighborhood. Drawing contrasts does not suggest any course of action.
  - dustintrex 5y ago
    Are we reading the same article? The West already dictated Japan's form of government, including the role of the Imperial family, after WW2.
    - disneygibson 5y ago
      The article is quite negative and assumes that Western ideas are inherently superior, all monarchies are bad, etc. To be expected for a left-wing literature journal, obviously, but that doesn’t make it any less culturally imperialistic.
      - westcort 5y ago
        Humanity is moving past the age of monarchies and kings in general and has been for at least 300 years. There is no cultural exceptionalism for this trend.
        disneygibson 5y ago
        No, it isn’t, and the “moving past X toward a democratic future” is an Enlightenment idea rooted in Western culture, largely enforced upon other states via violence, economic sanctions, and colonialism. As the West continues to decline, so will the appeal of its political structures. This is fairly obvious if you pay attention to Russia, China, India, and other powerful countries. It isn’t 1990 or 1950. The world isn’t trying to reinvent itself in the mold of the West anymore.
- westcort 5y ago
  Well, Kishi was certainly a war criminal. And the relationship to the sun god is perhaps a matter of faith to some, but obviously false. Just pointing out the obvious.
  - adolph 5y ago
    > the relationship to the sun god is perhaps a matter of faith to some, but obviously false How do you know it's false? Are you in touch with the sun god? How do you know there is only one sun god and you are in touch with the right one?
    - westcort 5y ago
      It is too convenient for a ruling family to have the mandate of the one true God. They are flesh and blood with DNA, diseases, and all of the other problems of humanity. But I won’t tell you what to believe. My view is that these are just people, and if they weren’t, where are their magical powers? And if they have no such powers, even if they were divine, would it matter?
      - adolph 5y ago
        Ok, you don't know one way or another. I'd agree that a safe assumption is that family members are not descended from a supernatural being. On the other hand, your assertion does not address any specific supporting evidence the family might muster. It would be helpful to support your counterclaim with information specific to Japanese beliefs and practices. For example, you state that the imperial family "are flesh and blood with DNA, diseases, and all of the other problems of humanity," presumably as a counter to the family's claim of supernatural origin. But does that really contradict their claim? For example, in some Christian mythologies the Jesus character was at the same time the son of the central deity as well as being the central deity and at the same time born from a non-supernatural mother. Have the Japanese imperial family claimed that they are not "flesh and blood with DNA, diseases, and all of the other problems of humanity?" Have they claimed "magical powers?" I don't know and you have not established these as claims about which to offer counterclaims. My understanding is that this form of rhetoric is known as "strawman."

by csa 5y ago

dustintrex 5y ago

Not really? Crown Prince Fumihito is the current emperor's brother, and he has a son, Hisahito. Hisahito's birth was not expected, and there was serious consideration for amending the rules to allow (restore) female succession, but as things stand there's little pressure to change anything.

csa 5y ago
Serious question… do you think Hisahito is the crown prince? While possible, I bet the don’t on Hisahto becoming emperor.

mistrial9 5y ago

it is more amazing and absurd that casual observers across the globe know more about how another society should be run, their values and their cultural history

MomoXenosaga 5y ago
Which leads to the imperialism that they claim to hate. Ironic isn't it?
- westcort 5y ago
  How?
disneygibson 5y ago
Yeah I really did not like this article. How about the West lets Japan figure out its own proper government and role for the emperor, rather than continuing to insist that our ways are unquestionably superior? The entire mood of this piece is dismissive and arrogant. Poor journalism.
- westcort 5y ago
  Journalists can draw contrasts. We are all humans and just drawing comparisons across monarchies, which until recently existed in every culture and country. In an age of global pandemics, the world is a single neighborhood. Drawing contrasts does not suggest any course of action.
- dustintrex 5y ago
  Are we reading the same article? The West already dictated Japan's form of government, including the role of the Imperial family, after WW2.
  - disneygibson 5y ago
    The article is quite negative and assumes that Western ideas are inherently superior, all monarchies are bad, etc. To be expected for a left-wing literature journal, obviously, but that doesn’t make it any less culturally imperialistic.
    - westcort 5y ago
      Humanity is moving past the age of monarchies and kings in general and has been for at least 300 years. There is no cultural exceptionalism for this trend.
      - disneygibson 5y ago
        No, it isn’t, and the “moving past X toward a democratic future” is an Enlightenment idea rooted in Western culture, largely enforced upon other states via violence, economic sanctions, and colonialism. As the West continues to decline, so will the appeal of its political structures. This is fairly obvious if you pay attention to Russia, China, India, and other powerful countries. It isn’t 1990 or 1950. The world isn’t trying to reinvent itself in the mold of the West anymore.
westcort 5y ago
Well, Kishi was certainly a war criminal. And the relationship to the sun god is perhaps a matter of faith to some, but obviously false. Just pointing out the obvious.
- adolph 5y ago
  > the relationship to the sun god is perhaps a matter of faith to some, but obviously false How do you know it's false? Are you in touch with the sun god? How do you know there is only one sun god and you are in touch with the right one?
  - westcort 5y ago
    It is too convenient for a ruling family to have the mandate of the one true God. They are flesh and blood with DNA, diseases, and all of the other problems of humanity. But I won’t tell you what to believe. My view is that these are just people, and if they weren’t, where are their magical powers? And if they have no such powers, even if they were divine, would it matter?
    - adolph 5y ago
      Ok, you don't know one way or another. I'd agree that a safe assumption is that family members are not descended from a supernatural being. On the other hand, your assertion does not address any specific supporting evidence the family might muster. It would be helpful to support your counterclaim with information specific to Japanese beliefs and practices. For example, you state that the imperial family "are flesh and blood with DNA, diseases, and all of the other problems of humanity," presumably as a counter to the family's claim of supernatural origin. But does that really contradict their claim? For example, in some Christian mythologies the Jesus character was at the same time the son of the central deity as well as being the central deity and at the same time born from a non-supernatural mother. Have the Japanese imperial family claimed that they are not "flesh and blood with DNA, diseases, and all of the other problems of humanity?" Have they claimed "magical powers?" I don't know and you have not established these as claims about which to offer counterclaims. My understanding is that this form of rhetoric is known as "strawman."