Czy naprawdę marionetka? Wokół władzy politycznej japońskich cesarzy, 1868–1945
Was the emperor really a puppet? About the political power of Japanese emperors, 1868–1945

Summary/Abstract: In historiography, there is an ongoing discussion about the actual range of power of three emperors of the Empire of Japan: Meiji, Taishō and Shōwa (known as Hirohito). The 1889–1945 Constitution formally granted them huge prerogatives. While some historians regard that as fiction, others are ready to treat the three monarchs – and especially Emperor Shōwa – as true dictators. The fragmentary sources suggest that Emperor Meiji had a genuine share in ruling. He served as an arbitrator between the government, the army and the genrō – an unofficial council of “honorable statesmen,” who had the last word. It was possible thanks to the huge personal respect he enjoyed. As a result of his son Emperor Taishō’s illness and dying out of the genrō, the military prerogatives were taken over by the general staffs of the army and navy, formally dependent solely on the ruler. They were counterbalanced by the last living genrō, Prince Saionji, who died in 1940.

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