| |
| | Encyclopedia: Emperor of Japan |
 | | Although the emperor performs many of the roles of a head of state, there has been a persistent controversy within Japan as to whether the emperor is in fact a true monarch in a political sense or merely a hereditary pretender, as a political servant of a constitutional parliamentary republic. |
 | | Empress Michiko of Japan Her Imperial Majesty Empress Michiko of Japan (美智子), (born October 20, 1934) formerly Michiko Shoda (正田美智子 shoda michiko) and later the Crown Princess of Japan (April 10, 1959 to January 7, 1989), is the wife and consort of the reigning Emperor of Japan, Akihito. |
 | | The acceptable imperial wives, brides for an emperor and for a crown prince, were even legislated into the Meiji-era imperial house laws, which stipulated that daughters of Sekke (the five main branches of the higher Fujiwara) and daughters of the imperial clan itself were primarily acceptable brides. |
| www.nationmaster.com /encyclopedia/Emperor-of-Japan (8995 words) |
|