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 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 fi ction, 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 unoffi cial 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 staff s 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.