One of the most interesting things about the Imperial Family to me is its Imperial Regalia. The Regalia are a set of priceless, holy artifacts in possession of the Imperial family for over a millennium.

What one artists thinks the Imperial Regalia look like.

That’s pretty cool in its own right, but here’s the catch: the Imperial Regalia are so highly guarded that only a handful of people have ever seen them. What’s the big deal?

What Are the Imperial Regalia?

At the most basic level, the Japanese Imperial Regalia aren’t the unusual. Virtually every monarchy in the world has some sort of highly-treasured royal jewel or other valuable regalia.

What sets the Japanese Imperial Regalia aparts is that they’re are steeped in myth. According to legend, the regalia supposedly come from the spiritual mother of Japan, the sun goddess Amaterasu. They include:

• Sword Known as Kusanagi (草薙), the “grass-cutting sword.” It used to go by the much more awesome name Ame no Murakumo (天叢雲), or “Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven,” but for some reason a lawnmower sounded more appealing.
• Jewel The “large jewel,” or Yasakani (八尺瓊曲玉), is a distinctly Japanese design. It’s what’s known as a magatama, a comma-shaped bead. It’s also supposedly the only piece of original regalia; the other two are replicas.
• Mirror The piece of Imperial Regalia with the most boring name, the Yata (八咫), or “Eight Hand Mirror,” makes up for its boring name with a badass backstory. The original mirror is thought to have been destroyed almost 1,000 years ago, but rebuilt from its ashes into the current one.

Each piece of the Imperial Regalia has its own myths attached to them, mostly about people trying to steal them or reveal their secrets dying mysterious deaths.

So where can you go to see the Imperial Regalia? Are they in a museum or something?

The Secrets of the Imperial Family

Here’s where things get interesting. Royal treasures like the regalia aren’t unheard of, but what is strange about the imperial regalia is how closely it’s guarded.

There have never been any drawings made nor photographs taken of the Japanese Imperial Regalia because so few people have seen them. Only a handful of people, including the Emperor and a few high Shinto priests, have ever seen them.

The Imperial Regalia are also almost never in the same place at the same time. The only time they’re ever assembled together is when a new emperor is enthrowned. Otherwise, they’re scattered across the country.

Scattered where? Nobody really knows for sure. Most people speculate that they rest in Shinto holy sites like the Ise Grand and Atsuta shrines, and possibly the Imperial Palace, but it’s impossible to get any sort of confirmation from the select few who have actually seen them.

It’s doubtful that the secrets of the Imperial Regalia will ever be fully unraveled. After all, the Japanese Imperial Family isn’t going away anytime soon, which means that the organization built around the Imperial Regalia is here to stay.

You might not believe it from his harmless appearance, but during his lifetime Emperor Akihito has done a ton of unprecedented things for an Emperor, and a lot of these things have also riled up far right-wing Japanese conservatives. What is it that Akihito does that upsets Japanese nationalists?

Married Outside The Royal Family

Even before Akihito was emperor, he was shaking things up. In his 20s, he met a woman while playing tennis. Akihito and the woman, Michiko Shoda, married not long after. Sounds like a pretty typical love story, right?

A young Akihito and Michiko

Here’s the thing: Empress Michiko was the first ever commoner to marry into the imperial family. Up until then, the imperial family only married other royals. Even though Michiko was the daughter of a rich industrialist, she was still not of the usual pedigree.

Acknowledged Korean Ancestors

East Asia has always had a very interconnected history. Even going way back hundreds and hundreds of years, China, Korea, and Japan have always shared culture, language, and history.

Nonetheless given Japan and Korea’s tumultuous past, it’s sometimes a bit taboo to acknowledge Korea’s influence on Japanese culture. That’s why it was a big deal during a 2001 press conference, Akihito acknowledged that the Japanese imperial line had Korean blood in it.

On its face, Akihito’s recognition of his Korean ancestors might not seem like a huge deal, but it was the first time in hundreds of years that a member of the imperial family had done so.

Requests To Be Cremated

Akihito’s has been breaking the status quo as recently as last week. At 78 and experiencing health problems, Akihito has made a controversial request: to be cremated upon his death.

For about 400 years now, all Japanese emperors have been buried in giant tombs. Akihito’s father, the Showa Emperor, is buried in a giant tomb in Tokyo. But Akihito is bucking the trend and asking, like most Japanese people, to be cremated upon his death.

The tomb where Akihito’s father, Hirohito, is buried.

The vast majority of all Japanese people are cremated, somewhere close to 99%. Cremation is more clean and efficient than burial, and preferred by many Japanese. Some local governments even ban burials! The only exceptions are people with religious objections, such as Muslims. Oh, and emperors.

Not only is Akihito the first emperor in half a millennium to be cremated but, being the sweet old man that he is, he wants to share a grave site with his wife. Emperors and empresses are typically buried in separate grave sites, but Akihito wants to remain with his wife in death.

Why Japanese Conservatives Are Pissed Off

The areas where Akihito has broken new ground goes on and on. His language is much more colloquial language than any of his predecessors, and he’s been a very public figure, visiting earthquake and tsunami victims in a somewhat casual manner.

But why does all of this upset Japanese conservatives?

Far right-wing Japanese nationalists, when they’re not aggravating the rest of east Asia, have always used the emperor as a symbol of their movement and legitimacy. The emperor has always been the shining example of Japanese tradition and everything that is Japan (see: pre-WW2 Japan).

But the more Akihito distances himself from tradition, the less effectively Japanese nationalists can leverage him as a symbol of their ideology. How can the emperor be a figure of Japanese tradition if he’s going against tradition every chance he gets?

It’s not that Akihito is necessarily doing these things just to upset Japanese nationalists, but it’s an entertaining side effect regardless. Akihito has largely chosen to walk his own path in a time of change, and I really respect him for that.

Read more: The Real Emperor Makes Real News, 5 Things You Need To Know About Emperor Akihito

Header image: Wikipedia.