1889 (under the Imperial House Law of 1889, which barred women from ruling)[1]
Supporters
About 90% of Japanese people support the idea of a reigning empress (according to a 2024 survey)[2]
Empress Suiko, the first verifiable empress regnant
Josei Tennō (女性天皇) is a Japanese term referring to an empress regnant.[a][3] Unlike the title Kōgō, which refers only to an empress consort, Josei Tennō only refers to a reigning empress. Tennō is the title for the emperor; the addition of the term josei (女性, woman) distinguishes that the emperor is a woman; therefore, a reigning empress.[note 1]
From the reign of Empress Jitō onwards, emperors (Tennō 天皇) who were women were distinguished from their male counterparts with the qualifier of josei (女性, woman).[3][4][5] However, as empresses regnant, they held the rank of Tennō without the qualifier, indicating they were emperors equal to their male counterparts. Due to this, it is generally acceptable and preferred to use Tennō when referring to a female monarch.
Before the influence of the Fujiwara clan and their Five regent houses, and in times when an heir was underaged, a female relative (typically a sister or mother) would take the throne. Out of all empresses regnant, Empress Kōken (known as Shōtoku during her second reign) is the only one to have been granted the title "crown princess" before accession.[6]
Usage
When referring to female monarchs, they are referred to as "Tennō" and not "Josei Tennō". Tennō refers to individual monarchs, regardless of gender. Therefore, Empress Meishō would be properly referred to as Meishō Tennō, and not Meishō Josei Tennō.[4]
Josei Tennō does not refer to individual female monarchs as a specific title. Instead, it refers to all the female monarchs in general (usually when distinguishing them from their male counterparts), or the concept of having a female monarch. As an example, during parliament debates, references to Josei Tennō are specifically related to the concept of having a woman (josei) succeed to the throne as an emperor, not the general concept of having a Tennō (an emperor). The addition of the qualifier josei specifies that the Tennō is a woman ruling as an emperor (i.e. an empress regnant) in her own right.[7]
Josei Tennō should also not be confused with Jokei tennō (女系天皇) which is a female-line emperor (an emperor that gains their imperial blood solely through their mother, meaning their father is not the emperor or a prince). Of that there have been none.[8]
Jokei tennō
Jokei Tennō (女系天皇; literally meaning "matrilineal emperor") refers to an emperor whose imperial blood is solely on his mother's side.[8] A female line emperor is heavily contested by conservatives in Japan. As of 2025 there has not been an emperor who was of Imperial blood solely from his mother's side.[8][9][10]
Historically verifiable debates on whether there should be a female emperor and female line emperor go back to at least the Meiji era. However the debate ended with the consensus that further discussions should not go through.[11]
List
Eight women have been recognized as empress regnant in Japan.
When Suiko's husband Emperor Bidatsu, died, her brother Emperor Yōmei took the throne. However, Yōmei soon died of illness, and so Emperor Sushun took the throne. Sushun was assassinated and the throne was vacant. In a time of need, Suiko became the empress, and was given a regent, Prince Shōtoku. Despite having a regent, Suiko still exerted some of her own power, possibly even getting a say in who her regent would be.[13] She was likely styled as great queen of Yamato, not Tennō, which only came into use under the reigns of Emperor Tenmu, and Empress Jitō. Suiko ruled until her death.[14][15]
After taking the throne, Kōgyoku was soon forced to abdicate due to the Isshi incident, when Soga-no-Iruka was killed by her son, Naka no Ōe, in front of the empress, so the impure act would not stain her reign.[15][16][17] She was succeeded by her brother, Emperor Kōtoku. Kōgyoku reigned a second time after Kōtoku's death, assuming the throne as Empress Saimei.[18][19] As Empress Saimei, she led an army to aid their ally, Baekje, against an invasion by Silla. After arriving in Chikuzen Province with her army prepared to leave for Baekje, she fell ill and died.[20]
Jitō was the wife of Emperor Tenmu. After he died and her son Prince Kusakabe was deemed too young to rule, Jitō took the throne in his place until he was old enough. When Kusakabe died, Jitō remained as empress until her grandson came of age.[22] Jitō was the first to be referred as "josei tennō"[3][4][5]
The wife of Jitō's son Kusakabe and Jitō's half-sister. After Genmei's son died, Genmei became empress. After copper was found near the capital, a new era in her honour (called the Wadō) was ushered in. The Kojiki was also completed under her reign.[24] She was succeeded by her daughter, Empress Genshō.[25]
The daughter of Empress Genmei. Genshō helped complete the Nihon Shoki. She was also the only empress to be preceded by another (her predecessor being her own mother).[27][28] In 724, Genshō abdicated in favor of her nephew, who would be known as Emperor Shōmu. She lived for 25 years after her abdication, never married, and had no children.[29]
The daughter of Emperor Shōmu and his consort, Empress Kōmyō. Her father proclaimed her the first crown princess in Japanese history in 738 to protect the bloodline of Prince Kusakabe. She succeeded Shōmu in 749, after her father resigned to become a Buddhist monk. Kōken's first reign was heavily controlled by mother, Empress Dowager Kōmyō.[30] Kōken abdicated under pressure in 758, in favour of Emperor Junnin, and as a Daijō Tennō, she retired to become a nun. After Kōmyō's death, Junnin was deposed following the Fujiwara no Nakamaro Rebellion. Kōken, with her supporters, consolidated power to reassume the throne under a new name, Empress Shōtoku.[31] She never married and did not declare an heir during her lifetime. Following her death, courtiers forged a letter which claimed Shōtoku had named her cousin Prince Shirakabe as her successor. Prince Shirakabe was also Shōtoku's brother-in-law through marriage to her half-sister and would succeed the throne as Emperor Kōnin.[32]
Meishō assumed the throne at five-years-old after her father, Emperor Go-Mizunoo, was forced to abdicate due to his involvement in the Purple Robe Incident.[34] Meishō was given precedence to ascend the throne as the eldest surviving child of Emperor Go-Mizunoo and his empress, Tokugawa Masako, over her younger half-brothers, who were the children of concubines. As she assumed the throne as a child, Meishō did not hold much power much like her male counterparts, as by the time of her reign, the Shōgunate system was in place.
Similar to Empress Meishō, she did not have much power due to the shogunate. She was the last Josei Tennō and also adopted Emperor Kōkaku as her own. Empress Go-Sakuramachi died in 1813.[35] On January 9, 1771, she abdicated in favor of her young nephew. The retired Empress held the position of Daijō Tennō in the forty years after her abdication and acted as sort of guardian of subsequent emperors.[19]
Empress Jingū is not counted among the official monarchs.[b]Princess Iitoyo's legitimacy and validity (concerning her reign) is mostly unknown.[36]
Due to the current Japanese rules of succession a woman cannot inherit the throne. Yet there has been calls to allow Aiko, Princess Toshi to become the ninth empress regnant. To this day there is an ongoing succession debate. An event was held called "Making Aiko the Imperial heir" which pushed for the rules to be changed and a new line of succession to be introduced, which would be as follows:
A parliamentary meeting was held in December 2023 to debate the possibility of female succession to the throne.[41] In February 2024, the former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of the Democratic Party of Japan held another Parliament meeting, suggesting women should be allowed to marry without losing their titles, lead their own branch of the Imperial family, and possibly rule.[42] To this day Princess Sumiko remains one of the only women to lead a branch of the imperial family.[43] On March 15, 2024, there were more discussions about allowing women to rule [44] with discussions of women being allowed to retain their titles upon marriage on March 18 of the same year.[45][46] As of June 2024, parties did agree women should marry without losing their title, with no conclusion on the status on their spouses.[47]Emperor Naruhito has also admitted the family is running out of male heirs.[48]Shigeru Ishiba who became the Japanese prime minister on October 1, 2024, is known to support a female emperor (Josei Tennō)[49]
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, had requested the succession laws be looked at. Takeshi Iwaya, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, expressed his displeasure in this request. The request will look over the part of the constitution which only allows men to succeed and not women.[50] A woman has not been a female emperor (Josei Tennō) since Empress Go-Sakuramachi.[51]
On April 29, 2024, a plan to secure a sufficient number of Imperial family members was announced and will be presented before the House of Councillors this summer. The idea of women retaining their title upon marriage is popular but with divided opinions on the status of their spouses and children.[52] Later in 2025, it was revealed that a plan was in the works to be put forward in the House of Councillors to secure a sufficient number of members of the Imperial family, discuss female marriage, and tackle female succession. A woman marrying and retaining her title remained popular, but there were divides on whether a woman's husband or children would be granted a title.[9] However the draft was later postponed to allow longer talks. A separate plan was talked about to discuss female marriage (which all parties agreed a woman should marry without losing her status), however the speaker of the house asked to push back the issue for further discussion, as divisions remained on whether an Imperial woman's spouse and children would receive titles from the woman's Imperial status.[10]
Gallery
Empress Jingū, the first mythical empress regnant.
The tomb of Empress Iitoyo, also known as Empress Tsunuzashi. The validity of her reign is disputed.
Empress Suiko, the first woman whose reign is historically verifiable.
Empress Kōgyoku/Saimei, the second historically verifiable empress.
Empress Jitō, the third historically verifiable empress, first to use the title Josei Tennō
Empress Genmei, the fourth historically verifiable empress.
Empress Genshō, the fifth historically verifiable empress.
Empress Kōken/Shōtoku, the sixth historically verifiable empress.
Empress Meishō, the seventh historically verifiable empress.
Empress Go-Sakuramachi, the eighth and final historically verifiable empress.
↑ p. 1235, "The Imperial House Law - Chapter 1: Succession to the Imperial Throne," Japan Year Book 1933, Kenkyusha Press, Foreign Association of Japan, Tokyo
1 2 3 4 Cherry, Kittredge (November 14, 2016). Womansword: What Japanese Words Say About Women. Stone Bridge Press. ISBN978-1-61172-919-1. During Japan's long history eight women have ruled as female emperor or josei tenno. An older term is empress or jotei. In English "empress" can mean either a reigning monarch or the wife of an emperor, but in Japanese there are separate words for each. The title bestowed on the emperor's wife is kogo.
↑ Kojima, Noriyuki (1996). 日本書紀 2（新編日本古典文学全集 3）[Nihonshoki 2 (Complete Works of Classical Japanese Literature, New Edition 3)] (in Japanese). 小学館. ISBN4-09-658003-1.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
