The Emperors of Modern Japan

The Japanese emperors, a peculiar and unique phenomenon in modern times, are the subject of this important handbook edited by Ben-Ami Shillony. An international team of leading scholars looks at these emperors - Meiji (Mutsuhito), Taish (Yoshihito), Shwa (Hirohito), and the present emperor Akihito - both as personalities, and as a constantly developing institution. It becomes clear that both the personalities, and the periods in which they reign(ed) have shaped Japanese monarchy, and our image o