The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial Family, and the keeping of the Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century AD until the Second World War, it was known as the .
The Agency is unique among conventional government agencies and ministries in that it does not directly report to the Prime Minister at the cabinet level.
Organization and functions
The Imperial Household Agency is headed by the Grand Steward, assisted by the Vice Grand Steward, appointed by the Cabinet. Its main organizational positions are:
- the Grand Steward's Secretariat
- the Board of Chamberlains
- the Crown Prince's Household
- the Board of Ceremonies
- the Archives and Mausolea Department
- the Maintenance and Works Department
- the Kyoto Office The system established the namesake , a precursor to the present agency; the former code also gave rise to the , which has its legacy in the under the current agency, and the which oversaw the that would now correspond to the Agency's . The basic structures remained in place until the Meiji Restoration (1868). Though the names are occasionally differentiated in English as the "Imperial Household Agency", versus the former, Meiji period "Ministry of the Imperial Household", both names are rendered with no differentiation in Japanese. However, there is a convoluted history of reorganization around how the government bodies that correspond to constituent subdivisions of the current Agency were formed or empowered during this period.
The and later the (1871–1872) were briefly established, having been placed in charge of, for example, the under the , one of the tasks designated to the Agency today.
Meanwhile, the Meiji government created the in 1871, which was soon renamed in 1872. Also in 1872, the Ministry of Divinities was abolished, with the bulk of duties moved to the and the administration of formal ceremonial functions transferred to the aforementioned Board/Bureau of the Ceremonies.
The Bureau of the Ceremonies was initially placed under the care of the , but was later transferred to the control of the Imperial Household Ministry in September 1877. Since then, the name has remained unchanged and is, today, headed by the Master of Ceremonies.
An Imperial Order in 1908 confirmed that the Imperial Household Minister, as the chief official was then called, held responsible for assisting the Emperor in all matters concerning the Imperial House.
Imperial Household Agency, 1949–present
In 1949, Imperial Household Office was renamed to the Imperial Household Agency, and placed under the fold of the newly created , as an external agency attached to it. It has officially been stated that Masako is suffering from an "adjustment disorder", but there has been extensive speculation in the press that she is suffering from clinical depression as a result of her treatment by Imperial Household officials.
Increasingly in recent years, the Agency's prevention of archaeological research regarding a large number (more than 740) of Kofun Period tombs claimed to be and designated as "Imperial" has come under criticism from academics. The tombs, located in the Kansai region of western Japan, are considered by many academics as potentially holding important historical information on the origins of Japanese civilization; however, the possibility that these potential finds could verify or further solidify theories of formative civilizational ties with contemporary civilizations in China and the Korean Peninsula, with these civilizations potentially having as much influence on the origins of the Imperial Household itself, is generally considered to be a considerable contributing factor to the ongoing prevention of archaeological research at these sites by the Imperial Household Agency, with a large number of the tombs considered by some to be imperial only in name.
Grand Stewards
The Imperial Household Agency is headed by the Grand Steward (, Article 8-1), whose appointment or dismissal is subject to the Emperor's approval (Article 8-2).
The Grand Steward is vested with comprehensive control over administrative activities within the Agency, and supervisory authority over the service performance of the staff (8–3). He is empowered to interact with the Prime Minister on matters pertaining to the Agency's authorized duties, either requesting the issuance of Cabinet Office ordinances (8–3), or notifying him on pertinent matters (8–4). He has the authorization to hand down orders or directives to staff members of government organs under the agency's direct control (8–6), and may request the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency to take appropriate measures regarding administrative duties that involve the civilian .
The Grand Stewardship is a post customarily filled by former (≒permanent secretaries) at one of several internal affairs (home affairs) type ministries and agencies, or someone with a closely approximating (e.g., Superintendent General of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department), after having served as Vice-Grand Steward.
{| class="wikitable"
|+List of Grand Stewards
!No.!!Portrait!!Name!!Term of office!!Ex-service!!Remarks
|-
!colspan="6"|Grand Stewards of the Imperial Household Office
|-
|align="right"|1||100px|||| 3 May 1947 – 5 Jun 1948||Imperial Household Ministry||
|-
|align="right"|2||100px||||5 Jun 1948 – 31 May 1949||Civilian||
|-
!colspan="6"|Grand Stewards of the Imperial Household Agency
|-
|align="right"|1||100px||Michiji Tajima|| 1 Jun 1949 – 16 Dec 1953||Civilian|| cont.
|-
|align="right"|2|| ||||16 Dec 1953 – 26 May 1978||Home Ministry||
|-
|align="right"|3|| ||||26 May 1978 – 14 Jun 1988||National Police Agency||
|-
|align="right"|4|| ||||14 Jun 1988 – 19 Jan 1996||Ministry of Welfare, Environment Agency||
|-
|align="right"|5|| ||||19 Jan 1996 – 2 Apr 2001||National Police Agency||
|-
|align="right"|6|| ||||2 Apr 2001 – 1 Apr 2005||Ministry of Home Affairs||
|-
|align="right"|7|| ||Shingo Haketa||1 Apr 2005 – 1 Jun 2012||Ministry of Health||
|-
|align="right"|8|| ||||1 Jun 2012 – 26 Sep 2016||Ministry of Construction||
|-
|align="right"|9|| ||||26 Sep 2016 – 17 Dec 2019||Ministry of Home Affairs||
|-
|align="right"|10||100px||||17 Dec 2019 – 24 Dec 2025||National Police Agency||
|-
|align="right"|11||100px||||24 Dec 2025 – present||Ministry of Home Affairs<br/>Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications||
|}
See also
- Imperial Household Law
- Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan
- Imperial Household Department, China
- Matsushiro Underground Imperial Headquarters
- Office of the Yi Dynasty, also known as Ri Oshoku (), which was part of the Imperial Household Ministry during 1911–1945.
- Honglujing Stele
Explanatory notes
Citations
References
- and . (2007). : Last Meiji Man. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. /;
Further reading
- . (1986). The Imperial Family of Japan. Tokyo: International Society for Educational Information.