Since the Kofun period (Yamato period) of the Uighur King, the power of the Japanese emperor can be said to have reached its peak, but this good day has also passed for hundreds of years, with the end of the Heian period political power was gradually seized by the rising samurai, in the turmoil even the imperial territory began to be swallowed up by the samurai family, resulting in the royal annual tribute collection problems, the imperial family also began to move towards a period of poverty; to the Warring States period, as we all know, the national political power was almost monopolized by the shogunate. On the surface, the emperor's authority is absent, the emperor is almost reduced to a decoration; the imperial family is in decline, lack of taxation support, and even the day of the Great Olympic (harem) begins to live a life of insufficient income...
Ashikaga, the first shogun of the Muromachi shogunate
So, in such a war-torn period, what power does the emperor still have? What do the emperors and the imperial family rely on to survive? According to the "History of the Sengoku of Japan", at that time, the emperor's rubber stamp still had a little function: for example, the emperor had the right to change the yuan, that is, the right to change the era name; the emperor also had the right to designate the "Chosan Temple" (built by the emperor's wish, and it was also a temple where the emperor prayed for the eternal stability of the Imperial Family, and the emperor's birthday card could be placed on the side of the god's seat for the infinite life of the holy life. For example, Todai-ji Temple, Yakushi-ji Temple, etc. are all power of Liuwan Temple); the emperor also has the right to issue "Lun Zhi" (a simple document conveying the emperor's will) to the "Tibetans " (Ling Foreign Officials, equivalent to the Tang Dynasty attendants in our country). Compared with the edicts, the pronouncements are cumbersome, and the decrees are drafted by the Tibetans who are close to the emperor and sent directly to the recipients; the emperor also has the power to give monks the honorific titles of state master, Zen master, etc.
Edentai-ji Temple
These are just ordinary symbolic powers possessed by the emperor and do not bring practical benefits to the emperor and the imperial family, so it is worth mentioning that the emperor had a vital and profitable power during the Sengoku period. Because the Warring States period was the era of the supremacy of the power of the princes to compete for hegemony, some daimyo who finally won the victory through the war suddenly and embarrassingly found that although they won the victory and seized the territory, but because they had no official position, they became at best an armed local magnate or manor owner, and the so-called daimyo name was just a self-appointed name. In this way, for the sake of their so-called righteous titles, it was necessary for the emperor to grant them a corresponding official position to ensure that they had justifiable domination over the kingdom, so that the official position given by the emperor became important.
Emperor Goto-gomon
For example, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, although he conquered a group of great names by force and served him, he finally unified the world and still used this power of the emperor. For example, he went from being a grass-dweller all the way to daimyo and taizen chancellor, until finally ordering the world with the position of "Guan Bai" (equivalent to the ancient Chinese minister, and can supervise the state's curtain to listen to the government), all of which require the emperor's "official position and power", so it can be seen that at this point, the emperor's power is still reflected in the appearance. In fact, the emperor and the imperial family mainly relied on this "official position and power" to exchange the offerings of local daimyo to maintain the apparent prestige of the royal family.
Emperor Go-Kashiwara
To sum up, during the Sengoku period, the emperor only had so much power, but for the emperor who had long lost his real power and became a harmless ornament for people and animals, there was no way to do it. But as far as the only remaining rubber stamp function is concerned, the emperor's jade seal does have some practical points. For example, if the emperor and the imperial family want to live, they have to find a way to make money, and the sealing of officials has become an income-generating activity. As mentioned above, the emperor gave the daimyo a jade seal and the official Xu Jue, and the daimyo returned the favor to The Li offering, and then the emperor and the imperial family could live a difficult life...
Emperor Nara
According to Japanese imperial historical sources, after the death of the 103rd Emperor Goto-Go-go-gomon (1464-1500), there was no funeral fee, resulting in emperor Goto-go-gomon being unable to be buried for 40 days; that is, his son 104th Emperor Go-Kashiwara was also a poor emperor, and after he took the throne of the poor old father, he was in time for the financial difficulties of the imperial court after the "Onin Rebellion", so he practiced for 22 years, and he was unable to hold the succession ceremony because he had no money; the same was true of his son, Emperor Nara, after the 105th generation. What he inherited from his father was also an empty shelf, so that he could not hold the succession ceremony until 10 years of Kenzo; the son of Emperor Nara, 106th Emperor Masakincho, was also a poor commodity, and when he became the empress, he not only could not hold the enthronement ceremony because he did not have money, but he did not even have the money to repair Theo; and because of the death of Prince Tokamiya, the successor of Emperor Masanomachi, that is, his 107th generation of emperor's grandson, Emperor Goyo Sungei, who was the 107th generation of emperors, would not even have been delusional if he had not been under the protection of Toyotomi Hideyoshi...
Emperor Masakin-cho
Looking at the various generations of emperors from the 103rd to the 107th generation of the Sengoku period, it can be said that the five generations of the ancestors of this family were all living and miserable emperors, who all relied on those generals and daimyōs to grant official positions, and then exchanged a little money and offerings to continue the imperial family and maintain the survival of the imperial family. However, it really has to be said that the emperor's rubber stamp is easy to use, it can be said that Tong Shu is not deceived, give money to cover, the key is to cover it well, and the Japanese emperor who is harmless to people and animals can naturally maintain the eternal stability of the imperial family. Hooray! Hooray also.
Go-yō became emperor