Japan Knowledge: Tennō Kōzoku Jitsuroku, Records of the Emperor and the Imperial Family

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Overview

Part of the digital edition of the Tennō kōzoku jitsuroku 天皇皇族實錄 [Records of the Emperor and the Imperial Family] by JP Books has been available on Japan Knowledge (subscription required) since September 2022 and all volumes will be available by summer 2024.^[1] This is good news for Japanese historians, especially those interested in the Imperial Family or court society.

The Tennō kōzoku jitsuroku and the Shishinnōke jitsuroku 四親王家實錄 [Records of the members of the Shishinnōke] are sources on the history of the Imperial Family of Japan. They are a collection of books containing documents and records relating to the Imperial Family including the five emperors of the northern court, empresses, princes, princesses, and other members of the Imperial Family such as concubines, from first Emperor Jinmu 神武天皇 (BC 711?-BC 585?) to 121st Emperor Kōmei 孝明天皇 (1831-1867).^[2]

The Tennō kōzoku jitsuroku, compiled in 1936 by Imperial Household Ministry’s Bureau of Books and Charts, contains 3,050 members of the Imperial Family, whilst the Shishinnōke jitsuroku was compiled in 1984 by the Imperial Household Agency’s Archives and Mausolea Department and contains 407 princes and princesses of four branch families commonly known as the Shishinnōke 四親王家 (Fushimi-no-Miya 伏見宮, Katsura-no-Miya 桂宮, Arisugawa-no-Miya 有栖川宮, and Kan’in-no-Miya 閑院宮).^[3]

Editing Process

Editing processes of the Tennō kōzoku jitsuroku and the Shishinnōke jitsuroku are summarised in detail by Tokoro Isao.^[4]

The idea of compiling a collection of historical documents describing the lives of the successive emperors first arose in 1908, and in 1915, Hatano Yoshinao 波多野敬直 (1850-1922), then Minister of the Imperial Household, decided to begin compiling a collection of historical materials relating to former or deceased members of the Imperial Family. The following year, in 1916, a compilation policy was formulated, but this was so strict that only the information on four members of the Imperial Family could be compiled in the first four years. Therefore, in 1919, Mori Ōgai 森鷗外 (1862-1922), then head of the project, rethought the plan and began an eight-year project. However, the huge number of historiographies to be collected and a lack of staff caused delays, so the plan was changed to a ten-year plan.

Although the death of 123rd Emperor Taishō 大正天皇 (1879-1926), and succession to the Chrysanthemum throne by 124th Emperor Shōwa 昭和天皇 (1901-1989), did not allow the project to proceed as planned, the Tennō kōzoku jitsuroku was completed in 1936. After proofreading, the printing of the entire volume was not completed until 1944. On the other hand, it was clear that the inclusion of the records on the princes and princesses of the Shishinnōke would make the contents too complex as adoptions between the main house and branch families were common in the pre-modern Imperial Family. In 1944, the process of compiling and editing the Shishinnōke jitsuroku began, however, due to Japan’s loss in World War II the following year and the dismantling of the Imperial Household Ministry in 1947 the project was abandoned.

In 1965, the Imperial Household Agency, the successor organisation to the Imperial Household Ministry, announced the resumption of the compilation of the Shishinnōke jitsuroku. During this period, the compilation of the biography of 122nd Emperor Meiji 明治天皇 (1852-1912), Meiji tennō ki 明治天皇紀, was also carried out delaying the original schedule. The Shishinnōke jitsuroku was completed in 1984.

Since 2000, Japanese academic publisher Yumani Shobou has been publishing these as a series, which are easily accessible to the general public.

Features

The original 1293 volumes of the Tennō kōzoku jitsuroku and 294 volumes of the Shishinnōke jitsuroku are both in the possession at the Imperial House Library in the Imperial Palace in Tōkyō, and are available for inspection on request.^[5] The former is also available through the Archives and Mausolea Department Catalog and Image Disclosure System, Imperial Household Agency.

The texts are arranged with a summary of events by date, and then with the documentary sources on which they are based, so it is easy to search the historiography in chronological order. Annotations have been added to documents that require further study, giving them a high degree of scholarly credibility. Also, each volume is accompanied by a genealogical chart based on the Imperial Household Agency’s official records. The materials cited include primary sources such as the diaries, letters, memos and records of related temples or Shinto shrines by court nobles and officials, as well as compilations such as history books, biographies and academic books, and literary works such as waka 和歌 poetry anthologies and historical narratives. These originals are held by the Higashiyama Gobunko at the Kyōto Imperial Palace, Archives and Mausolea Department at the Imperial Household Agency; Cabinet Collection at the National Archives of Japan; the Konoe Family’s 近衛家 Yōmei Bunko; the Historiographical Institute at the University of Tokyo; and through various Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples, and individuals. The majority of these are unpublished, and many are little-known or closed to the public.

Furthermore, with the release of the digital version, keyword searches are now possible. By clicking on a link in the text, it is possible to search for a specific person, place, or event name at once. This groundbreaking function, which allows you to instantly extract what you want to know from approximately 1,300 volumes, has not been possible in the Imperial Household Agency’s Digital Archive version, let alone on paper. Currently, only the volumes from Emperor Jinmu to 105th Emperor Go-Nara 後奈良天皇 (1495-1557), are available to the public, but all volumes except the Shishinnōke jitsuroku are scheduled to be made available at this edition in 2024, and it is hoped that not only ancient and medieval historians but also early modern and modern historians will make use of them.^[6]

The digital edition is extremely useful to researchers of Japanese history, politics, law, customs, religions, literature, arts, archaeology, cultures, and the Imperial court, etc.

Points to Note

As mentioned above, the Tennō kōzoku jitsuroku is extremely valuable historiographies, but there are a few points that should be noted. Firstly, they are compilations and not primary historical materials. Although they have been carefully proofread by the best historians of the time, they are not perfect. There is a possibility that important documents may have been missed and therefore not included. There may also be a small number of cursive classical characters called kuzushi-ji くずし字, misreadings and typographical errors within the materials. Secondly, the texts quoted are only extracts from the relevant parts, rather than full texts. While this is very convenient, it can also lead to a misinterpretation of the historical material, as the nuances can vary greatly depending on the context surrounding texts. In some cases, access to the original sources may be required

The sources cited are varied, but these are listed only by title, without any specific explanation. These sources may have completely different purposes and positions. The text also includes later works, literary works, and waka poems, etc., which may be inappropriate materials for some fields of research. It is important, therefore, to examine the content of each document, knowing when, by whom (particularly the author’s position) and for what purpose it was left.

Another major drawback of this version is that it does not include the Shishinnōke jitsuroku. The existence of the Shishinnōke should not be ignored in genealogy of the Imperial Family. 102nd Emperor Go-Hanazono 後花園天皇 (1419-1471), 111th Emperor Gosai 後西天皇 (1638-1685), and 119th Emperor Kōkaku 光格天皇 (1771-1840), were from the Shishinnōke. Many direct descendants of emperors became adopted heirs of the Shishinnōke, and the majority of successive heads of the Shishinnōke were adopted by emperors or retired emperors. Shishinnōke jitsuroku is the only material that complements the parts not described in Tennō kōzoku jitsuroku, and with the existence of Shishinnōke jitsuroku, Tennō kōzoku jitsuroku is truly complete. I strongly hope that the digital edition of Shishinnōke jitsuroku will also be made available in the future, although there are no plans to do so at present.

Despite this, the image quality is good. Users can also copy and paste from transcriptions, but be aware that some traditional kanji characters can be garbled depending on the browser environment used. As a disadvantage, due to there being no sticky note function, it is a little inconvenient to have to write down the URL of every single page you want to read back later. For institutions, in addition to the initial database fee of ¥2,365,000, there is an annual maintenance fee of ¥47,190. Institutions that purchase the paper ediiton of Tennō kōzoku jitsuroku can use the database at a special discounted price of ¥1,892,000. These prices can be prohibitive, so research institutions other than those specialising in the political and cultural history of Japan/East Asia may have to be cautious about ordering the database.

These points need to be noted, but on the whole, the digital edition of the Tennō kōzoku jitsuroku is greatly useful and an excellent source on history of the Imperial Family.

References

^[1] Tenno Kozoku Jitsuroku (Records of the Emperor and the Imperial Family).
Available at: https://japanknowledge.com/en/contents/tennokozoku/
^[2] Isao Tokoro, ‘Tennō Kōzoku no Chosaku.’ In Encyclopedia of the Imperial Household. ed. Kōshitsu Jiten Hensan Iinkai (Tōkyō: KADOKAWA, 2018) 521
^[3] Tenno Kozoku Jitsuroku.
Available at: https://www.yumani.co.jp/np/download/7910223525.pdf
^[4] Isao Tokoro, ‘The Genesis of the Records of the Emperor and the Imperial Family (Tenno Kozoku Jitsuroku).’ Sandai Law Review 40-1 (2006): 32-67.
^[5] Shishinnōke Jitsuroku: Daiikki Fushiminomiya Jitsuroku Zen Jyūkyūkan.
Available at: https://www.yumani.co.jp/np/download/7545960948.pdf
^[6] See ^[1].