ABSTRACT
The human qualities of the Emperor are loyally admired, and doubtless his patched underwear will find a place in the schoolbooks of tomorrow among other examples of war-time virtue. But Japanese scholars jealously warn us not to suppose that the personal character of an emperor affects his position in any way. A Japanese historian wrote: “The Emperor of Japan does not occupy his position because of his virtue nor owing to his popularity, nor by military force. It is as the representative of the whole race, existing from time immemorial and enduring till the end of time, as the abstract figure converted into a concrete and manifest symbol, that he fills his place. Those who regard him as a monarch or an autocrat fail to perceive wherein his spiritual influence over the nation consists.”
