ABSTRACT
It is well known that Japan is unique in having on the Throne the 124th Emperor of the same dynasty, a record that no other country even approaches but that this is not all for it is a dynasty of divine descent. Owing to the fact that the practice of adoption is in force many foreign critics have made little of this record but in no case has anyone succeeded to the Throne who would not have been equally eligible in any western country and on 65 occasions the succession has gone direct from father to son (4 times from father to daughter) and 26 times from brother to brother, 3 times from grandfather to grandson, 5 times from uncle to nephew, 3 times from nephew to uncle, twice from husband to wife, in both cases also his niece, once from mother to son and only in 17 cases to such distant relations as cousins. All these Sovereigns with the possible exception of the 21 st and 25 th Emperors Yūryaku (雄略) and Buretsu (武烈) had their special virtues and many of them left an enduring mark on the fortunes of their people but it is obvious that I cannot deal with them all in the 30 minutes, long doubtless to you but short in actual time, in which you are doomed to listen to me. I propose therefore to limit myself to three. The name of the Great Emperor Meiji at once springs to mind but I feel myself totally unworthy to deal with his outstanding virtues. The Emperor Daigo (醍醐), and his great Engi (延喜) age, is another name that occurs to anyone when thinking of the Emperors of Japan but his merits have been sung quite recently in connection with the 1000th anniversary of Daigoji. I therefore propose with your kind indulgence to lay before you the special virtues of the 38th Emperor Tenji (天智), the 71st Emperor Go-Sanjō (後三 條) and the 82nd Emperor Go-Toba (後鳥羽) though I confess it is with reluctance that I omit the 96th Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐).
