Nursing Clio affronta in un articolo di Paula R. Curtis la questione della successione dinastica nell’impero giapponese e la possibilità di avere una donna sul trono.

Nel passato del Giappone, otto donne hanno servito come imperatori nel corso di dieci regni. L’esclusione delle donne è quindi un fenomeno moderno: nel 1889, con l’entrata in vigore della Legge sulla Casa Imperiale, le donne persero il diritto di salire al trono. Tuttavia, il termine giapponese per “imperatore” (tennō) non ha connotazioni di genere specifiche.

Women lost the right to ascend the throne in 1889, when the Imperial Household Law (Kōshitsu tenpan 皇室典範) first went into effect alongside Japan’s first constitution, the Meiji Constitution (Meiji kenpō 明治憲法). In the early 1880s, the oligarchy tasked with transforming Japan into a “modern” nation that could contend with Western foreign powers restructured Japan’s premodern government following the model of the Prusso-German constitutional monarchy. The Prussian constitution forbade women to succeed the throne; Japan, too, adopted a stricter definition of what it meant to be an emperor.

Nel 2005, la principessa Kiko, moglie del secondo figlio dell’imperatore, era incinta. Se non fosse nato un maschio, il governo avrebbe affrontato una crisi, poiché gli altri eredi diretti al trono erano tutte ragazze. Un consiglio privato aveva discusso la possibilità di una moderna imperatrice, ma quando Kiko partorì un principe, la questione tornò a essere solo pura speculazione.

The Mainichi, analizza i risultati di un recente sondaggio sulla possibilità di avere una futura imperatrice in Giappone.

Circa l’81% degli intervistati in un sondaggio d’opinione condotto a livello nazionale dal Mainichi Shimbun il 18 e 19 maggio ha dichiarato di essere favorevole all’ammissione di imperatori donne, evidenziando la crescente attenzione della società sui membri femminili della famiglia imperiale giapponese.

Yoshie Akiko ha scritto un articolo (PDF) intitolato “When Antiquity Meets the Modern: Presenting the Female Rulers in the Making of Japanese History”:

Defenders of the conventional mode of succession have argued: that 1) present Imperial succession by “patrilineage” has consistently been the tradition stemming from ancient times, and 2) some female emperors that have existed in history temporarily served as “interim” emperors just in case that the usual succession didn’t work due to some unexpected difficulties. Furthermore, they argue that accepting the idea of “female emperors” and “betraying the long-standing tradition” are linked together. They are concerned that it would lead the destruction of Japanese culture.  On the other hand, some advocators for the reform of the Imperial Household Law have different opinions from defenders, to the effect that “it is natural in light of the common notion of gender equality,” and additionally that “a woman would be appropriate to be the symbolic Emperor of the Peaceful State of Japan.” These arguments, eventually, come to label women alone as “peace-lovers”. This debate may lie in the studies of female essentialism which suggest that a woman would be particularly appropriate to e a symbolic Emperor with no authority to rule. Ironically, this also endorses the proposition of “Women ≠ Rulers.” The “Female Tenno¯ debate” concerning the future Imperial succession, irrespective of these different positions, urged on the women’s history researchers’ deep insight and responses. The debate includes various
points such as “the invention of tradition”, “the construction of gender” and “the referencing of history.” In terms of the feminist’s position, some of
them positively support the reform which gives females equal rights to accede to the throne.

Yoshie Akiko nella premessa al suo articolo spiega cosa intende dimostrare:

I will develop my argument below in the following order. First, I will prove that the ancient male and female emperors exercised similar authority without distinction of gender and their ability, using the records which show the result from studies of kingship history and evidences on what female emperors achieved. Second, I will present the characteristics of gender in ancient Japanese society which produced female emperors by summarizing the results of studies of ancient women’s history. Third, I will analyze the process on how the misinterpretation has been generated as common theory in the studies of history in the modern period; female emperors were exceptional and special figures, then will reveal concretely how gender has been structured through historical interpretations. In conclusion, I will propound the “vulnerability” to be overcome hidden in both women’s history research and feminists’ “female emperor argument,” which are linked to the realm of female essentialism and the argument of divided gender roles.