se mind.

The theory that all authority resides in the Emperor is also enforced
by recent history. For the constitution was not wrung from an
unwilling ruler by an ambitious people, but was conferred by the
Emperor of his own free will, under the advice of his enlightened and
progressive councilors.

As an illustration of some of the preceding statements let me quote
from a recent article by Mr. Yamaguchi, Professor of History in the
Peeresses' School and Lecturer in the Imperial Military College. After
speaking of the abolition of feudalism and the establishment of a
constitutional monarchy, he goes on to say: "But we must not suppose
that the sovereign power of the state has been transferred to the
Imperial Diet. On the contrary, it is still in the hands of the
Emperor as before.... The functions of the government are retained in
the Emperor's own hands, who merely delegates them to the Diet, the
Government (Cabinet), and the Judiciary, to exercise the same in his
name. The present form of government is the result of the history of a
country which has enjoyed an existence of many centuries. Each country
has its own peculiar characteristics which differentiate it from
others. Japan, too, has her history, different from that of other
countries. Therefore we ought not to draw comparisons between Japan
and other countries, as if the same principles applied to all
indiscriminately. The Empire of Japan has a history of 3000 [!] years,
which fact distinctly marks out our nationality as unique. The
monarch, in the eyes of the people, is not merely on a par with an
aristocratic oligarchy which rules over the inferior masses, or a few
nobles who equally divide the sovereignty among themselves. According
to our ideas, the monarch reigns over and governs the country in his
own right, and not by virtue of rights conferred by the
constitution.... Our Emperor possesses real sovereignty and also
exercises it. He is quite different from other rulers who possess but
a partial sovereignty.... He has inherited the rights of sovereignty
from his ancestors. Thus it is quite legitimate to think that the
rights of sovereignty exist in the Emperor himself.... The Empire of
Japan shall be reigned over and governed by a line of Emperors
unbroken for ages eternal. (Constitution, Art. LXXIII.) ... The
sovereign power of the state cannot be dissociated from the Imperial
Throne. It lasts forever, along with the Imperial line of succession,
unbro