Articles

In this article, I analyze the social function of the monarchy in modern Japan by examining disbursements of grants, known as onshikin, from the imperial household budget between the years 1914 to 1945. My analysis focuses on the amounts of the grants, their recipients, and the decision-making process behind disbursements, as well as the media response they prompted. There were three categories of imperial household grants: (A) those disbursed to the imperial family, the nobility, high-ranking bureaucrats, and employees of the Imperial Household Ministry, (B) grants disbursed to the general public, and (C) grants that defy easy categorization into either (A) or (B). I demonstrate that grants classifiable as (B) were conspicuous immediately after World War I, during the Great Depression, and in the period of total war from 1938 through to 1945. The imperial household used the media to promote an image of the monarchy as a benefactor and therefore secure its position in times of social unrest. I also show that, at the very same time, the imperial household was disbursing sizable grants in category (A) with the purpose of winning the loyalty of the social elite. In contrast to category (B) grants, these disbursements were not made public, and rarely reported on. The argument here is that the imperial household in modern Japan secured support from both the general public and the elites by controlling information. They promoted expenditures classified as (B) while concealing those classified as (A). In this article, I analyze the social function of the monarchy in modern Japan by examining disbursements of grants, known as onshikin, from the imperial household budget between the years 1914 to 1945. My analysis focuses on the amounts of the grants, their recipients, and the decision-making process behind disbursements, as well as the media response they prompted. There were three categories of imperial household grants: (A) those disbursed to the imperial family, the nobility, high-ranking bureaucrats, and employees of the Imperial Household Ministry, (B) grants disbursed to the general public, and (C) grants that defy easy categorization into either (A) or (B). I demonstrate that grants classifiable as (B) were conspicuous immediately after World War I, during the Great Depression, and in the period of total war from 1938 through to 1945. The imperial household used the media to promote an image of the monarchy as a benefactor and therefore secure its position in times of social unrest. I also show that, at the very same time, the imperial household was disbursing sizable grants in category (A) with the purpose of winning the loyalty of the social elite. In contrast to category (B) grants, these disbursements were not made public, and rarely reported on. The argument here is that the imperial household in modern Japan secured support from both the general public and the elites by controlling information. They promoted expenditures classified as (B) while concealing those classified as (A).