Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1990 17/2-3 The Emperor System as Japanese National Religion: The Emperor System Module in Everyday Consciousness

The emperor system is a system of the imagination that exists by being believed. Sometimes it is a matter of conscious belief. There are even some people who hold as an article of faith that the emperor is a living god. On the other hand, however, there are those who lend themselves unconsciously to supporting the institu tion of the emperor and place belief in it unawares. These people also fall within the realm of this imaginary institution. Perhaps we can say that the real nature of the emperor system surfaces, as a structure，in the unconscious behavior of those young people who for some unknown reason ended up going to the Imperial Palace grounds and signing their names in the condolence books at the time of the death of the Sh5wa emperor，despite the fact that they knew nothing about the emperor except the smattering of informa tion they had picked up from television. To the extent that it exists by being believed, this system of the imagination is a religion in the broad sense. In this regard, the concept of ^Japanese national • This article was translated from the Japanese. It appeared originally in the monthly iour-nal Sekai 526 (1989 / 4, pp. 92-108) as Nihon minzoku shukyd to shite no tenndsei: Nichijd ishiki no naJta no tennOsei no mojuru