Actually it doesn’t. I’m now aware of the male heirs marrying Japanese commoners and Japanese princesses being out of the line of succession anyway (so morganatic marriages are irrelevant) but notice that in my OP I asked
And it is that on which I seek an answer.
Your problem, I think, is that “morganatic” isn’t a concept that has any relevant in the Japanese tradition. In a morganatic marriage a man (usually) marries a wife of lower rank, on terms that the wife will not acquire, and any children of the marriage will not inherit, the property/titles/status of the man. But in the Japanese system, a male member of the Imperial family can marry a wife of any rank, and the wife’s children’s rights will not be limited in this way. And a female member of the Imperial family can’t inherit the throne regardless of who she marries. A female who marries a “commoner” ceases to have the status of a member of the Imperial family, but that’s not a morganatic marriage; in a morganatic marriage she would retain her status, but her husband/chlidren would not acquire it.
I think your question possibly is: If a Japanese princess marries (say) a foreign prince, does she forfeit her membership of the Imperial family? The answer is “yes”. The Imperial family includes the Emperor’s unmarried legitimate daughters and legitimate male-line grandaughters. That basis for membership disappears when a daughter/granddaughter marries anyone at all. The only way they can marry, and still be members of the Imperial family, is by marrying other members of the Imperial family, in which case they have membership on a new basis; as the spouses of male members.
But can they marry a foreigner?
SFAIK, if a male member of the Japanese Imperial family were to marry a foreigner, his wife would acquire the status of a member of the Imperial family by virtue of the marriage.
Others have suggested that this has happened in the past. I’m not aware of any legal prohibition on it happening today. It may, however, be the case that there would be strong social/cultural/family pressures militating against it. It may also be the case - I don’t know - that members of the Imperial family require the consent of the Emperor, or some other consent, to marry.
So, the Americans were counting on the Imperial court to mold properly the future sovereigns? I’m not sure I would have counted on that. I could see some unwelcome ideas gaining credence among the imperial court officials, who must be, on the average, rather conservative or even reactionary.
Wouldn’t they have a problem with a potential heir who isn’t of 100% Japanese ancestry?
I’m answering the legal question, which is that there is nothing in the law which deals with foreign royaltiy so they would be considered commoners under Japanese law. Males can marry commoners and retain their Imperial Family status, and females cannot.
Will they ever marry foreigners? Of course not. Don’t be silly. Every couple of months a new threat pops up in GQ asking what would happen if the British monarch were to assume various powers and the Commonwealth posters explain again and again that even though there isn’t a written constitution, it still won’t happen.
It won’t happen. Period.
The ancestors of the Yamato were Koreans. Emperor Heisei (the retired emperor) admitted that the mother of Emperor Kammu (reign c.781 to 806) had Korean ancestry. However, she would not have been treated as a Korean. I don’t believe that any “foreigners” have ever married into the Imperial Family.
I did speculate on one reason and ** Manda JO** speculated on other reason in a general case. Have you read anything about the Imperial Japanese Family or the American Occupation of Japan to form the basis of your conclusions?
You know way more than I do about this stuff. Do you think its possible that a foreigner who legally takes up Japanese nationality could be the wife of a royal family member?
I believe that Japanese daughters can marry and retain status as members of the Imperial Family if they marry other Japanese royals.
The problem is that with the Imperial Household Law of 1947, everyone outside the descendants of Emperor Taisho were disenfranchised so there are no other royals to marry.
And any daughters would never be in the line of succession under the current law.
Thanks.
[del]Fuck no.[/del] It may be difficult, as they say.
Again, the problem is that the people who really care about this are very conservative and I just don’t see how they would be happy about it. It doesn’t really matter for male line, but I’d give a snowball a better chance of surviving in hell.
That was my first thought as well. Ain’t gonna happen. A percentage of the public might be in favor of it, but the clandestine powers that pull the strings would never allow it.
Thinking about it, 'm not absolutely certain if a daughter can retain status on their own if they marry a royal.
In many ways, there was a lot of flexibility in the previous rules. There was a period of time where the emperor alternated between two branches of the family. Prior to the law of 1947, adoption into the Imperial Family from one of the cadet lines was allowed and historically occurred. The adopted son became the emperor.
Not a lot of children, males or females, of emperors actually survived until adulthood for the last several hundred years. I’ve spend a bit of time looking at this tonight and don’t see an immediate answer.