Imperial Regalia of Japan

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Imperial Regalia of Japan

The , also known as the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan, consist of the sword

Sword

A sword is a long, edged piece of metal, used as a cutting, thrusting, and clubbing weapon in many civilizations throughout the world. The word sword comes from the Old English language wikt:sweord, cognate to Old High German swert, Middle Dutch swaert, Old Norse sver? Old Frisian and Old Saxon swerd and Dutch langua...
, Kusanagi

Kusanagi

is a legendary Japanese sword as important to Japan's history as Excalibur is to Great Britain, and is one of three Imperial Regalia of Japan. It was originally called Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi but its name was later changed to the more popular Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi ....
, the jewel

Gemstone

A gemstone or gem, also called a precious or semi-precious stone, is a piece of attractive mineral, which — when cut and polished — is used to make jewellery or other adornments....
or necklace of jewels, Yasakani no magatama

Magatama

Magatama , are curved beads which first appeared in Japan during the Jomon period.They are often found inhumed in mounded tumulus Grave as Sacrifice to Deity ....
, and the mirror

Mirror

A mirror is an object with one surface polished, which leads to reflection and another opaque. The most familiar type of mirror is the plane mirror, which has a flat surface....
Yata no kagami

Yata no kagami

is a sacred mirror that is part of the Imperial Regalia of Japan. It is said to be housed in Ise Shrine in Mie prefecture, Japan, although a lack of public access makes this difficult to verify....
. The regalia represent the three primary virtues: valor

Valor

Valor may mean:* Courage a similar meaning* Valor , roughly "courage in defense of a noble cause"* Valor , a DC Comics superhero* Valor Communications, the former name of Windstream Communications, A telecommunications company...
(the sword), wisdom

Wisdom

Wisdom is knowledge, understanding, experience, discretion, and Intuition , along with a capacity to apply these qualities well towards finding solutions to problems....
(the mirror), and benevolence

Benevolence

Benevolence is the expression of kindness and altruism.Benevolence means much good for others. As such, it is a form of love. But some theologians, such as Thomas Jay Oord, have argued that love involves both giving and receiving....
(the jewel). These may be connected with Buddhist thought.

Due to the legendary status of these items, their locations are not confirmed, but it is commonly thought that the sword is located at Atsuta Shrine

Atsuta Shrine

is a Shinto Shinto shrine located in Atsuta-ku, Nagoya, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture in Japan. The shrine is familiarly known as Atsuta-Sama or simply as Miya ....
in Nagoya, the jewel is located at Kokyo

Kokyo

is the imperial main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in Chiyoda, Tokyo close to Tokyo Station and contains various buildings such as the main palace and the private residences of the imperial family....
(the Imperial Palace) in Tokyo

Tokyo

, officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshu. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, cover the area that was once the Tokyo City in the eastern part of the prefecture, and total over 8 million people....
and the mirror is located in the Grand Shrine of Ise in Mie prefecture

Mie Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan which is part of the Kinki and Chubu regions on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Tsu, Mie....
.

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Encyclopedia

The , also known as the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan, consist of the sword

Sword

Kusanagi

Gemstone

Magatama

Magatama , are curved beads which first appeared in Japan during the Jomon period.They are often found inhumed in mounded tumulus Grave as Sacrifice to Deity ....
, and the mirror

Mirror

A mirror is an object with one surface polished, which leads to reflection and another opaque. The most familiar type of mirror is the plane mirror, which has a flat surface....
Yata no kagami

Yata no kagami

Valor

Wisdom

Benevolence

Atsuta Shrine

Kokyo

Tokyo

Mie Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan which is part of the Kinki and Chubu regions on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Tsu, Mie....
. One or more of these may not be the originals.

Tradition

Since 690, the presentation of these items to the Emperor

Emperor of Japan

The of Japan is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the Japanese people. He is the head of the Imperial House of Japan. Under Japan's present constitution, the Emperor is the "symbol of the state and the unity of the people," and is a ceremonial figurehead in a constitutional monarchy ....
by the priests at the shrine are a central part of the imperial enthronement ceremony

Coronation

A coronation is a ceremony marking the investiture of a monarch with regal power, specifically involving the placement of a coronation crown upon his or her head, and the presentation of other items of regalia....
. This ceremony is not public, and these items are by tradition only seen by the emperor

Emperor

An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress is the female equivalent. As a title, "empress" may indicate the wife of an emperor or a woman who rules in her own right ....
and certain priests. Because of this, no known photographs or drawings exist. Two of the three treasures (the jewel and sword, including the emperor

Privy Seal of Japan

The Privy Seal of Japan is the Emperor of Japan's official seal. It is square and its inscription "????" is written in the seal script . It has two lines of vertical writing....
's and the state seal

State Seal of Japan

The Country Seal of Japan is the Japanese official seal of state. It is cubic. The characters ????? are carved in it in the Archaic script ....
) were last seen during the accession and enthronement of Emperor Akihito in 1989, but were shrouded in packages.

According to legend, these artifacts were brought by Ninigi-no-Mikoto

Ninigi-no-Mikoto

is in Japanese mythology the son of Ame no Oshihomimi no Mikoto, and grandson of Amaterasu, who sent him down to earth to plant rice there. He was the great-grandfather of Emperor Jimmu....
, legendary ancestor of the Japanese imperial line

Imperial House of Japan

The , also referred to as the Imperial Family, or the Yamato Dynasty, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties....
, when his grandmother, the Sun Goddess Amaterasu

Amaterasu

, or is in Japanese mythology a Solar deity and perhaps the most important Shinto . Her name, Amaterasu, means literally " illuminates Heaven"....
, sent him to pacify Japan. The origin of the items remain a question today. Traditionally, they were a symbol of the emperor's divinity as a descendant of Amaterasu, from which he derived legitimacy

Legitimacy

:selfref|For the...
as paramount ruler of Japan.

According to legend, when Amaterasu hid in a cave from her brother Susanoo

Susanoo

is the Shinto god of the sea and storms....
, thus plunging the world in darkness, the goddess Ame-no-Uzume hung the mirror and jewels outside the cave and lured her out of the cave, at which point she saw her own reflection and was startled enough that the gods could pull her out of the cave. Susanoo later presented in apology to Amaterasu the sword, Kusanagi, which he had obtained from the body of an eight-headed serpent, Orochi.

During the Northern and Southern dynasties period

Nanboku-cho

The , spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Muromachi bakufu of Japan's history. During this period, there existed a Northern Court , established by Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto, and a Southern Imperial Court, established by Emperor Go-Daigo in Yoshino District, Nara....
in the 14th century, the possession by the Southern Dynasty of the imperial regalia has led modern chroniclers to define that as the legitimate dynasty for purposes of reign names and genealogy

Genealogy

Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigree of its members....
.

Importance of the imperial regalia to Japan is evident also from the declarations made by Emperor Showa to Koichi Kido

Koichi Kido

Marquis served as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan from 1940 to 1945, and was the closest advisor to Hirohito throughout World War II....
on 25 and 31 July 1945 at the end of the World War II, when he ordered the keeper of the privy seal

Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan

The was an administrative post not of cabinet rank in the government of the Empire of Japan. The Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal was responsible for keeping the Privy Seal of Japan and State Seal of Japan....
to protect them "at all cost".

In popular culture

As ancient artifacts closely associated with great magical powers, the Regalia often appear in popular culture, including many Japanese video games, movies, and television series.

In the anime series One Piece
One Piece

is a Japanese shonen manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, that has been serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine since August 4, 1997....
, one of the three admirals of the world government Kizaru uses an attack named Yata No Kagami and a second named technique, Ama no Murakumo, is also taken from one of the three legendary treasures.
In the popular manga/anime series Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon

is the title of a Japanese media franchise created by Naoko Takeuchi. It is generally credited with popularizing the concept of a sentai of magical girls, as well as "revitalizing" the magical girl genre itself....
, the Pure Heart Crystals of Sailor Uranus, Neptune and Pluto become the sword, mirror, and orb respectively as the talisman.
In the anime series YuYu Hakusho
YuYu Hakusho

is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi with an anime adaptation. The name of the series is spelled YuYu Hakusho in Funimation Entertainment's distribution of the anime and in the Viz Media manga....
, the three items that Hiei, Kurama, and Gouki steal in their first appearances are the sword, mirror, and orb respectively.
In the video game Tales of Symphonia
Tales of Symphonia

is a video game first released for the Nintendo GameCube and later for the PlayStation 2. It debuted in Japan on August 29, 2003, in Canada and the United States on July 13, 2004, and in Europe on November 19, 2004....
, each successive defeat of a Sword Dancer is awarded with the Yata Mirror, Yasakani Jewel, and Kusanagi Blade.
In the Naruto
Naruto

is an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. The plot tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, an adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition and aspires to become a World of Naruto#Kage, the ninja in his village that is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of all....
series, Sasuke and Orochimaru wield the Kusanagi Blade, and Itachi Uchiha has a powerful summon called Susanoo that uses the Yata Mirror as a shield.
In the King of Fighters series of fighting game
Fighting game

File:Street Fighter II.pngFighting game is a type of action orientated video game and one of the major video game Video game genres. In a fighting game, players face off against each other or against computer-controlled characters in close combat....
s, the Imperial Regalia form the crux of the plot: three of the characters (Kyo Kusanagi
Kyo Kusanagi

is one of the main characters in SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters video game series; he was first introduced in The King of Fighters '94 as the leader of the Japan team....
, Iori Yagami
Iori Yagami

is a character from the SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters video game series that first appeared in The King of Fighters '95 as the leader of the Rivals Team....
and Chizuru Kagura) represent (and are the last of their bloodlines to protect) each of the respective Sacred Treasures, whose powers were once used sealed the Orochi; many of the installments concern the Orochi's attempts to break free. In addition to the default team lineups, some of the games have a hidden "Three Sacred Treasures" team formed by choosing the characters that represent the treasures.
In the Playstation game Legend of Dragoon, as part of the main story arch, the player is required to collect three items: The Moon Dagger, Moon Mirror, and Moon Gem.
In the Playstation 2/Wii game Okami
Okami

is an action-adventure game video game developed by Clover Studio and distributed by Capcom. It was released for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console in 2006 in Japan and North America, and 2007 in Europe and Australia....
, the main character Amaterasu uses a sword, jewel necklace and mirror as weapons.
In the Yu-Gi-Oh!
Yu-Gi-Oh!

is a Japanese manga created by Kazuki Takahashi, which has spawned a franchise including multiple anime series, a trading card game, and numerous video games....
Official Card Game, there are three cards based on the Imperial Regalia: Kusanagi no Tsurugi, Yasaka no Magatama, and Yata no Kagami.
In the anime series xxxHolic, one of the customers of Yuuko's wish shop use a monkey's paw to acquire the 'Mirror of Wisdom'.
In Pokémon
Pokémon

is a media franchise owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri around 1995. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy line Console role-playing game video games, Pok?mon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video game-based media franchise in the world, behind only Nintendo's own...
Three Pokemon called Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf are similar to the Imperial Regalia of Japan.
In Touhou 8 - Imperishable Night
Imperishable Night

, by Team Shanghai Alice, is the eighth official game of the Touhou Project Shoot 'em up#Scrolling shooters series. It is the third Touhou game to be released specifically for the Windows operating system....
, three of Keine Kamishirasawa's Spell Cards are respectively named Land Sign "Three Sacred Treasures - Sword", Land Sign "Three Sacred Treasures - Orb", and Land Sign "Three Sacred Treasures - Mirror".
In various Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy

is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and owned by Square Enix that includes video games, motion pictures, and other merchandise. The series began in 1987 as an Final Fantasy console role-playing game video game developer by Square Co., spawning a video game series that became the central focus of the franchise....
video games, the Murakumo is a powerful sword.
In the Sakura Taisen anime
Anime

is animation in Japan and considered to be "Japanese animation" in the rest of the world. Anime dates from about 1917.Anime, in addition to manga , is extremely popular in Japan and well known throughout the world....
TV series, there are three Sacred Treasures--a dagger, an orb, and a mirror-like object, once used by Sakura Shinguji's father to defeat the Descended Evil, but due to its overwhelming power, it cost him his life. This prompted his comrades to have it stored in the Teikoku Kagekidan headquarters in a sealed room. However, General Yoneda aimed to use them again to defeat Aoi Satan and his minions, but it was foiled.

Imperial Regalia of Japan

Tradition

In popular culture

See also