Imperial Court Office

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Imperial Court Office on the grounds of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo
The Hofministerium in the Meiji period (former Address: District Kojimachi , Tokyo City , Tokyo Prefecture )

The Imperial Household Agency ( Jap. 宮内庁 , Kunai-chō ) is a the cabinet of Prime Minister of Japan under standing government office in Japan , which (within the meaning of Article 7 of the Constitution of Japan ) for state affairs in relation to the Japanese imperial family is responsible. The authority goes back to the Imperial Court Ministry ( 宮内 省 , Kunai-shō ) of the Ritsuryō system, founded in the 8th century, renamed Kunai-fu ( 宮内 府 ) in 1947 and its current name in 1949. The court ministry in the empire was independent of the government; it was headed by a court minister ( kunai-daijin ), who as such did not belong to the cabinet. (However, the first modern court minister in 1885, Itō Hirobumi , was also the first prime minister.) The court office since 1947 has been subordinate to the cabinet in the area of ​​responsibility of the prime minister and is headed by a kunai-fu / -chō chōkan ("head of office", "boss") . Since the restructuring of the central government in 2001, the court office has been subordinate to the newly created cabinet office . The head of office is translated into English as the Grand Steward . The office employs 1,080 civil servants, often temporarily seconded from other ministries.

The office includes the office of the Grand Chamberlain, the governing body of the chamberlains, the management of the department for ceremonies, archives and mausoleums , the department for maintenance and work, the household of the crown prince and the Kyoto office.

The office is located in Chiyoda (in the Chiyoda District , Tokyo Prefecture ) on the grounds of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo . In addition to day-to-day tasks such as state visits, organization of events, preservation of traditional culture, administrative functions, etc., the office is also responsible for the imperial residences and tombs (such as the ancient kofun ) scattered all over Japan . Visitors who want to visit the Imperial Palace in Kyoto , the Imperial Katsura Villa or other places should first register with the office for a guided tour.

The office has often been criticized for isolating members of the imperial family from the Japanese public and for insisting on outdated customs rather than allowing a more accessible, popular monarchy. This criticism increasingly fell silent in recent years, when Emperor Akihito in particular did much to make the monarchy less elitist.

Web links

Commons : Imperial Court Office  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 35 ° 41 ′ 2.1 ″  N , 139 ° 45 ′ 14.2 ″  E