The Constitution was a “gift” of the Emperor. It was not intended
to establish popular government. Its preamble emphasized the old
theocratic (priest-king) traditions of Japan. The Emperor “inherited”
the right to rule “from Our Ancestors,” and ruled “in lineal
succession unbroken for ages eternal.” Ito and his colleagues not only
incorporated these traditional ideas into the Constitution. They made
them the cornerstone of the new system of universal education, and
thus instilled them in the mass of the Japanese people. Reverence for
the Emperor as a divine ruler helped enormously to keep the new regime
solidly in place.
[Illustration: JAPAN’S RULING SYSTEM THE GOVERNMENT UNDER ITO’S
CONSTITUTION]
Practically all the government’s powers, both civil and military, were
vested in the Emperor. Vast economic power bolstered his political
authority. No longer, as on occasion in feudal times, could the Emperor
become penniless. For court expenses, the Imperial Family receives
an annual grant of 4,500,000 yen (more than a million dollars). Its
holdings in lands and blocks of shares, estimated at over one billion
yen, provide a large additional income. So it is one of the wealthiest
families in Japan.