What is the surname of the Japanese Imperial Family?
The current Emperor’s name is “徳仁 (Naruhito)” and has no surname.
The current emperor is sometimes referred to as ” 今上徳仁(Konjou Naruhito)” with “今上(Konjou)” added, but even in this case, “Konjou” is not a surname but a term meaning “the current emperor”.
So why doesn’t the Japanese Imperial Family have a surname?
Because they are the one and only.
The first reason is that the Emperor is “the one and only”.
The Japanese Imperial Family is a “lineage of a thousand generations” that has been passed down from one family line to another, and there is no need to distinguish the family from other households by taking a family name or surname.
For example, Japanese citizens like us, if there is a person with the same name, we distinguish that person by his/her surname or by his/her family lineage. However, to begin with, there is only one member of the Imperial Family, Akihito-sama, in Japan, so there is no need to bother to give him a family name or surname.
Because he is the one who bestows the family name or surname.
The second reason is that the emperor was a powerful person and the giver of surnames and family names.
In ancient Japan, only a few powerful and privileged people were allowed to take surnames and family names.
It is believed that it was the emperor who gave surnames and family names to the powerful and privileged few. The reason for this is that the emperor was the top of all powerful people, and there was no higher rank than the emperor, and there was no one to bestow surnames or family names to the emperor.
