The Emperor and Kodo

The Emperor is descended from the Sun Goddess Amaterasu. Some of the oldest, most powerful clans in Yamato too descended from kami who joined Amaterasu’s grandson as they crossed the Heavenly Bridge to claim the Middle Country for the Heavenly Kami. Those who fought in the war against the Earthly Kami were honoured among the people, and as their descendants worked to pacify the land, and unify all people under the banner of the Sun Goddess, these revered lineages formed the first court nobles.

Not all of the original founding clans remain to this day. Several of the main lines died out, and some too were purged for sedition or treason, in attempting to usurp power from the Emperor. Some falsely accused, some truly guilty. But even to this day, the descendants of these clans still rule the land in various forms. All clans of the Warrior Class in both the Empire and the Shogunate descend from three Warrior Clans created for unrecognized or illegitimate children of past Emperors.

Most of the aristocratic families descend in one form or another from the Sacred Twelve Clans that helped the First Emperor found the Empire.

While all humans are Children of the Kami, it is the nobility and the Imperial household who descend from the Heavenly Kami, while all others, commoners, warriors, and the like, descend from the lower Earthly Kami from whom Yamato was won. It is this heavenly descent that allows them to rule, and this heavenly descent from the Prime Goddess that gives the Imperial family their legitimacy, and feeds the reverence of the people.

Before Kensho, Kodo was the sole orthodoxy of religion in Yamato, and in the hierarchy of Kodo, the Emperor rules supreme. They are heaven incarnate, a god incarnated and made manifest. This is a title given only to select few others, such as the Grand Priestess, and the Kamigakari (five chosen descendants of the Five Kami who have each taken the Primal Vow when the world was still young.)

The role of Emperor is both a political AND religious one. They keep the balance of the world in place through their religious devotion and ritual, and ensure the placation of the kami of the land and the heavens, and the prosperity of the realm.

Beneath the Emperor in power, at least originally, is the Grand Priestess, the Emperor’s eldest daughter is always appointed to the position. Previously it had been fore life, but as power structures changed in the Imperial court, the Grand Priestesses wielded greater power and influence than their fathers. Because of this, laws were set in place to set term limits for the Grand Priestesses, limiting the term to 4 years, but no more than 8 (the extension, or double term, can only occur in a time of crisis, and at the discretion of the Emperor or the Regent). These and other steps taken have limited the power of the Grand Priestess, at least politically if not spiritually.

The Emperor can and does set orthodoxy in the land, and can issue edicts and commands the various shrines across the lands. However, it should be noted that few Emperors employ this power over the lesser priests and shrines of the land, for the land is full of holy places, many in secluded or hard to find areas.

Often, the Emperor merely ensures that funds are reported–though shrines and temples are exempt from taxation, both monetary and taxation on rice or other crops–and occasionally makes gifts of tax-free land to these temples and shrines as they earn it (often through currying favour, or donating to the Imperial coffers in return.)

For the most part, the Emperor merely oversees the Grand Shrines, or large and important shrines in major hubs throughout the land, and since the schism, only those in Ise (with the exception of Ise Grand Shrine, which is a special case. Nominally under the control of the Shogunate, but the Empire is allowed to administer the land the temple is on as if it was theirs, and appoint clergy and Grand Priestesses as they see fit.)

There is also the matter of practicality; if the Emperor were to issue edicts on orthodoxy to every shrine in Yamato, would they even listen? Some sure, but many others likely not.

As you can see, the relationship between the religious order and the government of Yamato is one that is both inexorably linked in terms of tradition and ceremony, yet somehow also a paper tiger in practice.