Ascending the throne - Senso

The succession of the Imperial heir to the throne. In the Chinese classics, it is written that the new emperor ascended the 'sokai' (eastern step, where the master ascends) of the ancestral temple and presided over the festivals, and from there, 'so' came to refer to the rank of the emperor, and was also written as 'su'. The original meaning included both the abdication and death of the previous emperor, and in ancient times it was used synonymously with 'ascension to the throne.' At that stage, as can be seen in the Jingi-Ryo, the main ceremonies were probably the Nakatomi reciting the 'Amatsukami no Yogoto' (prayer for the long life of the gods) and the Inbe offering the Shinji mirror sword. After Emperor Kanmu (reigned 781-806), the enthronement ceremony to announce the succession to the throne to the nation was separated, and the recitation of the congratulatory message came to be held at the Daijosai. Since then, the accession to the throne became a so-called ceremonial transfer of power ceremony, centered on the transmission of the Imperial Regalia, which symbolize the Imperial Throne (the Sword and Seal Transmission). The old Imperial House Law stipulated that "When the Emperor dies, the Crown Prince shall immediately ascend to the throne and inherit the Sacred Regalia of his ancestors," but the current Imperial House Law does not use the word "accession to the throne."

[Kazuki Sugimoto]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

皇嗣(こうし)が天皇の位を継承すること。中国の古典には、新天子が宗廟(そうびょう)の阼階(そかい)（東方の階、主人が昇る）を践(ふ)んで昇り、祭りをつかさどったことがみえるが、そこから阼は天子の位をさすようになり、さらに祚とも書かれるようになった。先帝譲位と崩御の両方を含むのが本来の意味であり、古くは即位とも同義に用いられた。その段階での儀式は、神祇令(じんぎりょう)にみえるように、中臣(なかとみ)が天神寿詞(あまつかみのよごと)を奏し、忌部(いんべ)が神璽(しんじ)の鏡剣を奉ることが中心だったと思われる。桓武(かんむ)天皇（在位781～806）以後、皇位継承を天下に告知するための即位の礼が分離し、寿詞の奏上も大嘗祭(だいじょうさい)で行われるようになってからは、践祚は、皇位の象徴たる神器の伝授（剣璽渡御(とぎょ)）を核としたいわゆる譲国の儀となった。旧皇室典範では、「天皇崩スルトキハ皇嗣即チ践祚シ祖宗ノ神器ヲ承(う)ク」と規定されたが、現在の皇室典範には践祚の語は用いられていない。

［杉本一樹］

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