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Emperor of Japan
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"Japanese Emperor" and "Tennō" redirect here. For the butterfly, see Sasakia charonda. For other uses, see Tenno (disambiguation).
Emperor of Japan
天皇
Imperial
Imperial Standard
Incumbent
Akihito
since January 7, 1989
Details
Style
His Imperial Majesty
Heir apparent
Crown Prince Naruhito
First monarch
Emperor Jimmu
(mythical)
Formation
660 BC
Residence
Tokyo Imperial Palace
as official residence
Website
The Imperial Household Agency
Japan
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The Emperor of Japan is the head of the Imperial Family and the traditional head of state of Japan. According to the 1947 constitution, he is "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people" and he has "no powers related to government". Historically, he was also the highest authority of the Shinto religion. In Japanese, the Emperor is called Tennō (天皇), which translates to "heavenly sovereign". In English, the use of the term Mikado (帝) for the Emperor was once common, but is now considered obsolete.[1]
Currently, the Emperor of Japan is the only head of state in the world with the English title of "Emperor". The Imperial House of Japan is the oldest continuing monarchical house in the world.[2] The historical origins of the Emperors lie in the late Kofun period of the 5th-6th centuries AD, but according to the traditional account of the Kojiki (finished 712) and Nihon Shoki (finished 720), Japan was founded in 660 BC by Emperor Jimmu, who was said to be a direct descendant of the sun-goddess Amaterasu.[3][4] The current Emperor is Akihito. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne upon the death of his father, Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito), in 1989. The Japanese government announced in December 2017 that Akihito will abdicate on 30 April 2019.[5]
The role of the Emperor of Japan has historically alternated between a largely ceremonial symbolic role and that of an actual imperial ruler. Since the establishment of the first shogunate in 1192, the Emperors of Japan have rarely taken on a role as supreme battlefield commander, unlike many Western monarchs. Japanese Emperors have nearly always been controlled by external political forces, to varying degrees. In fact, between 1192 and 1867, the shoguns, or their shikken regents in Kamakura (1203–1333), were the de facto rulers of Japan, although they were nominally appointed by the Emperor. After the Meiji Restoration in 1867, the Emperor was the embodiment of all sovereign power in the realm, as enshrined in the Meiji Constitution of 1889. His current status as a figurehead dates from the 1947 Constitution.
Since the mid-nineteenth century, the Imperial Palace has been called Kyūjō (宮城), later Kōkyo (皇居), and is located on the former site of Edo Castle in the heart of Tokyo (the current capital of Japan). Earlier, Emperors resided in Kyoto (the ancient capital) for nearly eleven centuries. The Emperor's Birthday (December 23) is a national holiday.
Contents
[hide]
1 Role
2 History
2.1 Origin
2.2 Factional control
2.3 Disputes
2.4 Territorial matters
2.5 Shoguns
2.6 Meiji restoration
2.7 World War II
2.8 Current constitution
2.9 Relation to Shinto
2.10 Education
3 Addressing and naming
3.1 Origin of the title
4 Marriage traditions
5 Burial traditions
6 Succession
6.1 Current status
7 See also
8 References
8.1 Citations
8.2 Sources
9 External links
Role[edit]
The Emperor is effectively the ceremonial head of state but not the Chief Executive. Article 65 of the Constitution explicitly vests executive power in the Cabinet, of which the Prime Minister is the leader. The Emperor is also not the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. The Japan Self-Defense Forces Act of 1954 also explicitly vests this role with the Prime Minister.
The Emperor's powers are limited only to important ceremonial functions. Article 4 of the Constitution stipulates that the Emperor "shall perform only such acts in matters of state as are provided for in the Constitution and he shall not have powers related to government." It also stipulates that "the advice and approval of the Cabinet shall be required for all acts of the Emperor in matters of state" (Article 3). Article 4 also states that these duties can be delegated by His majesty as provided for by law.
While the Emperor formally appoints the Prime Minister to office, Article 6 of the Constitution requires him to appoint the candidate "as designated by the Diet", without giving the Emperor the right to decline appointment.
Article 6 of the Constitution delegates the Emperor the following ceremonial roles:
Appointment of the Prime Minister as designated by the Diet.
Appointment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as designated by the Cabinet.
The Emperor's other duties are laid down in article 7 of the Constitution, where it is stated that the "Emperor with the advice and approval of the Cabinet, shall perform the following acts in matters of state on behalf of the people":
Promulgation of amendments of the constitution, laws, cabinet orders, and treaties.
Convocation of the Diet.
Dissolution of the House of Representatives.
Proclamation of general election of members of the Diet.
Attestation of the appointment and dismissal of Ministers of State and other officials as provided for by law, and of full powers and credentials of Ambassadors and Ministers.
Attestation of general and special amnesty, commutation of punishment, reprieve, and restoration of rights.
Awarding of honors.
Attestation of instruments of ratification and other diplomatic documents as provided for by law.
Receiving foreign ambassadors and ministers.
Performance of ceremonial functions.
Regular ceremonies of the Emperor with a constitutional basis are the Imperial Investitures (Shinninshiki) in the Tokyo Imperial Palace and the Speech from the Throne ceremony in the House of Councillors in the National Diet Building. The latter ceremony opens ordinary and extra sessions of the Diet. Ordinary sessions are opened each January and also after new elections to the House of Representatives. Extra sessions usually convene in the autumn and are opened then.[6]
History[edit]
Although the Emperor has been a symbol of continuity with the past, the degree of power exercised by the Emperor has varied considerably throughout Japanese history. In the early 7th century, the Emperor had begun to be called the "Son of Heaven" (天子, tenshi, or 天子様 tenshi-sama).[7]
Origin[edit]
See also: List of Emperors of Japan
The title of Emperor was borrowed from China, being derived from Chinese characters and was retroactively applied to the legendary Japanese rulers who reigned prior to the 7th–8th centuries AD.[8]
According to the traditional account of the Nihon Shoki, Japan was founded by Emperor Jimmu in 660 BC. Modern historians agree that the Emperors prior to the possible late 3rd century AD ruler known traditionally as Emperor Ōjin are legendary. Emperor Ankō of the 5th century AD, traditionally the 20th emperor, is the earliest generally agreed upon historical ruler of all or a part of Japan.[9] The reign of Emperor Kinmei (c. 509 – 571 AD), the 29th emperor, is the first for which contemporary historiography is able to assign verifiable dates;[10][11] however, the conventionally accepted names and dates of the early emperors were not to be confirmed as "traditional" until the reign of Emperor Kanmu (737–806), the 50th sovereign of the Yamato dynasty.[12]
Archaeological information about the earliest historical rulers of Japan may lie within the ancient tombs known as kofun, built in the 4th-5th centuries AD. However, since the Meiji period, the Imperial Household Agency has refused to open the kofun to the public nor to archaeologists, citing their desire not to disturb the spirits of the past Emperors. In December 2006, the Imperial Household Agency reversed its position and decided to allow researchers to enter some of the kofun with no restrictions.
Factional control[edit]
There have been six non-imperial families who have controlled Japanese emperors: the Soga (530s–645), the Fujiwara (850s–1070), the Taira (1159-1180s), the Minamoto (and Kamakura bakufu) (1192–1333), the Ashikaga (1336–1565), and the Tokugawa (1603–1867). However, every shogun from the Minamoto, Ashikaga, and Tokugawa families had to be officially recognized by the Emperors, who were still the source of sovereignty, although they could not exercise their powers independently from the Shogunate.
Disputes[edit]
The growth of the samurai class from the 10th century gradually weakened the power of the imperial family over the realm, leading to a time of instability. Emperors have been known to come into conflict with the reigning shogun from time to time. Some instances, such as Emperor Go-Toba's 1221 rebellion against the Kamakura shogunate and the 1336 Kenmu Restoration under Emperor Go-Daigo, show the power struggle between the imperial court and the military governments of Japan.
Territorial matters[edit]
Until recent centuries, Japan's territory did not include several remote regions of its modern-day territory. The name "Nippon" came into use only many centuries after the start of the current imperial line. Centralized government only began to appear shortly before and during the time of Prince Shōtoku (572–622). The Emperor was more like a revered embodiment of divine harmony than the head of an actual governing administration. In Japan, it has always been easy for ambitious lords to hold actual power, as such positions have not been inherently contradictory to the Emperor's position. The parliamentary government today continues a similar coexistence with the Emperor as have various shoguns, regents, warlords, guardians, etc.
Historically the titles of Tennō in Japanese have never included territorial designations as is the case with many European monarchs. The position of Emperor is a territory-independent phenomenon—the Emperor is the Emperor, even if he has followers only in one province (as was the case sometimes with the southern and northern courts).
Shoguns[edit]
From 1192 to 1867, sovereignty of the state was exercised by the shoguns, or their shikken regents (1203–1333), whose authority was conferred by Imperial warrant. When Portuguese explorers first came into contact with the Japanese (see Nanban period), they described Japanese conditions in analogy, likening the Emperor with great symbolic authority but little political power, to the Pope, and the Shogun to secular European rulers (e.g., the Holy Roman Emperor). In keeping with the analogy, they even used the term "Emperor" in reference to the shogun and their regent, e.g. in the case of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, whom missionaries called "Emperor Taico-sama" (from Taikō and the honorific sama).
Meiji restoration[edit]
Main article: Meiji Restoration
After the United States Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry's Black Ships forcibly opened Japan to foreign trade, and the shogunate proved incapable of hindering the "barbarian" interlopers, the Emperor Kōmei began to assert himself politically. By the early 1860s, the relationship between the imperial court and the Shogunate was changing radically. Disaffected domains and rōnin began to rally to the call of sonnō jōi ("revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians"). The domains of Satsuma and Chōshū, historic enemies of the Tokugawa, used this turmoil to unite their forces and won an important military victory outside of Kyoto against Tokugawa forces.
In 1868, imperial "restoration" was declared, and the Shogunate was dissolved. A new constitution described the Emperor as "the head of the Empire, combining in Himself the rights of sovereignty", whose rights included to sanction and promulgate laws, to execute them and to exercise "supreme command of the Army and the Navy". The liaison conference created in 1893 also made the Emperor the leader of the Imperial General Headquarters.
World War II[edit]
The role of the Emperor as head of the State Shinto religion was exploited during the war, creating an Imperial cult that led to kamikaze bombers and other fanaticism. This in turn led to the requirement in the Potsdam Declaration for the elimination "for all time [of] the authority and influence of those who have deceived and misled the people of Japan into embarking on world conquest". In State Shinto, the Emperor was believed to be a Arahitogami (a living god). Following Japan's surrender, the Allies issued the Shinto Directive separating church and state within Japan.
Current constitution[edit]
The constitution provides for a parliamentary system of government and guarantees certain fundamental rights. Under its terms, the Emperor of Japan is "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people" and exercises a purely ceremonial role without the possession of sovereignty.
The constitution, also known as the "Constitution of Japan" (日本国憲法, Nihonkoku-Kenpō, formerly written 日本國憲法 (same pronunciation)), "Postwar Constitution" (戦後憲法, Sengo-Kenpō) or the "Peace Constitution" (平和憲法, Heiwa-Kenpō), was drawn up under the Allied occupation that followed World War II and was intended to replace Japan's previous militaristic and quasi-absolute monarchy system with a form of liberal democracy. Currently, it is a rigid document and no subsequent amendment has been made to it since its adoption.
Relation to Shinto[edit]
In Japanese mythology, according to Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, the Emperor and his family are said to be direct descendants of the sun-goddess Amaterasu. During World War II, the role of the Emperor as head of the Shinto religion was exploited, which resulted in the creation of State Shinto and an Imperial cult. Following the end of the Second World War, the Allies issued the Shinto Directive which abolished the state support for the Shinto religion, leading to the Humanity Declaration of the incumbent Emperor which refuted the idea that the Emperor is a living divine being, and dismissed the importance of "myths and legends" for the Emperor's status. However, the Emperors have continued to perform many traditional ceremonies privately.[13][14][15]
Education[edit]
The Emperors traditionally had an education officer. In recent times, Emperor Taishō had Count Nogi Maresuke, Emperor Shōwa had Marshal-Admiral Marquis Tōgō Heihachirō, and Emperor Akihito had Elizabeth Gray Vining as well as Shinzō Koizumi as their tutors.
Addressing and naming[edit]
There are two Japanese words equivalent to the English word "Emperor": tennō (天皇, lit. "heavenly sovereign"), which is used exclusively to refer to the Emperor of Japan, and kōtei (皇帝, the title used for all other foreign Emperors), which is used primarily to describe non-Japanese Emperors. Sumeramikoto (lit. "the Imperial person") was also used in Old Japanese. The term tennō was used by the Emperors up until the Middle Ages; then, following a period of disuse, it was used again from the 19th century.[16] In English, the term mikado (御門 or 帝 or みかど), literally meaning "the honorable gate" (i.e. the gate of the imperial palace, which indicates the person who lives in and possesses the palace), was once used (as in The Mikado, a 19th-century operetta), but this term is now obsolete.[1] (Compare Sublime Porte, an old term for the Ottoman government.)
Traditionally, the Japanese considered it disrespectful to call any person by his given name, and more so for a person of noble rank. This convention is only slightly relaxed in the modern age and it is still inadvisable among friends to use the given name, use of the family name being the common form of address. In the case of the imperial family, it is considered extremely inappropriate to use the given name. Since Emperor Meiji, it has been customary to have one era per Emperor and to rename each Emperor after his death using the name of the era over which he presided. Prior to Emperor Meiji, the names of the eras were changed more frequently, and the posthumous names of the Emperors were chosen in a different manner.
Play media
The Emperor of Japan giving a New Year's address to the people in 2010
Outside Japan, beginning with Emperor Shōwa, the Emperors are often referred to by their given names, both whilst alive and posthumously. For example, the previous Emperor is usually called Hirohito in English, although he was never referred to as Hirohito in Japan, and was renamed Shōwa Tennō after his death, which is the only name that Japanese speakers currently use when referring to him.
The current Emperor on the throne is typically referred to by the title Tennō Heika (天皇陛下, "His (Imperial) Majesty the Emperor"), Kinjō Heika (今上陛下, "His Current Majesty") or simply Tennō, when speaking Japanese. The current Emperor will be renamed Daijō Tennō (太上天皇, Retired Emperor), often shortened to Jōkō (上皇), upon his planned retirement on 30 April 2019, and renamed Heisei Tennō (平成天皇) after his death and will then be referred to exclusively by that name in Japanese. Non-Japanese speakers will continue to reference him as Emperor Akihito. In Japanese culture, it is considered a major faux pas to refer to a living Emperor by his posthumous name, although the posthumous name is the same as the era, which is used in official documents.
Origin of the title[edit]
Originally, the ruler of Japan was known as either 大和大王/大君 (Yamato-ōkimi, Grand King of Yamato), 倭王/倭国王 (Wa-ō/Wakoku-ō, King of Wa, used externally) or 治天下大王 (Ame-no-shita shiroshimesu ōkimi or Sumera no mikoto, Grand King who rules all under heaven, used internally) in Japanese and Chinese sources prior to the 7th century. The oldest documented use of the word "Tennō" is on a wooden slat, or mokkan, that was unearthed in Asuka-mura, Nara Prefecture in 1998 and dated back to the reign of Emperor Tenmu and Empress Jitō.[clarification needed]
Marriage traditions[edit]
The current empress, Michiko
Throughout history, Japanese Emperors and noblemen appointed the position of chief wife, rather than just keeping a harem or an assortment of female attendants.
The Japanese imperial dynasty consistently practiced official polygamy, a practice that only ended in the Taishō period (1912–1926). Besides the Empress, the Emperor could take, and nearly always took, several secondary consorts ("concubines") of various hierarchical degrees. Concubines were allowed also to other dynasts (Shinnōke, Ōke). After a decree by Emperor Ichijō, some Emperors even had two empresses simultaneously (kōgō and chūgū are the two separate titles for that situation). With the help of all this polygamy, the imperial clan thus was capable of producing more offspring. (Sons by secondary consorts were usually recognized as imperial princes, too, and could be recognized as heir to the throne if the empress did not give birth to an heir.)
Of the eight female Tennō (reigning empresses) of Japan, none married or gave birth after ascending the throne. Some of them, being widows, had produced children prior to their reigns.
In the succession, children of the empress were preferred over sons of secondary consorts. Thus it was significant which quarters had preferential opportunities in providing chief wives to imperial princes, i.e. supplying future empresses.
Apparently, the oldest tradition of official marriages within the imperial dynasty were marriages between dynasty members, even half-siblings or uncle and niece. Such marriages were deemed to preserve better the imperial blood or were aimed at producing children symbolic of a reconciliation between two branches of the imperial dynasty. Daughters of others remained concubines, until Emperor Shōmu (701-706) — in what was specifically reported as the first elevation of its kind — elevated his Fujiwara consort Empress Kōmyō to chief wife.
Japanese monarchs have been, as much as others elsewhere, dependent on making alliances with powerful chiefs and other monarchs. Many such alliances were sealed by marriages. The specific feature in Japan has been the fact that these marriages have been soon incorporated as elements of tradition which controlled the marriages of later generations, though the original practical alliance had lost its real meaning. A repeated pattern has been an imperial son-in-law under the influence of his powerful non-imperial father-in-law.
Beginning from the 7th and 8th centuries, Emperors primarily took women of the Fujiwara clan as their highest wives — the most probable mothers of future monarchs. This was cloaked as a tradition of marriage between heirs of two kami (Shinto deities): descendants of Amaterasu with descendants of the family kami of the Fujiwara. (Originally, the Fujiwara were descended from relatively minor nobility, thus their kami is an unremarkable one in the Japanese myth world.) To produce imperial children, heirs of the nation, with two-side descent from the two kami, was regarded as desirable — or at least it suited powerful Fujiwara lords, who thus received preference in the imperial marriage market. The reality behind such marriages was an alliance between an imperial prince and a Fujiwara lord, his father-in-law or grandfather, the latter with his resources supporting the prince to the throne and most often controlling the government. These arrangements created the tradition of regents (Sesshō and Kampaku), with these positions held only by a Fujiwara sekke lord.
Earlier, the Emperors had married women from families of the government-holding Soga lords, and women of the imperial clan itself, i.e. various-degree cousins and often even their own sisters (half-sisters). Several imperials of the 5th and 6th centuries such as Prince Shōtoku were children of half-sibling couples. These marriages often were alliance or succession devices: the Soga lord ensured his domination of a prince who would be put on the throne as a puppet; or a prince ensured the combination of two imperial descents, to strengthen his own and his children's claim to the throne. Marriages were also a means to seal a reconciliation between two imperial branches.
After a couple of centuries, Emperors could no longer take anyone from outside such families as primary wife, no matter what the expediency of such a marriage and power or wealth brought by such might have been. Only very rarely did a prince ascend the throne whose mother was not descended from the approved families. The earlier necessity and expediency had mutated into a strict tradition that did not allow for current expediency or necessity, but only dictated that daughters of a restricted circle of families were eligible brides, because they had produced eligible brides for centuries. Tradition had become more forceful than law.
Fujiwara women were often Empresses, and concubines came from less exalted noble families. In the last thousand years, sons of an imperial male and a Fujiwara woman have been preferred in the succession.
The five Fujiwara families, Ichijō, Kujō, Nijō, Konoe, and Takatsukasa, were the primary source of imperial brides from the 8th century to the 19th century, even more often than daughters of the imperial clan itself. Fujiwara daughters were thus the usual empresses and mothers of Emperors.
This restriction on brides for the Emperor and crown prince was made explicit in the Meiji-era Imperial House Law of 1889. A clause stipulated that daughters of Sekke (the five main branches of the higher Fujiwara) and daughters of the imperial clan itself were primarily acceptable brides.
The law was repealed in the aftermath of World War II. The present Emperor, Akihito, became the first crown prince for over a thousand years to marry a consort from outside the previously eligible circle.
Burial traditions[edit]
Entrance of the Musashi Imperial Graveyard in Hachiōji, Tokyo
During the Kofun period, so-called "archaic funerals" were held for the dead Emperors, but only the funerary rites from the end of the period, which the chronicles describe in more detail, are known. They were centered around the rite of the mogari (殯), a provisional depository between death and permanent burial.[17]
Empress Jitō was the first Japanese imperial personage to be cremated (in 703). After that, with a few exceptions, all Emperors were cremated up to the Edo period.[17] For the next 350 years, in-ground burial became the favoured funeral custom. In 2013, the Imperial Household Agency announced that Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko would be cremated after they die.[18]
Until 1912, the Emperors of Japan were usually buried in Kyoto.[19] From the Taishō Emperor onward, the Emperors have been buried at the Musashi Imperial Graveyard in Tokyo.
Succession[edit]
Tokyo Imperial Palace
The Japanese imperial dynasty bases its position in the expression that it has "reigned since time immemorial" (万世一系 bansei ikkei). It is true that its origins are buried in the mists of time: there are no records of any Emperor who was not said to have been a descendant of other, yet earlier Emperors. There is suspicion that Emperor Keitai (c. 500 AD) may have been an unrelated outsider, though the sources state that he was a male-line descendant of Emperor Ōjin.[citation needed] However, his descendants, including his successors, were according to records descended from at least one and probably several imperial princesses of the older lineage. The tradition built by those legends has chosen to recognize just the putative male ancestry as valid for legitimizing his succession, not giving any weight to ties through the said princesses.[citation needed]
Millennia ago, the Japanese imperial family developed its own peculiar system of hereditary succession. It has been non-primogenitural, more or less agnatic, based mostly on rotation. Today, Japan uses strict agnatic primogeniture, which was adopted from Prussia, by which Japan was greatly influenced in the 1870s.
The controlling principles and their interaction were apparently very complex and sophisticated, leading to even idiosyncratic outcomes. Some chief principles apparent in the succession have been:
Women were allowed to succeed (but there existed no known children of theirs whose father did not also happen to be an agnate of the imperial house, thus there is neither a precedent that a child of an imperial woman with a non-imperial man could inherit, nor a precedent forbidding it for children of empresses). However, female accession was clearly much more rare than male.
Adoption was possible and a much used way to increase the number of succession-entitled heirs (however, the adopted child had to be a child of another member agnate of the imperial house).
Abdication was used very often, and in fact occurred more often than death on the throne. In those days, the Emperor's chief task was priestly (or godly), containing so many repetitive rituals that it was deemed that after a service of around ten years, the incumbent deserved pampered retirement as an honored former Emperor.
Primogeniture was not used — rather, in the early days, the imperial house practiced something resembling a system of rotation. Very often a brother (or sister) followed the elder sibling even in the case of the predecessor leaving children. The "turn" of the next generation came more often after several individuals of the senior generation. Rotation went often between two or more of the branches of the imperial house, thus more or less distant cousins succeeded each other. Emperor Go-Saga even decreed an official alternation between heirs of his two sons, which system continued for a couple of centuries (leading finally to shogun-induced (or utilized) strife between these two branches, the "southern" and "northern" Emperors). Towards the end, the alternates were very distant cousins counted in degrees of male descent (but all that time, intermarriages occurred within the imperial house, thus they were close cousins if female ties are counted). During the past five hundred years, however, probably due to Confucian influence, inheritance by sons — but not always, or even most often, the eldest son has been the norm.
Historically, the succession to the Chrysanthemum Throne has always passed to descendants in male line from the imperial lineage. Generally, they have been males, though of the over one hundred monarchs there have been nine women (one pre-historical and eight historical) as Emperor on eleven occasions.
Over a thousand years ago, a tradition started that an Emperor should ascend relatively young. A dynast who had passed his toddler years was regarded suitable and old enough. Reaching the age of legal majority was not a requirement. Thus, a multitude of Japanese Emperors have ascended as children, as young as 6 or 8 years old. The high-priestly duties were deemed possible for a walking child. A reign of around ten years was regarded a sufficient service. Being a child was apparently a fine property, to better endure tedious duties and to tolerate subjugation to political power-brokers, as well as sometimes to cloak the truly powerful members of the imperial dynasty. Almost all Japanese empresses and dozens of Emperors abdicated, and lived the rest of their lives in pampered retirement, wielding influence behind the scenes. Several Emperors abdicated to their entitled retirement while still in their teens. These traditions show in Japanese folklore, theater, literature, and other forms of culture, where the Emperor is usually described or depicted as an adolescent.
Before the Meiji Restoration, Japan had eleven reigns of reigning empresses, all of them daughters of the male line of the Imperial House. None ascended purely as a wife or as a widow of an Emperor. Imperial daughters and granddaughters, however, usually ascended the throne as a sort of a "stop gap" measure — if a suitable male was not available or some imperial branches were in rivalry so that a compromise was needed. Over half of Japanese empresses and many Emperors abdicated once a suitable male descendant was considered to be old enough to rule (just past toddlerhood, in some cases). Four empresses, Empress Suiko, Empress Kōgyoku (also Empress Saimei), and Empress Jitō, as well as the mythical Empress Jingū, were widows of deceased Emperors and princesses of the blood imperial in their own right. One, Empress Genmei, was the widow of a crown prince and a princess of the blood imperial. The other four, Empress Genshō, Empress Kōken (also Empress Shōtoku), Empress Meishō, and Empress Go-Sakuramachi, were unwed daughters of previous Emperors. None of these empresses married or gave birth after ascending the throne.
Article 2 of the Meiji Constitution (the Constitution of the Empire of Japan) stated, "The Imperial Throne shall be succeeded to by imperial male descendants, according to the provisions of the Imperial House Law." The 1889 Imperial Household Law fixed the succession on male descendants of the imperial line, and specifically excluded female descendants from the succession. In the event of a complete failure of the main line, the throne would pass to the nearest collateral branch, again in the male line. If the Empress did not give birth to an heir, the Emperor could take a concubine, and the son he had by that concubine would be recognized as heir to the throne. This law, which was promulgated on the same day as the Meiji Constitution, enjoyed co-equal status with that constitution.
Article 2 of the Constitution of Japan, promulgated in 1947 by influence of the U.S. occupation administration, provides that "The Imperial Throne shall be dynastic and succeeded to in accordance with the Imperial Household Law passed by the Diet." The Imperial Household Law of 1947, enacted by the ninety-second and last session of the Imperial Diet, retained the exclusion on female dynasts found in the 1889 law. The government of Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru hastily cobbled together the legislation to bring the Imperial Household in compliance with the American-written Constitution of Japan that went into effect in May 1947. In an effort to control the size of the imperial family, the law stipulates that only legitimate male descendants in the male line can be dynasts; that imperial princesses lose their status as Imperial Family members if they marry outside the Imperial Family;[20] and that the Emperor and other members of the Imperial Family may not adopt children. It also prevented branches, other than the branch descending from Taishō, from being imperial princes any longer.
Current status[edit]
Main article: Line of succession to the Japanese throne
Succession is now regulated by laws passed by the National Diet. The current law excludes women from the succession. A change to this law had been considered until Princess Kiko gave birth to a son.
Until the birth of Prince Hisahito, son of Prince Akishino, on September 6, 2006, there was a potential succession problem, since Prince Akishino was the only male child to be born into the imperial family since 1965. Following the birth of Princess Aiko, there was public debate about amending the current Imperial Household Law to allow women to succeed to the throne. In January 2005, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi appointed a special panel composed of judges, university professors, and civil servants to study changes to the Imperial Household Law and to make recommendations to the government.
The panel dealing with the succession issue recommended on October 25, 2005 amending the law to allow females of the male line of imperial descent to ascend the Japanese throne. On January 20, 2006, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi devoted part of his annual keynote speech to the controversy, pledging to submit a bill allowing women to ascend the throne to ensure that the succession continues in the future in a stable manner. Shortly after the announcement that Princess Kiko was pregnant with her third child, Koizumi suspended such plans. Her son, Prince Hisahito, is the third in line to the throne under the current law of succession. On January 3, 2007, Prime Minister Shinzō Abe announced that he would drop the proposal to alter the Imperial Household Law.[21]
See also[edit]
Japan portal
Monarchy portal
Reigning Emperor
Daijō Tennō (Retired Emperor of Japan)
List of Emperors of Japan
Japanese imperial family tree
Sacred king
Chrysanthemum taboo
Japanese official state car
Japanese Air Force One
Japanese honors system
State Shinto
Divine right of kings
References[edit]
Citations[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b Kanʼichi Asakawa. The early institutional life of Japan: a study in the reform of 645 A.D.. Tokyo: Shueisha (1903), p. 25. "We purposely avoid, in spite of its wide usage in foreign literature, the misleading term Mikado. If it be not for the natural curiosity of the races, which always seeks something novel and loves to call foreign things by foreign names, it is hard to understand why this obsolete and ambiguous word should so sedulously be retained. It originally meant not only the Sovereign, but also his house, the court, and even the State, and its use in historical writings causes many difficulties which it is unnecessary to discuss here in detail. The native Japanese employ the term neither in speech nor in writing. It might as well be dismissed with great advantage from sober literature as it has been for the official documents."
Jump up ^ "Japan desperate for male heir to oldest monarchy". London: independent.co.uk. March 1, 1996. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
Jump up ^ Kinsley, David (1989). The goddesses' mirror : visions of the divine from East and West. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 80–90. ISBN 9780887068355.
Jump up ^ "Amaterasu". Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
Jump up ^ Enjoji, Kaori (December 1, 2017). "Japan Emperor Akihito to abdicate on April 30, 2019". CNN. Toyko. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
Jump up ^ The formal investiture of the Prime Minister in 2010, the opening of the ordinary session of the Diet in January 2012 and the opening of an extra session of the Diet in the autumn of 2011. The 120th anniversary of the Diet was commemorarated with a special ceremony in the House of Councillors in November 2010, when also the Empress and the Prince and Princess Akishino were present.
Jump up ^ Boscaro, Adriana; Gatti, Franco; Raveri, Massimo, eds. (2003). Rethinking Japan: Social Sciences, Ideology and Thought. II. Japan Library Limited. p. 300. ISBN 0-904404-79-X.
Jump up ^ Charles Holcombe (January 2001). The Genesis of East Asia: 221 B.C. – A.D. 907. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 198–. ISBN 978-0-8248-2465-5.
Jump up ^ Kelly, Charles F. "Kofun Culture", Japanese Archaeology. 27 April 2009.
Jump up ^ Titsingh, pp. 34–36; Brown, pp. 261–262; Varley, pp. 123–124.
Jump up ^ Hoye, Timothy. (1999). Japanese Politics: Fixed and Floating Worlds, p. 78; excerpt, "According to legend, the first Japanese emperor was Jinmu. Along with the next 13 emperors, Jinmu is not considered an actual, historical figure. Historically verifiable Emperors of Japan date from the early sixth century with Kinmei.
Jump up ^ Aston, William. (1896). Nihongi, pp. 109.
Jump up ^ 役員、総代としての基礎知識 全国神社総代会編集発行「改訂神社役員、総代必携」(in Japanese)
Jump up ^ "The Ritual Ceremonies of the Imperial Palace - The Imperial Household Agency". www.kunaicho.go.jp. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
Jump up ^ "List of main ritual ceremonies of the Imperial Palace - The Imperial Household Agency". www.kunaicho.go.jp. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
Jump up ^ Screech, (2006). Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822, p. 232 n4.
^ Jump up to: a b François Macé. "The Funerals of the Japanese Emperors".
Jump up ^ "Emperor, Empress plan to be cremated". The Japan Times. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
Jump up ^ Seidensticker, Edward. (1990). Tokyo Rising, p. 20.
Jump up ^ Martin, Alex, "Imperial law revisited as family shrinks, Emperor ages", Japan Times, December 16, 2011, p. 3.
Jump up ^ "Report: Japan to drop plan to allow female monarch". USA Today. McLean, VA: Gannett. The Associated Press. January 3, 2007. ISSN 0734-7456. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
Sources[edit]
Asakawa, Kan'ichi (1903). The Early Institutional Life of Japan. Tokyo: Shueisha. OCLC 4427686; see online, multi-formatted, full-text book at openlibrary.org
Screech, Timon (2006). Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822. London: RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 0-7007-1720-X; ISBN 978-0-7007-1720-0.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "article name needed". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Emperors of Japan.
Wikisource has the text of the 1920 Encyclopedia Americana article Mikado.
The Imperial Household Agency
List of the Emperors, accompanied with the regents and shoguns during their reign and a genealogical tree of the imperial family
The Emperor of Japan, explanation of the title of Emperor in the context of western terminology
Japan opens imperial tombs for research
Emperor of Japan's New Year Address 2017 (YouTube)
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Fairytale of New York
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This article is about the song. For the novel by J. P. Donleavy, see A Fairy Tale of New York.
"Fairytale of New York"
Single by The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl
from the album If I Should Fall from Grace with God
Released
23 November 1987
Format
7" and 12" vinyl, cassette, CD single
Recorded
August 1987 at Rak Studios, London, England
Genre
Celtic rock, Celtic punk, Christmas music
Length
4:33
Label
Pogue Mahone
Songwriter(s)
Jem Finer, Shane MacGowan
Producer(s)
Steve Lillywhite
The Pogues singles chronology
"The Irish Rover"
(1987) "Fairytale of New York"
(1987) "If I Should Fall from Grace with God"
(1988)
"The Irish Rover"
(1987) "Fairytale of New York"
(1987) "If I Should Fall from Grace with God"
(1988)
"Fairytale of New York" is a song written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan and first released as a single on 23 November 1987[1] by their band The Pogues, featuring singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl on vocals. The song was written as a duet, with the Pogues' singer MacGowan taking the role of the male character and MacColl the female character. It is an Irish folk-style ballad, and featured on The Pogues' 1988 album If I Should Fall from Grace with God.
Originally begun in 1985, the song had a troubled two-year development history, undergoing rewrites and aborted attempts at recording, and losing its original female vocalist along the way, before finally being completed in summer 1987. Although the single never reached the coveted UK Christmas number one, being kept at number two on its original release in 1987 by the Pet Shop Boys' cover version of "Always on My Mind", it has proved enduringly popular with both music critics and the public: to date the song has reached the UK Top 20 on fourteen separate occasions since its original release in 1987, including every year since 2005, and was certified double platinum in the UK in 2016.[2] As of September 2017 the song has sold 1,217,112 copies in the UK, with an additional 249,626 streaming equivalent sales, for a total of 1,466,737 combined sales.[3] In the UK it is the most-played Christmas song of the 21st century.[4] "Fairytale of New York" has been cited as the best Christmas song of all time in various television, radio and magazine related polls in the UK and Ireland.[5]
Contents
[hide]
1 Background and song development
2 Recording
3 Composition
4 Music video
5 Lyrical controversy
6 Releases and promotion
7 Legacy
8 Track listings
8.1 1987 original release
8.2 1991 reissue
8.3 2005 reissue
8.4 2012 reissue
9 Charts
9.1 Weekly charts
9.2 Year end charts
10 See also
11 References
12 External links
Background and song development[edit]
Although there is agreement among the band that "Fairytale of New York" was first written in 1985, the origins of the song are disputed: MacGowan insisted that it arose as a result of a wager made by The Pogues' producer at the time, Elvis Costello, that the band would not be able to write a Christmas hit single; The Pogues' manager Frank Murray has stated that it was originally his idea that the band should try and write a Christmas song as he thought it would be "interesting".[6][7] It was banjo player Finer who came up with the melody and the original concept for the song, which involved a sailor looking out over the ocean.[7] Finer's wife Marcia did not like the original story, and suggested new lyrics regarding a conversation between a couple at Christmas. Finer told NME, "I had written two songs complete with tunes, one had a good tune and crap lyrics, the other had the idea for 'Fairytale' but the tune was poxy, I gave them both to Shane and he gave it a Broadway melody, and there it was".[8]
The song's title, the musical structure and its lyrical theme of a couple's conversation were in place by the end of 1985, and were described by MacGowan in an interview with Melody Maker in its 1985 Christmas issue:
"I sat down, opened the sherry, got the peanuts out and pretended it was Christmas. It's even called 'A Fairy Tale of New York', it's quite sloppy, more like 'A Pair of Brown Eyes' than 'Sally MacLennane', but there's also a céilidh bit in the middle which you can definitely dance to. Like a country and Irish ballad, but one you can do a brisk waltz to, especially when you've got about three of these [drinks] inside you... But the song itself is quite depressing in the end, it's about these old Irish-American Broadway stars who are sitting round at Christmas talking about whether things are going okay."[9]
MacGowan had decided to name the song after J. P. Donleavy's 1973 novel A Fairy Tale of New York, which Finer was reading at the time and had left lying around the recording studio.[7][10] In the same Melody Maker interview MacGowan expressed regret that the song had not been completed in time to be released for Christmas that year, and hinted that the track would appear on an EP that The Pogues were due to record shortly. In January 1986 the group recorded the song during the sessions with Costello that would produce the Poguetry in Motion EP, with bass player Cait O'Riordan singing the female part.[11] Costello suggested naming the song "Christmas Eve in the Drunk Tank", after the song's opening lines: the band were scornful of the suggestion, with MacGowan pointing out to Costello that a song with such a title was unlikely to be favourably received and played by radio stations.[6] The majority of the lyrics had been written while MacGowan was recovering in a bed in Malmö after being struck down with double pneumonia during a Pogues tour of Scandinavia in late 1985 – he later said, "you get a lot of delirium and stuff, so I got quite a few good images out of that".[6] However, despite several attempts at recording it, the group were unhappy with the results and the song was temporarily put aside, to be returned to at a later date. Guitarist Philip Chevron later said, "It was not quite there. It needed to have a full-on, confident performance from the band, which it lacked." The producer of the final version, Steve Lillywhite, diplomatically described the version recorded with O'Riordan's vocals as not "fully realised".[7] Extracts from these earlier versions can be heard on the 2008 box set Just Look Them Straight in the Eye and Say... POGUEMAHONE!!.
In March 1986 The Pogues toured the US for the first time. The opening date of the tour was in New York City, a place which had long fascinated MacGowan and which inspired him to write new lyrics for the song.[7] Among the members of the city's Irish-American community who saw the show and visited the band backstage after the concert were film-maker Peter Dougherty and actor Matt Dillon: both would later become friends with The Pogues and play important roles in the video for "Fairytale of New York". Another inspiration was Sergio Leone's film Once Upon a Time in America, which MacGowan and whistle player Spider Stacy would watch over and over again in the tour bus. Apart from shaping the ideas for the lyrics, MacGowan wrote a slow, piano-based introduction to "Fairytale of New York" influenced by the film's score by Ennio Morricone: the intro would later be edited together with the more upbeat original melody to create the final song.[6]
As 1986 went on, however, The Pogues encountered various problems that brought a halt to their recording activity. Their record label Stiff ran into financial difficulties and went into administration, although as the label still owned the rights to The Pogues' recordings this meant that a distribution deal had to be negotiated in order to release any new Pogues material. The group's deteriorating relationship with Costello saw them part ways with their producer, and after increasingly erratic behaviour Cait O'Riordan, who had become romantically involved with Costello, left the band in October 1986. The departure of O'Riordan meant the song had now lost its intended female singer.
Recording[edit]
With the problems at Stiff resolved, The Pogues were finally able to enter a recording studio again in early 1987 to start work on their third album, now with Steve Lillywhite producing. A new demo of "Fairytale of New York" was recorded at London's Abbey Road Studios in March 1987, with MacGowan singing both the male and female roles. However, it was not until the third set of recording sessions in August 1987 in nearby RAK Studios that it was suggested that Lillywhite take the track back to his home studio and let his wife Kirsty MacColl lay down a new guide vocal for the song. Having worked on her vocals meticulously, Lillywhite brought the recording back to the studio where the Pogues were impressed with MacColl's singing and realised she would be the ideal voice for the female character in the song.[6][12] MacGowan later said, "Kirsty knew exactly the right measure of viciousness and femininity and romance to put into it and she had a very strong character and it came across in a big way... In operas, if you have a double aria, it's what the woman does that really matters. The man lies, the woman tells the truth."[13] MacGowan re-recorded his vocals alongside the tape of MacColl's contribution (the duo never recorded the song together in the studio) and the song was duly completed with the addition of a harp played by Siobhan Sheahan and a horns and string section. The French horns and strings were recorded at Townhouse Studios on the last day of recording If I Should Fall from Grace with God, arranged by Fiachra Trench after Fearnley had mocked up an arrangement on a keyboard.[14]
Composition[edit]
The song follows an Irish immigrant's Christmas Eve reverie about holidays past while sleeping off a binge in a New York City drunk tank. When an inebriated old man also in the cell sings a passage from the Irish ballad "The Rare Old Mountain Dew", the narrator (MacGowan) begins to dream about the song's female character. The remainder of the song (which may be an internal monologue) takes the form of a call and response between the couple, their youthful hopes crushed by alcoholism and drug addiction, as they reminisce and bicker on Christmas Eve.[10]
MacColl's melodious singing contrasts with the harshness of MacGowan's voice, and the lyrics are sometimes bittersweet—sometimes purely bitter: "Happy Christmas your arse/I pray God it's our last". The lyrics "Sinatra was swinging" and "cars as big as bars" seem to place the song in the late 1940s,[10] although the music video clearly depicts what was then present-day 1980s New York.
Music video[edit]
The video for the song was directed by Peter Dougherty and filmed in New York during a bitterly cold Thanksgiving week in November 1987.[7] The video opens with MacGowan sitting at a piano as if playing the song's opening refrain: however, as MacGowan could not play the instrument, the close-up shot of "his" hands actually features the hands of the band's pianist James Fearnley wearing MacGowan's rings on his fingers. Fearnley found the experience "humiliating" but conceded that it did look better in the video to show MacGowan seated at the piano.[10]
Part of the video was filmed inside a real police station on the Lower East Side. Matt Dillon plays a police officer who "arrests" MacGowan and takes him to the cells.[10] Dillon recalled that he had been afraid to handle his friend roughly, and had to be ordered by Dougherty and MacGowan to use force. MacGowan and the rest of the band were drinking throughout the shoot, and the police became concerned about their increasingly rowdy behaviour in the cells. Dillon, who was sober, had to intervene and reassure the police that there would be no problems.[6]
The chorus of the song includes the line "The boys of the NYPD choir still singing 'Galway Bay'". In reality the NYPD (New York City Police Department) does not have a choir, the closest thing being the Pipes and Drums of the NYPD's Emerald Society that is featured in the video for the song. The NYPD Pipes and Drums did not know "Galway Bay" and so sang a song that all of them knew the words to – the "Mickey Mouse March", the theme tune for The Mickey Mouse Club television series.[6][15] The footage was then slowed down and shown in brief sections to disguise the fact the Pipes and Drums were singing a different song.[10] Murray recalled that the Pipes and Drums had been drinking on the coach that brought them to the video shoot, and by the time they arrived they were more drunk than the band, refusing to work unless they were supplied with more alcohol.[6]
Lyrical controversy[edit]
The song attracted attention from the start due to some of the language used in its second verse, where MacGowan's character refers to MacColl's character as "an old slut on junk" (heroin), and MacColl responds with a tirade that includes the words "faggot" and "arse".
When the song was performed on Top Of The Pops on its initial release, it was customary for acts to mime to the studio track. The BBC insisted that MacColl's singing of "arse" be replaced with the less offensive "ass", (although as she mimed the word, MacColl slapped the relevant part of her body). The subsequent pronunciation of "last" was also changed to rhyme.
Upon the song's 1991 release, MacColl changed the lyrics during a live performance on Top Of The Pops in January 1992 to, "You're cheap and you're haggard."
When Katie Melua performed the song with The Pogues on CD:UK in December 2005, ITV censored her singing the word "arse", yet left in "faggot" despite the word being generally deemed more offensive by this time.
Wikinews has related news: BBC Radio 1 reverses "faggot" ruling hours after initial ban
On 18 December 2007, shortly after increased media sensitivity of offensive-perceived content in the aftermath of the Russell Brand Show prank telephone calls row, BBC Radio 1 edited the words "faggot" and "slut" from the track to "avoid offence". MacColl's mother, Jean, called the ban "too ridiculous", while The Pogues said they found it "amusing" (despite MacColl herself having previously changed the lyrics to, "You're cheap and you're haggard" in live performances in the nineties when the term became more widely accepted as offensive). The BBC said, "We are playing an edited version because some members of the audience might find it offensive".[16] Later that evening Radio 1 backed down and said that after a day of criticism from listeners, the band, and MacColl's mother, they had reversed the decision.[17] The unedited version was then played later on that day. Other BBC radio stations, including the traditionally more conservative Radio 2, had continued to play the original version throughout this period, the ban having applied to Radio 1 only. The MTV channels in the UK also removed and scrambled the words "slut", "faggot" and "arse" from the song.
In his Christmas podcast, musical comedian Mitch Benn commented that "faggot" was Irish and Liverpudlian slang for a lazy person, and was unrelated to the derogatory term for homosexuals,[18] although "faggot" is used as an insult for gay men in Ireland.[19]
Releases and promotion[edit]
The song was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland in November 1987 and swiftly became a hit, spending five weeks at Number 1 in the Irish charts. On 17 December 1987, The Pogues and MacColl performed the song on the BBC's popular television show Top of the Pops, and it was propelled to number two on the official UK Top 75.
Although the song finished 1987 as the 48th best seller of the year despite only a single month's sales, it was denied the UK Christmas number one by the Pet Shop Boys' cover of "Always on My Mind". MacGowan is said to have commented on this in his typically forthright manner, "We were beaten by two queens and a drum machine".[20] MacColl later said that she did not feel they were really in competition with the Pet Shop Boys as they were doing a completely different kind of music.
The song was re-released by The Pogues in the UK in 1991 (reaching #36), and again in the UK and Ireland for Christmas 2005,[21] reaching number three in the UK. All proceeds from the latter release were donated towards a mixture of homeless charities and Justice for Kirsty, a campaign to find out the truth behind MacColl's death in 2000. Due to the eligibility of downloads to chart even without a physical release, coupled with a more recent further boost from streaming data, the song has re-entered the Top 75 every December since 2005. It has now made the Top 20 on fourteen separate occasions including thirteen times in successive years, and the Top 10 on five separate occasions including three times in successive years, feats that no other single can match. Its fifteen visits to the chart now total 80 weeks on the official UK Top 75 (as at w/e 14 December 2017), making it the 5th most charted song of all time. In late 2012 it was declared a UK million-seller.[22]
On 22 December 2005, The Pogues performed the song on a Friday Night with Jonathan Ross Christmas special on BBC One in the UK, with the female vocals taken by singer Katie Melua.[7]
Legacy[edit]
"When I first read 'Fairytale of New York' and heard it played I really wished I'd written it. I still do. It's a classic."
—Kirsty MacColl on the song's lasting legacy, May 1988[23]
Fairytale of New York was announced as Britain's "favourite Christmas song" in a 90-minute special on ITV on 22 December 2012, following a nationwide survey of ITV viewers, despite not being a Christmas song, merely set at Christmas. In the UK it is the most-played Christmas song of the 21st Century.[4] The song has featured in many UK-based surveys and polls:
Number 1 in the VH1 greatest Christmas song chart three years running, in 2004,[24] 2005,[25] and 2006
Number 11 in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Christmas Moments
Number 27 on VH1's Greatest Songs Never to Make Number One
Number 23 on VH1's greatest lyrics
Number 29 on 4Music's Noddy Holder's Big Christmas 50
Number 83 in Q Magazine's 100 Greatest Ever Songs*
Number 84 on BBC Radio 2's top 100 greatest songs of all time poll
Number 204 in NMEs 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
The Hits music channel rated "Fairytale of New York" number one in "The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song" countdown
In December 2008 The Music Factory UK did a poll which found that the song was the favourite Christmas song.[26]
Number 1 song of the 1980s by voters of The Radcliffe & Maconie show on BBC Radio 2 & BBC Four's Pop On Trial season in January 2008
The UK's second-favourite single to have missed the number 1 slot[27]
The "tragicomic tale of love gone sour and shattered dreams" was the subject of BBC Radio 4's Soul Music series on 22 December 2015, with a repeat on the same station on 26 December 2015 and then on the BBC iPlayer. Among those appearing in the programme were The Pogues' pianist James Fearnley — who tells how "the song started off as a transatlantic love story between an Irish seafarer missing his girl at Christmas before becoming the bittersweet reminiscences of the Irish immigrant down on his luck in the Big Apple" — and Irish Gaelic footballer Alisha Jordan, who was inspired by the song's words to recover and to not be overcome by facial injuries she received when a stranger attacked her in a New York City street.[28]
The song is the only Christmas song to ever appear on the main Now That's What I Call Music compilation series, appearing as the last track on Now 10.
Track listings[edit]
1987 original release[edit]
7" single
"Fairytale of New York" (Jem Finer, Shane MacGowan) – 4:33
"The Battle March Medley" (Terry Woods) – 4:07
12", cassette and CD single
"Fairytale of New York" (Finer, MacGowan) – 4:33
"The Battle March Medley" (Terry Woods) – 4:07
"Shanne Bradley" (MacGowan) – 3:38
Note: Shanne Bradley was one of MacGowan's bandmates in his previous group The Nips.
1991 reissue[edit]
7" and cassette single
"Fairytale of New York" (Finer, MacGowan) – 4:33
"Fiesta" (Finer, MacGowan) – 4:33
12" and CD single
"Fairytale of New York" (Finer, MacGowan) – 4:33
"A Pair of Brown Eyes" (Live) (MacGowan) – 3:40
"The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn" (Live) (MacGowan) – 3:16
"Maggie May" (Live) (Rod Stewart, Martin Quittenton) – 4:23
Live tracks recorded at Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow, 1987
2005 reissue[edit]
7" single
"Fairytale of New York" (Finer, MacGowan) – 4:33
"The Battle March Medley" (Woods) – 4:07
CD single
"Fairytale of New York" (Finer, MacGowan) – 4:33
"Fairytale of New York" (instrumental) (Finer, MacGowan) – 4:33
2012 reissue[edit]
7" single
"Fairytale of New York" (Finer, MacGowan) – 4:33
"Fairytale of New York" (instrumental) (Finer, MacGowan) – 4:33
Charts[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
Chart (1987)
Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[29] 1
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[30] 2
Chart (1988)
Peak
position
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[31] 5
Chart (1991)
Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[29] 10
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[30] 36
Chart (2005)
Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[29] 3
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[30] 3
Chart (2006)
Peak
position
Norway (VG-lista)[32] 18
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[30] 6
Chart (2007)
Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[29] 3
Norway (VG-lista)[32] 9
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[33] 24
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[30] 4
Chart (2008)
Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[29] 8
Norway (VG-lista)[32] 15
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[33] 38
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[30] 12
Chart (2009)
Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[29] 13
Norway (VG-lista)[32] 12
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[30] 12
Chart (2010)
Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[29] 11
Norway (VG-lista)[32] 15
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[33] 16
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[30] 17
Chart (2011)
Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[29] 7
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[31] 34
Norway (VG-lista)[32] 17
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[33] 28
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[30] 13
Chart (2012)
Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[29] 9
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[31] 37
Norway (VG-lista)[32] 13
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[33] 22
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[30] 12
Chart (2013)
Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[29] 8
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[31] 27
Slovenia (SloTop50)[34] 45
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[33] 20
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[30] 14
Chart (2014)
Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[29] 10
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[31] 31
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[33] 25
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[30] 11
Chart (2015)
Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[29] 6
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[33] 26
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[30] 13
Chart (2016)
Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[29] 6
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[35] 16
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[30] 15
Chart (2017)
Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[36] 2
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[37] 22
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[38] 14
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[39] 5
Year end charts[edit]
Chart (1987)
Position
UK Singles[40] 48
Chart (2005)
Position
UK Singles[41] 73
Chart (2006)
Position
UK Singles[42] 126
Chart (2007)
Position
UK Singles[43] 89
Chart (2008)
Position
UK Singles[44] 106
Chart (2009)
Position
UK Singles[45] 191
Chart (2010)
Position
UK Singles[46] 196
Chart (2011)
Position
UK Singles[47] 179
Chart (2012)
Position
UK Singles[48] 178
See also[edit]
List of songs about New York City
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "none". Melody Maker. London, England: IPC Media: 3. 21 November 1987.
Jump up ^ "BPI certified awards searchable database". Archived from the original on 17 September 2016.
Jump up ^ Copsey, Rob (19 September 2017). "The UK's Official Chart 'millionaires' revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b "Fairytale Of New York is true sound of Christmas". The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 September 2014
Jump up ^ "Pogues track wins Christmas poll". BBC News. 16 December 2004.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Mattingly, Nick (producer) (19 December 2005). "The Story of... Fairytale of New York". BBC Three. Missing or empty |series= (help)
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Gilbert, Pat (August 2008). "20 Greatest Duets". Q. London, England: Bauer Media Group (265): 106–09.
Jump up ^ Martin, Gavin (2 January 1988). "Once Upon a Time in the West". NME. London, England: IPC Media: 22–23 & 31.
Jump up ^ McIlhenney, Barry (21–28 December 1985). "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth". Melody Maker. London, England: IPC Media: 14–15.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Lynskey, Dorian (6 December 2012). "Fairytale of New York: the story behind The Pogues' classic Christmas anthem". The Guardian. London, England: Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
Jump up ^ Fearnley, James (2012). Here Comes Everybody: The Story of the Pogues. London, England: Faber and Faber. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-571-25397-5.
Jump up ^ Connor, Alan (21 December 2007). "Smashed Hits: Fairytale of a fairytale". BBC News. Archived from the original on 24 December 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
Jump up ^ Scanlon, Ann (September 2004). "Culture Soul Rebels". Mojo. London, England: EMAP (130): 76–82.
Jump up ^ Buskin, Richard (December 2008). "Classic Tracks: The Pogues – "Fairytale of New York"". Sound on Sound. Cambridge, England: SOS Publications: 66–73.
Jump up ^ "The anti-dote to schmaltzy Christmas videos". Irish Music Daily. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
Jump up ^ "Radio 1 censors Pogues' Fairytale". BBC News. 18 December 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
Jump up ^ "Radio 1 backs down in Pogues row". BBC News. 18 December 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
Jump up ^ "The Mitch Benn Christmas Podcast". Mitchbenn.com. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
Jump up ^ "Do you find the term ****** offensive". Boards.ie.
Jump up ^ Taylor, Jerome (19 December 2007). "BBC backs down on plan to censor 'Fairytale of New York'". The Independent. London, England: Independent Print Ltd. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
Jump up ^ Entertainment Wise, 1 November 2005. The Pogues Re-release 'Fairytale of New York'. Retrieved 17 November 2005.
Jump up ^ Willcock, David (31 December 2012). "Sales of the Pogues' 'Fairytale Of New York' reach 1 million 25 years after release". The Independent. London, England: Independent Print Ltd. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
Jump up ^ Deevoy, Adrian (May 1988). "'Til death us do part". Q. London, England: EMAP (20): 34–40.
Jump up ^ "Pogues track wins Christmas poll". BBC News. 16 December 2004. Retrieved 17 November 2005.
Jump up ^ "Fairytale still the festive pick". BBC News. 15 December 2005. Retrieved 19 December 2005.
Jump up ^ MTV UK: Nation's Favourite Christmas Song Results Archived 19 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
Jump up ^ "Ultravox's Vienna tops 'number two' poll". BBC News. 1 January 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
Jump up ^ Fairytale of New York, BBC website, undated.Retrieved: 8 December 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl". Irish Singles Chart.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Charts.org.nz – The Pogues – Fairytale of New York". Top 40 Singles.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "Norwegiancharts.com – The Pogues – Fairytale of New York". VG-lista.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h "Swedishcharts.com – The Pogues – Fairytale of New York". Singles Top 100.
Jump up ^ "SloTop50: Slovenian official singles weekly chart" (in Slovenian). SloTop50. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
Jump up ^ "Sverigetopplistan - Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
Jump up ^ "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
Jump up ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 1 January 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
Jump up ^ "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
Jump up ^ "Pogues: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
Jump up ^ "Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Morgan-Grampian Publications.
Jump up ^ "Charts Plus Year end 2005" (PDF). UK Charts Plus. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
Jump up ^ "Charts Plus Year end 2006" (PDF). UK Charts Plus. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
Jump up ^ "Charts Plus Year end 2007" (PDF). UK Charts Plus. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
Jump up ^ "Charts Plus Year end 2008" (PDF). UK Charts Plus. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
Jump up ^ "Charts Plus Year end 2009" (PDF). UK Charts Plus. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
Jump up ^ "Charts Plus Year end 2010" (PDF). UK Charts Plus. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
Jump up ^ "Charts Plus Year end 2011" (PDF). UK Charts Plus. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
Jump up ^ "Charts Plus Year end 2012" (PDF). UK Charts Plus. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
External links[edit]
Guardian article on "Fairytale of New York", December 2012
"BBC article on Fairytale". BBC News. 21 December 2007.
Fairytale of New York lyrics – The Pogues' discography
"Sold on Song" article – BBC Radio 2
Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
[show]
v
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The Pogues
Spider Stacy
Jem Finer
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Discography
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[show]
v
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Kite
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"Walking Down Madison"
"Soho Square"
With The Pogues
"Fairytale of New York"
Related articles
Ewan MacColl
Steve Lillywhite
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fairytale_of_New_York&oldid=820454879"
Categories:
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