This collection of 14 essays by 12 scholars, ranging from academic, journalistic, speculative, to advisory, makes an excellent introduction to the scope of arguments presently made about tenno, Japan's "emperors."

With the exception of the first essay, by Akira Imatani, which is a quick historical rundown — from the latest archaeological findings to a forecast — the articles deal with the four most recent tenno, from the Meiji Emperor to the present one, Akihito.

Why so much interest in tenno? Partly it may be because the tenno house is "the oldest dynasty on earth today," as the editor of this book, Ben-Ami Shillony, puts it. A student of Japanese history, Shillony contributed two essays of his own, and has written a survey of all tenno in "Enigma of the Emperors" (2005).