House of Peers

House of Peers

:"This article is about the Japanese body. The British House of Lords is also known as the "House of Peers" for certain ceremonial purposes.":"The French "Chambre des pairs" of the Bourbon Restoration is sometimes known as the "House of Peers" in English."

The nihongo| House of Peers of Japan|貴族院| Kizokuin was the upper house of the Imperial Diet as mandated under the Constitution of the Empire of Japan (in effect from 11 February 1889 to 3 May 1947).

Ito Hirobumi and the other Meiji leaders deliberately modeled the chamber on the British House of Lords, as a counterweight to the popularly elected House of Representatives ("Shūgiin").

In 1869, under the new Meiji government, a Japanese peerage was created by an Imperial decree merging the former Court nobility "(kuge)" and former feudal lords "(daimyo)" into a single new aristocratic class called the "kazoku."

A second imperial ordinance in 1884 grouped the "kazoku" into five ranks equivalent to the European prince (or duke), marquis, count, viscount, and baron. Although this grouping idea was taken from the European peerage, the Japanese titles were taken from Chinese and based on the ancient feudal system in China.

The House of Peers originally comprised:
# the Crown Prince from age of 18
# all imperial princes "(shinnō)" and lesser princes of the imperial blood "(ō)" over the age of twenty
# all princes and marquis over the age of 25 (raised to age 30 in 1925)
# 150 representatives elected from the ranks of counts, viscounts, and barons over the age of 25 (raised to age 30 in 1925), for seven year terms
# 150 additional members nominated by the Emperor, in consultation with the Privy Council
# 66 elected representatives of the 6,000 highest taxpayers, for seven year terms.

For the first session of the Imperial Diet (1889–1890), there were 145 hereditary members and 106 imperial appointees and high taxpayers, for a total of 251 members.

With the creation of new peers, additional seats for members of the former Korean aristocracy and five seats for representatives from the Gakushuin Peer's School, membership peaked at 403 seats by 1925. In its 92nd and final session, the number of members was 373.

Presidents of the House of Peers

After World War II, under the current Constitution of Japan, in effect from 3 May 1947, the unelected House of Peers was replaced by an elected House of Councillors.

ee also

*Westminster System


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • House of Peers — Peer Peer, n. [OE. per, OF. per, F. pair, fr. L. par equal. Cf. {Apparel}, {Pair}, {Par}, n., {Umpire}.] 1. One of the same rank, quality, endowments, character, etc.; an equal; a match; a mate. [1913 Webster] In song he never had his peer.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • House of Peers — former name of the Japanese House of Councilors. * * * House of Peers see under ↑peer1 • • • Main Entry: ↑house House of Peers The House of Lords • • • Main Entry: ↑peer * * * House of Peers, the former upper house of the legislature ( …   Useful english dictionary

  • House of Peers — former name of the Japanese House of Councilors. * * * …   Universalium

  • House of Representatives of Japan — Infobox Legislature name = Japanese House of Representatives 衆議院 Shūgiin coa pic = coa pic = session room = The Diet.jpg house type = Lower house leader1 type = Speaker of the House leader1 = Yohei Kono party1 = LDP election1 = election2 = 11… …   Wikipedia

  • House of Councillors — Infobox Legislature name = Japanese House of Councillors 参議院 Sangiin coa pic = coa pic = session room = Japanese diet inside.jpg house type = Upper house leader1 type = President leader1 = Satsuki Eda party1 = DPJ election1 = 2007 election2 = 29… …   Wikipedia

  • Peers — noun a) a section of the British Houses of Parliament, the House of Lords, the House of Peers. b) variant of Piers …   Wiktionary

  • House of Councilors — the upper house of the Japanese diet. Formerly, House of Peers. * * * …   Universalium

  • House of Councilors — the upper house of the Japanese diet. Formerly, House of Peers …   Useful english dictionary

  • House of Lords — House of Lords: the upper house of the British parliament composed of the lords temporal and spiritual – called also Lords; Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. House of Lords …   Law dictionary

  • House of Commons — House of Com|mons 〈[ haʊs ɔv kɔ̣mənz] n.;   ; unz.〉 Unterhaus, zweite Kammer des brit. Parlaments * * * House of Com|mons [ haʊs əv kɔmənz ], das; [engl. = Haus der Gemeinen (im Unterschied zu dem aus den Peers 1 gebildeten Oberhaus)]: britisches …   Universal-Lexikon

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