Japanese royal family marries into Europe?

Just a little thought I've been having. If WWI didn't happen, Europe may very well still be dominated by empires. This got me to thinking, Japan's a great power even by this point. How long would it be before Japan started marrying into the Euro powers?
 
Just a little thought I've been having. If WWI didn't happen, Europe may very well still be dominated by empires. This got me to thinking, Japan's a great power even by this point. How long would it be before Japan started marrying into the Euro powers?

Probably a little longer than it would take for the Emperor to convert to Christianity (which, admittedly, might happen, especially if you go back to the 16th century and make the Jesuits a little more successful...)
 

ninebucks

Banned
The hesitance would probably be on Japan's side, as they don't have the same history of dynastic politics as Europe; Japanese royals married below their rank, to keep the noble families on their side, as opposed to marrying outside their nation.
 

Michael Busch

If I recall correctly, before the Meiji Restoration, Japanese succession required that the emperor's heir be descended fully from members of a small list of noble houses. So in addition to the religious barriers on intermarriage with Europe, you'll need to change the culture enough for the nobles to allow inter-marriage, either for the Yamatos or for themselves. This would take time, probably several generations.
 
Wouldn't it have been unacceptable to the Japanese that the Imperial family would have part-Caucasian blood? Wouldn't they have demanded racial purity? Japan historically has been intolerant of ethnic and racial differences. Marriages of people with ethnic differences would occur between Christians or people of the lower castes. Half-Asian and half-Caucasian people would be seen as the offspring of sexual slaves bought by the Portuguese or other Europeans. Generally, the Japanese consider themselves to be one race.
 
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Wouldn't it have been unacceptable to the Japanese that the Imperial family would have part-Caucasian blood? Wouldn't they have demanded racial purity? Japan historically has been intolerant of ethnic and racial differences. Marriages of people with ethnic differences would occur between Christians or people of the lower castes. Half-Asian and half-Caucasian people would be seen as the offspring of sexual slaves bought by the Portuguese or other Europeans. Generally, the Japanese consider themselves to be one race.

"Unacceptable" and "Intolerant" are understatements of a grand proportion. I can not imagine any realistic circumstance under which the Japanese emperor marrying into the European nobility and producing offspring would be accepted or tolerated. Even today, for the average Japanese citizen to marry a European or American and have children is cause for cultural censure and family shunning. Today, the Japanese population is over 99% ethnic Japanese, which is a stunning statistic in this age of genetic and ethnic blending.
 
The mixed-race and religious differences would apply to any European noble family side of such a marriage.

The most likely ways are either unimportant members of two unimportant noble familes getting married, or a couple of seniors getting married (with them there is no danger of children). For mixed-race offspring, the other possibility is a love-child.

It all would make good background for fictional characters.

I have also had this idea of a "King Ralph" style story where the closest living descendant of a European royal family is either Native American or African. Hijinks ensue! :D:eek:
 
Europeans often conducted dynastic marraiges for the sake of alliances, and some of these marriages were with sevond, third, or fourth sons.daughters to some other leader. So, let's think about it this way; while essentially impossible for a person resulting from a Japanese-Caucasian relationship having the ability to become emperor, would it really be that big of an issue for someone to be barred from the Chrysanthemum throne so that they could marry into a European family?

Do remember also that the Japanese nobility began to intermarry with that of Korea in the early twentieth century.
 
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