Lack of males a recent trend
I very much enjoyed the comprehensive article on the Japanese Imperial family by Prof. Colin P.A. Jones of Doshisha Law School in Kyoto ("And then there was one?: Japan's right royal crisis," Zeit Gist, Jan. 17).
Though I greatly benefited from the article, I have a couple of small points to make.
Firstly, out of eight ruling females in the Imperial family, there was one notable exception in the case of the 43rd-reigning Empress Gemmei (660-721) (the fourth female monarch), who was on the throne from 707 until her abdication in 715. She was actually succeeded not by a male but her own daughter, Gensho (683-748), as the 44th Empress regnant (the fifth female to sit on the throne, this time for nine years).
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.