Koshitsu

The Imperial House of Japan, or the Yamato Koshitsu, is the longest-reigning dynasty in the history of civilization, having over 125 monarchs throughout time of the same direct lineage over the Empire of Japan. Under Shinto, the former state religion, the Emperor himself was revered as god-on-earth, and the embodiment of the Japanese people.

After the Second World War, the United States of America occupied the Empire of Japan and transformed it into the State of Japan, abolishing the monarchy but allowing it to remain as a family of prominence and prestige representing the Japanese. This also led to the ending of Shinto as a state religion.