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The House of Peers (貴族院 Kizokuin) was the upper house of the Imperial Diet 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 modelled the chamber on the British House of Lords, as a counterweight to the popularly elected House of Representatives (Shugiin).

In 1869, the leaders of new government had the Emperor Meiji issue an imperialImperial is a term that is used to describe something that relates to an Empire, Emperor, or the concept of Imperialism. Imperial is also the name of several places in the United States of America: Imperial, California Imperial, Missouri Imperial, Nebrask ordinanceOrdinance can mean: That which is ordained or decreed by fate or a deity such as Dharma of Buddism A law made by a non-sovereign body such as a city council or a colony. In France, a regulation adopted by the executive in a domain normally reserved for st that merged the daimyoThe daimyo were the most powerful feudal rulers from the 12th century to the 19th century in Japan. After the Meiji restoration in 1869 the daimyo merged with the kuge to form a single aristocratic group, the kazoku. The term daimyo literally means "great and the kugeThe kuge was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese imperial court in Kyoto until the rise of the Shogunate in the 12th century at which point it was eclipsed by the daimyo. The kuge still provided a weak court around the Emperor. The w into a single aristocratic classThe term class , when used by itself, has several meanings in English. In sociology and economics, see social class . In computer science: concerning class es in the object-oriented implementation of computer applications, see class (computer science)., the kozoku. A second imperial ordinance in 18841884 is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar). Events January 4 The Fabian Society is founded in London. February 1 Edition one of the Oxford English Dictionary is published. March 13 The siege of Khartoum, Sudan begins (ends on Janu, grouped the kazok into five ranks equivalent to the European prince (or duke), marquis, count, viscount, and baron. Although those grouping idea was taken from European peerage, Japanese title was taken from Chineese in association to the feudal system in the ancient China.

The House of Peers originally comprised:

  1. all imperial princes (shinno) and lesser princes of the imperial blood (o) over the age of twenty,
  2. all princes and marquis over the age of thirty,
  3. 150 elected representatives of the counts, viscounts, and barons,
  4. 150 additional members nominated by the Emperor, in consultation with the Privy Council, and
  5. 66 elected representatives of the 6,000 highest taxpayers.

During the first session of the Imperial Diet ( 1889- 1890), there were 145 hereditary members and 106 imperial appointee s and high taxpayer s, for a total of 251 members. With the creation of new peers and the addition of seats for representatives of the Imperial Academy ( Gakushuin), the membership grew to 403 by 1925. The House of Peers elected its own president and vice president. Like the House of Representatives, the House of Peers had limited powers. The Constitution of Japan, in effect from 3 May, 1947, replaced the unelected House of Peers with an elected House of Councillors.



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