The First Proven Emperor of Japan
According to the old Japanese history/myth books, Nihon-shoki and Kojiki, the first emperor was Jin-mu who was believed to have lived 711 BC to 585 BC. (Jin means a god; Mu means military power.)
But the title emperor (Ten-no) is scientifically believed to have been first officially introduced with the first full-scale law book of Japan called Taiho Risturyo.
The Taihō Code or Code of Taihō (Taihō-ritsuryō) was an administrative reorganization enacted in 701 inJapan, at the end of the Asuka period.[1] It was historically one of the Ritsuryō-sei. It was compiled at the direction of Prince Osakabe, Fujiwara no Fuhito and Awata no Mahito.[2] The work was begun at the request of Emperor Mommu and, like many other developments in the country at the time, it was largely an adaptation of the governmental system of China's Tang Dynasty.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taih%C5%8D_Code
Yet, one of the oldest relics that present the kanji letters Ten-no (emperor) was found in ruins which are associated with Emperor Ten-mu (Ten means heaven; Mu means military power) who lived from 631 to 686. This relic is a wood strip with kanji letters on as shown below:
The sentence means: "The emperor openly called many people to him and suddenly started to purify himself before praying to gods."
Other relics that have the kanji letters Ten-no are old tombs for Emperor Ko-gyoku and Emperor Ten-chi who both preceded Emperor Ten-mu by one or two decades. However the letters Ten-no written on their grave stones are not so widely presented. So, according to the science of history, it is widely believed that Ten-mu is the first emperor of Japan who first used the title of Ten-no (emperor) for real while he was living.
Anyway, this is a proof that Japanese leaders in the late 7th century made clear their position against imperial China of the era. That is, Japan had now its own imperial court like China. A Chinese dynasty could not politically subjugate Japan through a Japanese king as a subject to a Chinese emperor. And as a matter of fact of long history, no Chinese dynasties, except the Mongolian-established Yuan Dynasty, tried to invade Japan with military forces.
So, the wood strip with the kanji letters Ten-no, meaning an emperor, is very symbolic for the Japanese history in relation with ancient China.
Emperor Tem-mu
(Ten-mu is said to have avoided appointing ministers but directly governed Japan. He promoted both Buddhism and shintoism.)
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So, the current emperor of Japan is a son of the father who is directly connected to Emperor Jin-mu (or Emperor Ten-mu) though paternal lineage, since an emperor of Japan, whether a man or a woman, should be a child of the father who is directly connected to Emperor Jin-mu (or Emperor Ten-mu) though paternal lineage.
(However, there are some disputious Japanese that want to accept an emperor who is connected to Emperor Jin-mu even partially though a maternal lineage, which is a sensitive but big issue in Japan of today.)
Rev 3:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.