Emperor

* Anime
* Manga
* Live-action

The **Emperor** (今上帝, *Ima jōtei*?) is the unnamed reigning ruler of the empire and the father of Prince Takaihito.

## Appearance

The Emperor is an elderly man with gaunt, deep-set eyes. He is completely bald.

## History

Ever since he was the crown prince, he is especially fearful of the Gift of Dream-Sight, a supernatural ability that could even surpass the Gift of Divine Revelation that he himself possesses. He has been gripped with a sense of danger for a long time, fearing that if Divine Revelation was inferior to Dream-Sight both he and his family would be ousted from their position. But as long as no one is born with Dream-Sight, it poses no threat to him. Although he did fear the Usubas, he didn't think to actually do anything about it, until around forty years ago Sumi Usuba was born to the family. With her awakening to the Gift of Telepathy, her child may be born with Dream-Sight. To the Emperor, it was almost as if his anxieties had manifested and attacked him. His fears were suddenly tinged with a sense of reality.

Besides the code of conduct that is placed on the Usubas by the Imperial family, the Emperor schemed to weaken the Usubas’ power even further, with the idea that even if a Gift-user with Dream-Sight is born, they wouldn’t pose a threat while the Usuba family was on the verge of ruin. The power of the Usubas had already been plenty suppressed, but the emperor still considered it insufficient. Using his influence behind the scenes, the Emperor ensured business went poorly for the Usuba's family firm, Tsuruki Trading, causing a period of economic slump and the Usuba family barely able to support themselves.

Pushing the family to the brink of extinction just as the Emperor had hoped still wasn’t enough to satisfy him though. He feared Sumi would marry another member of the family and produce a child thick with Usuba blood, worried that the more Usuba blood the child had, the stronger the power of Dream-Sight in the child would be. He obstructed her from marrying a member of her clan by linking her to a family that was almost entirely lacking in Gift-users, and whose fall from nobility was clearly on the horizon. he disclosed the power of Dream-Sight to the Saimoris, passed them a heavy sum, and incited them into pursuing Sumi. All that mattered was separating the woman from her family. After Sumi married Shinichi Saimori and gave birth to Miyo Saimori, she sealed her daughter's Gift of Dream-Sight causing everyone to be convinced that Miyo lacked powers, including the Emperor himself. Satisfied, the Emperor left the Usubas alone and couldn't care less whether the Usubas recovered or faded away thereafter.

As the Emperor, he was revered as the most exalted man in the empire, and until recently, he would always be accompanied by a swarm of people. However, ever since he has fallen ill, his body had withered away like a dying tree. Even getting out of bed is difficult for him and he simply passes his days sprawled out on the floor. The only sound that feebly escapes his lips amounts to little more than a sigh. It is unknown that he gives the orders to Minoru Tatsuishi.

## Plot

After the kidnapping incident, the Emperor has heard the news about Minoru Tatsuishi that he's completely useless, and the Kudou family will get ahold of the Usuba bloodline. Arata Usuba will tell the Emperor about to put these back they belong. He feels that a ripple effect will begin soon, he the permission he seek, and tells him to do not miss the opportunity. Arata agreed, as they began the operation as planned and the Emperor tells him to destroy "the accumulation of power no matter what".

As Miyo the Dream-Sight is at Usuba estate, the Emperor has scheme which means that the Dream-Sight is out of the way, and "all those [the Dream-Sight of the Usuba] who threaten us will finally be gone from this world forever."

Since Kiyoka Kudou have been hit by a Grotesquerie and being wounded, and while his servants the sorcerers tried to get of Kiyoka, the Emperor has arrived at the secret cave from the palace, he tells the Emperor that Miyo is interfering, which makes him angry. The sorcerer tells the Emperor not to overexert himself, but he said that the Kudous are now unprecedented threat to them, and to eliminate the power of Dream-Sight. He uses his power to get rid of these two, first said, "Be gone now! This is my will!" as to summon hordes of Grotesqueries, but they have been protected by a barrier. Finally, he used the Grotesquerie form of the Emperor as the Emperor said in the demonic voice, "Upon my rule, you both must die!" But Miyo use the power with Kumihimo to defeat the Emperor and his servants and the Grotesqueries "Be gone!" The Grotesquerie form of the Emperor have been destroyed, as the flame killed the Emperor and his servants by Miyo.

## Abilities

* **Divine Revelation**: The Emperor possesses over this ability that is passed down through the direct imperial line. The Gift would give him advanced warning from the gods about disasters that would befall the nation. However, after the Emperor has fallen ill, he lost this ability, which causes him to panic, given that possessing the Divine Revelation is a necessary qualification for being emperor.

## Trivia

* The Emperor has his kimono's tailor-made at Suzushima's.
* He is a point of view character in the Prologue of the second volume of the novel.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2  Novel, Volume 2 Prologue
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1  Anime, Episode 6
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4  Novel, Volume 2 Chapter 5
4. ↑  Anime, Episode 10
5. ↑  Anime, Episode 11
6. ↑  Anime, Episode 12
7. ↑  Novel, Volume 2 Chapter 1
8. ↑  Novel, Volume 1 Chapter 2