mikado

views updated May 18 2018

mikado a title formerly given to the emperor of Japan. The word comes from Japanese mi ‘august’ + kado ‘gate’; the title is a tranferred use of ‘gate (to the Imperial palace)’, an ancient place of audience.

It was usual for European writers prior to the Meiji Restoration of 1868 to describe the Mikado as a ‘spiritual’ emperor and the Shogun (who was the de facto ruler until 1867) as a second or ‘temporal’ ruler.

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ELIZABETH KNOWLES

mikado

views updated May 09 2018

mi·ka·do / miˈkädō/ • n. hist. a title given to the emperor of Japan.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

mikado

views updated Jun 27 2018

mikado XVIII. — Jap., orig. the gate (of the imperial palace), f. mi (honorific prefix) + kado gate.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

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