(Japanese: "heavenly emperor"), the title of Japan's chief of state, bestowed posthumously together with the reign name chosen by the emperor (e.g., Meiji Tenno, the emperor Meiji). The term was first used at the beginning of the Nara period (710-784) as a translation of the Chinese t'ien-huang, or "heavenly emperor," and replaced the older title of mikado, or "imperial gate."