Rescript on Imperial Funeral Ceremonial (No. 11 of the Imperial family's Act in 1926) states that Minister of the Imperial Households shall announce the death of a grand empress dowager and decide her posthumous title and that the emperor shall host her funeral.
また皇室喪儀令（大正15年皇室令第11号）では、太皇太后の死に際しては宮内大臣が公示し、追号を定め、天皇が喪主となると定める。