In the Constitution of the Empire of Japan, the position is provided in Article 1 of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan that 'The Empire of Japan is ruled by the Emperor in unbroken line,' and article 4 of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan states that 'The Emperor is the head of state of the country, and controls the right to rule depended on the articles of this Constitution,' which clearly provides as 'the head of state,' unlike the Constitution of Japan.
大日本帝国憲法においては、その大日本帝国憲法第1条で、「大日本帝國ハ萬世一系ノ天皇之ヲ統治ス」と定められており、大日本帝国憲法第4条で「天皇ハ国ノ元首ニシテ統治権ヲ総攬シ此ノ憲法ノ条規ニ依リテ之ヲ行フ」と、日本国憲法とは異なり明確に「元首」と規定されている。