Under a government based upon the ritsuryo legal code, the right was granted for Imperial Princes and Princesses to keep their rank as Imperial Family after marrying partners who were not from the Imperial Family, however according to Imperial House Law they must renounce their membership in the Imperial Family.
律令制度の下では、内親王・女王は非皇族と婚姻しても、皇族の身分を保持したままであることが通例であったが、皇室典範では皇籍を離脱することが定められる。