Imperial countenance; face of the Emperor
Honorific term for the face of the Japanese Emperor. Used in formal or historical contexts; not for ordinary people.
At the audience, I was granted the honor of seeing the Imperial countenance.
Polite term for someone's face, but not as elevated as 竜顔, which is specifically for the Emperor.
Standard kanji form using the simplified 竜 character.
Traditional kanji form using 龍; also valid but less common in modern Japanese.
A Sino-Japanese imperial expression modeled on Chinese 龍顔, literally “dragon countenance.” The dragon traditionally symbolized the sovereign, so the compound denoted the emperor’s face.