The Emperor of Japan is the figurehead monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power".[2] Imperial Household Law governs the line of imperial succession. The emperor is immune from prosecution by the Supreme Court of Japan.[3] He is also the head of the Shinto religion. In Japanese, the emperor is called Tennō (天皇, pronounced [tennoꜜː]), literally "Emperor of heaven" or "Heavenly Sovereign".[4] The Japanese Shinto religion holds him to be the direct descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu.