Only in the 19th century, when Japan's leaders created the cult of emperor worship, did stepping down become impossible.
The irony is that fashion, as the breeding ground of the supermodel, the It girl and the power stylist, helped to create the cult of celebrity.
But the most momentous change afoot at the Royalton in New York — a Philippe Starck tour de force that helped create the cult of the design hotel — is that it won't be by Starck anymore.
It's this immersion in the world of the characters, their interactions, and catchphrases along with the references to old Atari games that rewards the fans (one of whom is Joss Whedon) and creates the cult of Homestar Runner.
After Throbbing Gristle created the cult of noise, a whole heap of even bleaker groups, intent on making even more depressing, violent music started cropping up everywhere; bands like Whitehouse, Sutcliffe Jugend, Ramleh and, during the early 90s the miserabilists who make up the Cold Spring label.
Pierrot Bidon, who has died of cancer aged 56, will be best remembered for creating the cult circus troupe Archaos, one of the ensembles that galvanised the new circus movement, in which traditional arts have been re-imagined and combined with contemporary artistic sensibilities and theatrical techniques.
Mr. Morris created the cult classic "Fast, Cheap and Out of Control," a documentary film that profiles four talented specialists, one of whom is a topiary gardener named George Mendonça.
