A German book about Crown Princess Masako

[ChiaraC]

A happy family

(This part as well as the following is based mainly on the fifth chapter of the book.)
But while the announcement of the pregnancy had brought only joy to everybody the birth, to the contrary, caused rather disappointed silence. Only a princess? Now the succession issue was still not solved… Only Aiko´s parents were obviously full of happiness and nothing but happiness. When they left the hospital with their little daughter Masako whispered tenderly: “She sleeps sweetly.” And Naruhito answered: “Yes, very sweetly.” And they happily looked deeply in each other´s eyes. Naruhito who in the beginning years had had a liking to talk about the stork and his moods whenever he was answering press questions on having children but who had been lately too sad to still make jokes now remembered his old friend and told the press that he had not failed to give his thanks to the stork who had brought the child to the palace…

On a press conference in April 2002, they shared their happiness with the public. When Masako remembered the birth of her child she hardly could suppress tears of joy. Naruhito lovingly put his hand on the shoulder of his wife until he was sure that she would be able to keep her countenance. Then she said: “Beginning of life means that a new life starts being very very tiny, grows more and more and then comes into the world in a huge rush of energy. I have felt very strongly that children are really being born in order to live and to be loved by their parents.”

Naruhito was an enthusiastic father. In August 2002 the world saw for the very first time in history a Japanese crown prince carrying his child on his back in public. Together with Masako and Aiko he was walking through the moors of the mountains of Nasu where he had already been staying with Masako in 2000 when he was trying to console her after the miscarriage. Naruhito - who is a mountain climber - declared: “I especially wanted to experience this sort of climbing, with my child on my back.”

And on the family holidays in Suzaki, ten days after that, it was the turn of the emperor and the empress, their children, their daughters-in-law and their grandchildren to demonstrate family happiness together. The press featured the moment when empress Michiko went down to the sea to get some seaweed for little princess Aiko. The empress showed it to her granddaughter - who was in her mother´s arms - and Aiko smiled very sweetly at her grandmother. All seemed to be in order and harmony in the imperial family.

 

[ChiaraC]

Wind of change

But this impression was to be only very short-lived. When it was that the family of the crown prince found out that they could no longer deal with the things how they were we, of course, do not know exactly. Maybe they do not know themselves. At least, nothing of it became visible to the public before the shock of prince´s Takamado dying of a sudden and unforeseen heart attack on the 21st November 2002. The prince was the son of a younger brother of the Showa-tenno and had been only five years older than Naruhito. Nevertheless, he had always been a very valuable counselor to the crown prince. He had shared Naruhito`s liberal ideas, and ever since Naruhito had come back from England he had had in prince Takamado a willing partner to exchange thoughts with. Prince Takamado had gained a lot of experience to guide him concerning the question in which way and how far their visions could be put into practice. For example, he had been patron of the soccer World Cup 2002 for which Japan and South Korea had acted together as hosts. (And as the historical relations of Japan and South Korea are rather complicated, to say the least, prince Takamado´s had been an important and difficult task.) Prince Takamado had also been a good friend and supporter to Masako, and his loss deeply grieved and shocked the couple.

(Fritz and Kobayashi do not comment this fact or try to explain why prince Takamado´s decease – obviously – stands on one hand at the beginning of the declining health of the crown princess but also, on the other hand, seems to be the starting point of several open acts of “disobedience” on the part of the prince and the princess. It would obviously be hard to tell which was first: 1. if the couple after the decease of their old friend and supporter finally had decided that the time had come “to walk their talk” and to try and put their ideas in action and if the reaction and suppression that thereupon followed made the already worn-out Masako ill, or 2. if Masako felt on the loss of prince Takamado that her strength was slowly but surly vanishing and that she had NOW to try and change her senseless, useless life as she feared that if she had to wait much longer for an opportunity to serve her country in a form that fitted her abilities she would at last become too ill to take the opportunity when it finally WOULD come, and if the couple then decided that it was now or never.)

Anyway, only very shortly afterwards, Masako was to travel abroad again after she had been obliged to stay at home for a long time. (She went with her husband to New Zealand and Australia). And on the press conference on occasion of this trip, on the 5th December 2002, she gave the first clear hint to the public that something was going wrong. She said: “The last two years I have been busy with pregnancy, birth and childcare. But, honestly speaking, I have made a great effort to deal with the fact that in the preceding six years I could not easily travel abroad.” But although the journalists asked several times what she exactly meant by this the crown princess at the time did not choose to express herself more clearly. Nevertheless, she had already raised attention. It was said that the emperor was “surprised” by Masako´s words and that he asked his servants to hand him the written version of her speech. And as already mentioned the princess was criticized by several persons for what she had said. The grand steward of the kunaicho, Toshio Yuasa, said that he would be “grateful” if the princess could understand that it was difficult to send her on trips abroad that were exhausting for the body when it was still her first duty to bear an heir. And he added: “I did not know that the princess was so urgently wishing to take trips abroad.” As Fritz and Kobayashi point out he obviously wanted to say by this that the princess was egotistical and only thinking of herself.

Two months later the crown prince took up the issue on the press conference on occasion of his birthday: “Masako once wanted to do the international work of a diplomat. That is why I think that it has been painful to her that she could for very many years not make any visits abroad to further international friendship. Also in this regard I think that Masako is very patient.” As I have already mentioned this is probably an example for the awkwardness of the couple (see “Strong characters”). They talked of travels abroad, probably because that was the most obvious sort of service that in their opinion was expected from them and because this was something that they had – visibly for the public - not been given the opportunity of doing. (Nobody knew at the time how often they had “behind the scenes” tried to initiate something and had been blocked – see “Three good reasons for staying at home…”). So, what was really ailing them was that they could not realize ANY of their ideas about what they wanted to do for the nation – inside Japan as well as out of it. But although they did not – and probably could not – publicly explain their vision of “the imperial family coming closer to the people” they showed it by an action that was very much out of the ordinary: in May 2003 they took their daughter into a public park for her “koen-debut”. (See also: “Committed to the world´s peace and happiness”)

On the 13th May 2003 Naruhito and Masako went together with Aiko to a - not very attractive looking - park close by the palace grounds. On this day, they were like a family among others. But when they went there again, ten days later, somehow the media had found out of their intention. Camera teams, newspaper journalists and lots of housewives living close by were crowding the usually not much frequented park. But the little family stood their ground: Aiko played with the other children in the sand-pit, and Naruhito took pictures of her… And they went to this park together even a third and a fourth time, not paying much attention to the sensation they were causing. – According to Fritz and Kobayashi, it is unknown what Naruhito and Masako had expected as a result or what they thought of the success of their trips into “everyday life”. Obviously nobody ever asked them. But in any case it is clear, as Fritz and Kobayashi explain, that for this once they were acting according to their vision and were openly defying the will of the kunaicho-executives. Instead of waiting for propositions that never came they had thought of a measure themselves. This was probably one of the very few occasions when they made an extraordinary effort to act as members of the open, close-to-the-people imperial family that belongs to their vision. And Naruhito – although he really has never been raised for such a role – did it well. To the attentive watchers he gave the impression of being absolutely relaxed and at his ease. Whereas Masako, as some journalists remarked, looked tired, her smile a bit artificial. It could not be overlooked that something was definitely wrong with her.

 

[Vanesa]

They seems a very "down-to-earth" family, which is good in the sense they wants to be clser to their people and understand it.

But on the other hand, I think they are showing their will of not being Royal . They feel as if they were in jail in palace (at least this is the way I feel when I watch their official pictures), and really free out of it...That's really sad, since they do not realize how much things they could do for people being Royals as they are...

Vanesa.

 

[ChiaraC]

Thank you for your comment, Vanesa! Well, I am not sure if Naruhito and Masako really have this option to stay as they are - or as the traditional Japanese imperials are, or even more precise (because it is not clear HOW „the traditional Japanese imperials“ are as the imperial family has undergone considerable changes within every new generation during the last hundred years or so): as the present emperor and empress are... True, there are a lot of people in Japan who want the imperial family to stay as they are (or even MUCH better: go back!) but there are others who are urgently wanting a change, and worst of all, a lot of the younger seem to have lost their interest in the imperial family altogether – they are not making such a noise as the traditionalists because they are simply not interested. But they are young and the future belongs to them... For the present emperor and empress it might not be an issue. Maybe they have just done their share. (And they have done a lot, I am very well aware of that.) But the crown prince and the crown princess have to find something to raise the interest of the younger Japanese, too. It is not easy and maybe it is not even possible but definitely for them, and even more for Hisahito (or Aiko, whoever), it is inevitable to try for it. In my opinion, they have no choice but to give it a try or that will be it for the monarchy in Japan.

 

[ChiaraC]

The crown princess falls ill

(This part as well as the following three parts are based mainly on the fifth chapter of the book.)
On the press conference on occasion of the tenth anniversary of their wedding, in June 2003, Naruhito and Masako gave some hints concerning the endangered state of Masako´s body and mind. Masako said, looking back at her life at the court: “I have often experienced difficulties that in former times I could not even imagine.” (And that is a remarkable sentence if we know something of Masako´s life before her marriage: she had been sent at age two to a Russian kindergarten without knowing a word of Russian - see also: “Too much consideration” – she was one of only three women who successfully did the entrance test for the highest level of the diplomatic service in 1986, and afterwards had worked so hard that colleagues used to call her “the woman who does not need any sleep”… - to name only a few examples. And, what is more: we know she had been hesitating to marry Naruhito because she was afraid of the imperial “lifestyle”, so to speak. So, she had actually had an idea of what was expecting her – and now she says that it had been worse than even her worst fears… ) Naruhito was obviously trying to strengthen her courage: “I want to tell her that I am very grateful for the trouble she has taken during these ten years. You have really made a great effort.” And as if he knew what was to happen – maybe he as an insider actually knew already or at least strongly feared that Masako would sooner or later break down – he also assured her that he would love her even if she would no longer be able to make this effort: “For what I want to give my thanks first and foremost is that Masako is present, quite simply. Just by her presence I feel that my heart becomes cheerful.”

Maybe it was also owing to the fact that the princess was feeling unwell that, for the first time after nine years, Masako went to visit her parents´ home for a day. Aiko was with her and in the afternoon Naruhito came to take care of Aiko, so Masako would have some time to relax. They had dinner together but after that they had to go back to the palace… As Fritz and Kobayashi report it had at this time already become obvious even to some visitors of the princess that there was something seriously wrong with her. One remembered: “The princess tried to hide her psychical fatigue because she did not want to cause worries to anybody. But the dark circles around her eyes could not be overlooked, despite of the make-up she had put on.” A friend of Masako´s told Fritz and Kobayashi that this was one of the princess` characteristics: “It is part of her character that she will try to the last to not show her suffering to others.” Unfortunately though, in a certain respect she was too successful doing this: the medical team surrounding the princess (they are always there, not because she was thought to be ill at the time but just because in her position as the crown princess she would always have medicals watching her) did not take her serious when she described to them her symptoms of sleeplessness, fatigue and her problems to get up in the morning. Their advice simply consisted in: “Take walks and think positive!” And it very probably did not make things easier for Masako that in June 2003 the grand steward of the kunaicho, Toshio Yuasa, said on a press conference that he strongly wanted the couple to have their second child – and that he was not the only one entertaining that wish…

Masako still carried on a bit but on the 2nd December 2003, only one day after her daughter´s second birthday, she broke down with physical symptoms that the doctors finally HAD to take serious. She was diagnosed with herpes zoster. Herpes zoster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A famous dermatologist from a big private hospital was called in at once who prescribed a treatment combined of antibiotics and injections. Although this eased Masako´s pain the doctor decided to have her brought to the palace hospital where she remained until the 8th December. But the princess was still not well. So, the celebrations on occasion of her 40th birthday had to be cancelled. The head of the togu household, at the time that was Hideki Hayashida, declared that the princess would not be able to perform any official duties before spring 2004. As a reason he said that Masako was suffering from exhaustion because of the double burden of official duties and the education of her child.

It was at the same time that Masako was publicly informed that she had finally been given up as hopeless to bear an heir. Toshio Yuasa, grand steward of the kunaicho, told the press that for the interest of the monarchy the Akishinos were desired to have their third child. And he added that this should be done quickly in order to not further increase the big gap (in age) already existing between this new child and its elder sisters. Fritz and Kobayashi comment that for an executive, even if he was the grand steward of the kunaicho, it would have been impertinent and by far exceeding his authority to bring public shame on the crown princess in such a way. And they say that as he nevertheless dared to act like this it is to be supposed that he was not speaking for himself but had been ordered to do so by a higher power…

In January 2004, the princess herself gave a comment on her state (in written form). It said: “Since my wedding, approximately 10 years ago, I have tried to give my best in an unfamiliar environment under enormous pressure. But I feel that my illness is owing to the fact that my psychical and physical exhaustion has been accumulating during that time. Since Aiko´s birth I have taken pains to do justice equally to my official duties and to the taking care of my child. But since last year´s spring I feel bad.”

 

[ChiaraC]

Time to go home

The kunaicho had planned for Masako to have her “comeback” in May 2004. But when the time came Masako´s health had not ameliorated. The head of the togu household, Hayashida, informed the public that Masako´s health was still not stable, that the princess was still suffering from headaches and shoulder pains, that she had sometimes to stay in bed during the day and that because of all that the doctors had found it to be a good measure for her to pass some time with her family in a quiet place.

At first sight, this would not be a surprising advice for anybody who is trying to recover from any illness, bodily or mental – but for the imperial family that meant a revolution. Members of the imperial family are usually not supposed to stay overnight in commoners´ houses. (When empress Michiko in 1963 had suffered a miscarriage and also was in need of peace for her wounded soul she, in her turn, went to an imperial residence by the seaside.) On the 25th March, the crown princess went, together with Naruhito and Aiko, to her parents` holiday home in Karuizawa that is situated idyllically in the middle of a mountain forest. Masako´s mother was already awaiting them, she had been preparing everything for the arrival of her daughter`s family. Masako´s little pet dog, Chocolat, was there, and on the next day even her father Hisashi who happened to be in Japan was able to join them. But the time that was granted them by the kunaicho, although amply sufficient for a Japanese holiday, was much too short to have any effects on such a lasting illness as Masako´s. At first, they were given only two weeks. Then they asked for more, and the kunaicho allowed them to stay two weeks longer. Naruhito, father Hisashi and mother Yumiko tried to make the very best of it. They took Masako on long walks and talked to her a lot. The prince still had to attend to his official duties in Tokyo, so he went there whenever it was necessary and then came back. Slowly, Masako began to have glimpses of her old self. It was part of her illness that she – usually optimistic and generous – by effect of her ailing saw darkness everywhere but, now, through her parents´ and her husband´s help and the comforting presence of her daughter and her little pet dog, she began to see a glimmer of light again, sometimes. Part of her former active nature became visible again: she actually expressed the wish to drive around a bit.

But then they had to go back. The kunaicho said that it was no longer possible to guarantee for their security – 10% of the policemen of Nagano, 300 men, were busy protecting the princess, and a national holiday, the “Golden week”, was driving near - then they would be needed for other purposes. Naruhito and Masako would still have wanted to stay as the “treatment” had obviously produced such positive effects but - as the kunaicho had already once consented to give them two more weeks – they now did not know how to ask for still more time. So, on the 26th April 2004 the princess returned to the togu palace - to only leave it again on the 4th September to visit her parents-in-law (see “A prince tears down the chrysanthemum veil”). And, after a short while, the glimpse of hope she had begun to see, again left her. She had only just started to recover while staying at her old home, there was still no stability in her state. And she did not have the help she would have needed: no medical expert was taking care of her, and although Naruhito did his best to listen to her and to support her, he was, of course, unable to supply the medical treatment that was actually necessary.

According to Fritz and Kobayashi, Masako was suffering from vertigo, headaches, fatigue and apathy. She reacted very sensitively and emotionally on the people surrounding her, did not want to eat, could not sleep and broke into tears at the smallest irritation. She always thought about the past and was unable to pay attention to the present or the future. All her strength and beauty were gone. It was clear to the crown prince that she was not just having “a bad mood” but that there was something seriously wrong with her. He always had tried to faithfully keep his promise to support and protect her, with his loving care and support she had come safely through the difficult time after the miscarriage, but, although he did not know what was exactly the matter, he understood that it exceeded his personal abilities to effectively help her now. He was afraid that Masako´s will to live, weak already, would completely vanish. He as well as his wife had tried to inform the kunaicho as well as the rest of the imperial family of the seriousness of the case. But although there had been some changes, holidays at home, more time off (as described) the princess had not even had an expert take a look at her. The only measure that the prince could still think of – if he did not simply want to watch silently his wife´s life fade away – was a public call for aid.

 

[ChiaraC]

A prince steps up to the plate

The crown prince´s only chance in 2004 to inform the public of his wife´s suffering would be the press conference on occasion of his trip to Europe in May. (The next opportunity would have been his birthday in February 2005. Members of the imperial family only speak to the public on very few occasions and never “just like that”.) And Naruhito was absolutely aware that he would cause a scandal. When he showed his already prepared text to the responsible executives of the togu-department they were, of course, horrified. They had all the time been trying to carefully hide the full truth from the public, had been trying to confer the impression that Masako was only “a bit exhausted”, they had refused to give the princess more time to recuperate in Karuizawa with her parents and they had not been willing to call in an expert in psychology. And now the prince wanted to bring into public flashlight what they had taken such pains to hide! They did their best to stop him and, because of that, the press conference started half an hour later than scheduled. But that was all their success. The prince, although in the beginning visibly nervous, got back his calm just in time when he came to the main point of his speech. He said: “Masako has made efforts to regain her health. It is very regrettable that it still so happened that she could not accept the invitations for the trip to Europe. Masako has joined the imperial family, and doing that, has given up her work as a diplomat. She saw it as a very important task to strive to further international friendship as a member of the imperial family. But trips abroad have not been allowed to her. Because of that she has suffered much.” Up to this point the content of the prince´s words was not new. The prince as well as the princess had already complained of trips abroad being very infrequent. But there was this expression: “have not been allowed”. That meant that there was a person in existence who had explicitly prohibited these trips… The prince went on: “Masako in these ten years has tried with all her strength to adjust to the environment of the imperial family. Doing this, she has totally exhausted herself. It is true that there have been efforts taken to deny the professional career and the personality of Masako.” Fritz and Kobayashi report that after the crown prince had spoken these words there was an absolute silence. And, after that, some reporters confusedly blabbed: “What???”

 

[ChiaraC]

The imperial family in the limelight

The crown prince´s speech – as was to be expected – raised a lot of medial attention, inside Japan and outside. Fritz and Kobayashi point out that the tenno – and, in a way, his family – are a national symbol. As they are accordingly required to incorporate all the best traits of Japan (and none of the bad) they ought to be perfect, flawless. And – up until that moment when the crown prince was obviously accusing a member of his own family to have caused his wife´s illness - the tenno could easily be supposed to be perfect. At least, as far as most Japanese commoners were concerned because they had never heard anything to the contrary… And this had been possible obviously only because hardly anything at all had been heard about the tenno, at least nothing about the internal or about family matters. Secrecy is an easy – and probably the only - solution to the question how a human being can keep up the appearance of being a god. (Here we come again to the core of the conflict between emperor and crown prince: if you want to be close to the people and still be perceived as perfect and divine you have to be a god in all earnest. If you are a human you simply don´t have a chance…) So, not only the media reacted on the crown prince´s speech. In the first week after the press conference the kunaicho received 700 e-mails from Japanese commoners who wanted to express their concern and their sympathies with the crown prince and the crown princess. Some blamed the kunaicho for having been unable to solve the problems in time.

The line of defense of all the people who possibly could be held responsible for the princess´s suffering – the grand steward Yuasa, the head of the togu department, Hayashida, and even the emperor himself – was the same: they confessed their absolute inability to understand the accusations or to perceive a problem at all. And they asked for an explanation. On the 8th June, two weeks after his return from Europe, Naruhito complied and published a written explanation. But, of course, he did not go so far as to actually describe in detail what had happened in the family and who it had been who had “denied” Masako´s personality and had prohibited trips abroad. As he himself justly said that would not have been helpful. He wrote: “It was not my intention to criticize certain actions but I have only made my remarks so that the present situation will become intelligible to everybody.” But he again tried to clarify the nature of the problems that his wife was obliged to deal with: “It seems to me that the public directs its attention too much on trips abroad and the succession issue. But, of course, these were not the only reasons. Masako had to make considerable efforts when she was trying to adjust to the environment of the imperial house, including its traditions, customs and the reactions of the media.” And he expressed his hopes for a better future: “I wish that Masako will in future fulfill her duties with her former self confidence and her vital energy, while making full use of her professional career, as a reflection of a new era.”

As a friend of the tenno expressed it when talking to Fritz and Kobayashi: ”The emperor has come to understand that all this is about a matter happening within the tenno-family. It is not about the kunaicho or the executives in the togu palace.” Naruhito´s friend Isamu Kamata commented: “In normal families there is a quarrel between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Also in the imperial family the situation is not much different.” (For more details about this complicated conflict see my summary of the sixth chapter at the beginning of the thread.)

Although Naruhito´s public call for help did, as we know, by far not solve the problem it had, at least, two immediate effects: The executives of the kunaicho were raised from their lethargy and engaged for Masako a “highest authority” in the field of psychiatry who is attending to Masako since June 2004. According to Fritz and Kobayashi, the name as well as the gender of this expert is a secret. (I think I saw a name mentioned somewhere in this forum though – but I do not remember it and the person that gave it did not mention where it came from.) And, second, in the end of July 2004 the kunaicho published – with Masako´s consent – the medical diagnosis: “adjustment disorder”. (Which certainly meant a relief for the crown princess in so far as, up until that time, the public had only gotten the impression that she was sickly and maybe a bit lazy, whining because of simple headaches that other women would hide behind a smile. Now, at least, everybody was informed of the seriousness of the case.)

And on the 8th December the kunaicho informed the public of a medical report that described the beginning of recovery – and maybe, in this description of what was already to be perceived as a sign for the success of the treatment, we can get the best impression of how bad Masako´s psychical and physical state had really been: “The princess has gotten back her ability to do two things right after another without having to lay down in between.” As an example was given that Masako now was able to do gymnastics with Aiko and then, without needing a rest, take a walk in the garden... On the same day, Masako gave a written statement to the public that expressed that she was also aware of the danger she had been in: “More than anything I am grateful for being able to live my birthday this year in this way.”

 

[kimebear]

Thank you again ChiaraC for the time and effort you have put into bringing this perspective on the Imperial Family to us.

 

[ChiaraC]

Thank you very much, kimebear.
For the summary of the rest of the book (chapter 2 and 3) I will not be in such a hurry but take my time because – although some of the details are probably only in Fritz` and Kobayashis book - the main points can also be gotten from other sources. So I think it is not so urgent to put the rest of the information here.
This time I also want to draw your attention to an old article that I found while reading old threads. The Princess Wars - TIME

What I find so remarkable is the reason that the Japanese lady gives for her dislike of Kiko: ""Princess Kiko should have stayed in Masako's shadow and supported her," Wada opines."

We have a lot of Masako-fans here around but most of us (I include myself) would not say that if you admire Masako that automatically means that you have to dislike or to criticize Kiko. And even those who would criticize her would give as a reason, as far as I remember, for example that she is a bit boring or too traditional or old-fashioned or too obedient. But I doubt that any non-Japanese would say she should have "stayed in the shadow and supported Masako"… (I certainly have not read such an opinion in this forum.) What Kiko is basically blamed for by this sentence is that she is "putting herself forward", showing off, boasting, is not content with being invisible, unimportant. And lo and behold! - that is the same thing Masako was blamed for when she, on the first occasion of her going into public as crown princess (see "The vision becomes reality – not"), talked fluently to Boris Yeltzin in Russian and to Bill Clinton in English. A princess has to smile, not to speak English – that would be the job of the interpreter… She was not supposed to show her abilities in such an obvious way. So, I really think it a very remarkable phenomenon that if Japanese people criticize Masako or if they criticize Kiko it is basically for the same reason: they do not stay modestly in the shadow as they ought to…

 

[ChiaraC]

Masako growing up

Masako was born in 1963 as the first child of Hisashi and Yumiko Owada. Her mother had attended one of the best Japanese universities, Keio-university, where she had studied French. And she – like her daughter – had been a working woman before her marriage: she had been employed by "Air France". Masako´s father after finishing the famous university of Tokyo had joined the foreign office that had sent him then to one of the famous "Oxbridge"-universities. (Exactly like his daughter, much later. The only difference was that Hisashi Owada studied in Cambridge whereas his daughter in her time would go to Oxford.) After finishing his studies there, Hisashi Owada first went back to Tokyo to work for the foreign office. Later, when his little daughter Masako was one year and eight months old, he was sent to work for the Japanese embassy in Moscow. As already mentioned, Masako there at two years and a half entered the kindergarten and learnt to talk Russian in only three months. At this time also her twin sisters, Reiko and Setsuko, were born, and from then on, Masako – who was at the time not even three years old herself – was "the big sister". It frequently happened that their parents had to be absent to fulfill professional duties, and Masako used to ask her mother every day when she came back from kindergarten at 5 o´clock in the afternoon, if the parents had to go out in the evening or not. If so, it was Masako´s task to take care of her little sisters during her parents´ absence. Fritz and Kobayashi report that later in life Masako´s parents asked themselves if they had maybe demanded too much of their little "Ma-chan". In any case, like many children who have to take great responsibility early in life, Masako learnt to deal with her problems by herself and to hide them from the people surrounding her, in order to spare them the necessity to worry about her.

The Owadas stayed in Moscow for two days and nine months. Then Hisashi Owada became first secretary in the Japanese department of the UN. So, the family passed the next three years in New York, and Masako learnt to speak English as her next foreign language. Nevertheless, her mother Yumiko took great pains to help her children to keep in contact with the Japanese culture. Every day she read to her three daughters fairy tales in Japanese, she prepared Japanese meals, and the relatives in Japan put into every parcel they sent to New York a "piece of Japan" for the children – Japanese dolls, books or kimonos. And when Masako came home from school, she was by far not done: then she had to learn Japanese.

But in spite of all these measures there were a lot of things that Masako was not familiar with when they finally did go back to Japan in 1971. For example, she did not know which year it was in the Japanese calendar (Showa 46), and she helplessly asked her mother why little girl.s who had little boys among their good friends were being laughed at? Accordingly, Masako was at first not successful when she took the entrance test for the Denenchofu Futaba-school that already her mother Yumiko had attended. But one year later she tried again, and this time, it worked. Masako was a lively, active schoolgirl who was very fond of animals. As Fritz and Kobayashi report she belonged in primary school to a study group about biology, and later she joined the softball team of her school.

1979, only three months after Masako had entered Denenchofu Futaba-highschool she had to quit Japan again as her father was bound to go to Harvard to teach international law. The family went to Boston, and the change was not easy for any of them. Father Hisashi had to give his lessons in English, and the necessary preparations took a lot of time and trouble. And Masako´s little sisters had difficulties in school because they had been still very small in the New Yorker years and had forgotten a lot of their English. Yumiko was constantly busy helping them. Also for Masako it was not an easy time. But as the problems of the other family members seemed to be so much greater than hers, she tried to deal with her difficulties on her own, and she put a lot of energy into working for school. So, at the American high school Masako was attending at the time, she got the nickname: "hardworker Masako"… But the trouble obviously paid off: on finishing school she got a prize as one of the best pupils, and afterwards she successfully took the entrance tests of several of the best universities in the US and could choose where she wanted to go. She decided to study economics at Harvard, and when her father became Japanese ambassador in Moscow, she staid alone by herself in the US to finish her studies. In 1985, she did her exams with "magna cum laude" (which only the best 15 percent of graduates get). After that, her father Hisashi recommended his daughter to finish her education in the US. She had gotten several very tempting employment offers from leading banks and investment corporations. But Masako did not want that. She told her father that she wanted, more than everything, to return to Japan…

In spite of her constant success in her studies, Masako during the years of her second stay in the US, between her fifteenth and her twentysecond year, was not altogether happy: she had a problem with her identity. She was missing Japan. Like many young people who have spent a lot of time in their childhood or adolescence in foreign countries, Masako was asking herself: "Where do I belong? Where do I come from? Who am I?"

During her time at Harvard she had taken part in a study group about Japanese culture to which Japanese people belonged as well as people of Japanese origin. In her last year she had even been the group leader. At that time, she used to say: "Foreigners know too little about Japan." But, so Fritz and Kobayashi ask, was she not also talking about herself when she said that? Although her mother Yumiko had taken such pains to make her children acquainted with Japanese culture, Masako at that time was not sure if she was really Japanese. She told her parents: "If I continue living in the US I lose my roots. This is about my identity."

Accordingly she went back to Japan, and there – with her usual zeal – she did everything to experience Japanese tradition. She went to first-rate teachers to learn Ikebana, tea ceremony and Japanese cooking. That Masako had had to pass long years of her childhood and youth abroad had given her a clear awareness of her patriotism and of her love for Japan. When talking to her parents about her professional career there was one thing absolutely clear for Masako: "I want to do something for Japan as a Japanese citizen." This is why Masako finally decided to serve her country as a diplomat and why she in summer 1986 after diligent and time-taking preparations took the entrance test for the diplomatic service. As one of only three women she successfully reached the highest level. She would follow her father into the foreign office, and that meant that she would be only the second woman in Japanese history to become a member of the diplomatic service in the second generation.
(If we know this background we understand why it was so especially painful for Masako when on the occasion of the conflict in the imperial family she was accused of being "not sufficiently Japanese". A friend of the tenno, Akira Hashimoto, said for example: "The princess has an American education. She is different from women who have been growing up normally in Japan. If she were a Japanese woman she should bear her situation somehow and try to understand the other side. But she does not have such a Japanese way of thinking." These accusations are for Masako especially painful because she always so strongly wanted to be Japanese and to serve Japan, a long time before she even thought of entering the imperial family. She had suffered in her younger years because she had to live far away from her home country. And she always has tried to learn with intentional effort what other Japanese children simply grow up with. But on the other hand she can - whatever she does - never change the fact that she has been living abroad, and she cannot undo this experience.)

 

[el-khanz]

Thank you so much, Chiarac. Reading your post above, I simply imagine how hard it is for Masako to deal with such situation. She even have to learn hard to do something that what other kids grow up and be familiar with. And after all those efforts, some people judge her as 'not sufficiently Japanese'. It must be very painful for her when people judge her like that while her drive is 'to serve Japan as Japanese citizen'. But despite of all problems, I truly admire her and her efforts to serve her country. Wish her and her family all the best!!

 

[ChiaraC]

Thank you, El-Khanz! I am always glad to hear that my translation is providing you with new insights. I admire Masako, too (which probably goes without saying...). Naruhito married her not only for love but also because he thought her the ideal crown princess – but as you will see again in the following parts his idea of the ideal crown princess always differed from the kunaicho´s idea of the ideal crown princess... So, to an attentive watcher it would have been clear right from the beginning that there would be a problem. But then: if I look at the latest pictures where Masako accompanies her daughter to school and looks so good I think she will make it in the end - in spite of everything.

 

[ChiaraC]

The crown prince in search for a wife, part I

A close friend of tenno Akihito, Mototsugu Akashi, once said that he always had the feeling that prince Naruhito was strongly impressed by the romantic story of how his parents found each other – a love story that at the time had moved the whole country - and that he, too, wanted to live such a romance. But, alas, for a very long time his search for a wife was to be a tedious and absolutely unromantic undertaking…

After the prince came back from his studies in Oxford the kunaicho began to collect long lists of young ladies who might have the potential to make an acceptable future empress. There were several necessary conditions: the future imperial bride should have a Japanese passport, should be healthy, attractive, should be fond of music and share the prince´s interests in general. She should have studied at an university for at least two years and should never have been a pupil of a school or university that is attended by g.irls and boys, mixed (exception: Gakushuin-university, the former university of Japanese nobility). Her grades at school should have been above the average, and she should have a good knowledge of foreign languages. She should come from a family with many children (preferably male children…) with a good social reputation and whose relatives should be without fault socially as well as politically at least three generations back.

The prince himself had a special wish brought back from Europe concerning his future mate. On the press conference on occasion of his return from Oxford he said: “I have learnt in Oxford that I can think and decide for myself and that I myself can put things in action. This attitude I want to keep also in the future if possible.” And he added: ”My ideal partner should have the ability to boldly speak her mind. Another wish is that she should know a foreign language to a certain degree because we will come into contact with foreigners often.” The court journalists were a bit puzzled what to make of this vision. Somehow no Japanese woman matching this picture would come to their mind. And so they remembered that Naruhito, on traveling home from England, had gone via the U.S. and there had had a short meeting with the American actress Brooke Shields... The prince later told journalists the reason for his fascination: “She says things in a clear, fearless way.” But with a sad smile he added: “But, of course, I cannot marry a foreigner…”

The executives of the kunaicho meanwhile took refuge to three important Japanese registers: the “Who is who” where leading personalities of politics and economy are named (with their family), the record of names of the former nobility, “Kasumikaikan” and the record of names of the female graduates of Gakushuin-university, “Tokiwakai”. And they also asked high officials with an excellent reputation if they knew young ladies who maybe would make a convincing crown princess. And it was by the last measure that the came to Masako´s name: Among the important personalities the kunaicho-executives had applied to was the former Japanese ambassador in Moscow, Toru Nakagawa. He had come to know Masako when her father was first secretary at the embassy in Moscow. Nakagawa had met her at the Christmas party of the embassy where he had been Santa Claus… He remembered her to have been a very sweet and intelligent looking little g.irl. (Masako had been only two years by then.) He recommended her to the kunaicho (without informing Masako, of course). After Naruhito and Masako were married he publicly explained his reasons: “Ms Masako is a very intelligent woman. Also, she is pretty. And she is a very gentle and friendly person. She has been living in the U.S.. That means that she also knows foreign languages.”

The kunaicho-executives usually invited the candidates to concerts or tea parties and the like to bring them into contact with the prince without raising general attention. Masako´s turn came when princess Elena from Spain came to visit the Japanese imperial family. The Spanish princess who is an enthusiastic horsewoman was to be shown two examples of traditional Japanese horsemanship, “Dakyu” and “Horobiki”.
As the grand chancellor of the kunaicho, Hisashi Yasujima, later tactfully described it: “The riding location is gigantic. We thought if the presentation should be only shown to princess Elena and the members of the imperial family they would be only ten persons and that would be very sad.” And so, they invited some more people to fill the space and – by sheer chance, of course ;-) - among them was Masako Owada with her father… As someone who had been present at the occasion described it later to Fritz and Kobayashi, Masako seemed to “bear a shining light in her heart” on that day. She had only recently successfully taken the entrance test for the foreign office. Accordingly, she glowed with happiness and - although she never had been a classical beauty - on that day a lot of people found her very attractive. The prince, usually rather shy and held back when dealing with women, quickly and directly accosted her: “Great that you had success in taking the diplomatic test!” And Masako impressed not only the young man who was to be her future husband (he called her afterwards a woman “of sky-high standing” – I suppose that sounds rather funny in English but it also sounds funny in German – it was probably an expression difficult to translate from the Japanese) - but also experienced Shigemitsu Dando, a former constitutional judge and counsellor of the kunaicho. He wrote in his diary: “Ms Masako was very gracious but also happy and outgoing.”

 

[ChiaraC]

Complicated courtship

Part of Masako´s attraction might have been that she was fully unaware of her charms and that she had taken absolutely no pains to impress anybody. After her success in the entrance test for the diplomatic service she had told the biggest Japanese daily, Yomiuri: “I do not think of marriage at present, work is for me everything.” So she afterwards had not a very clear memory of her first meeting with the crown prince. She only remembered having been nervous and that the prince was “an outspoken and considerate person”. (Fritz and Kobayashi do not comment this but I cannot help remarking that although the prince is certainly a man of much consideration the openness and liveliness that he showed Masako were not so much part of his character but the effect of his fascination with her – but, of course, how could she have known that?)

The prince, though, was already very much interested, to say the least, and he took pains to organize several carefully prepared meetings with Ms Masako. Obviously, he was trying to win her over slowly but surely. First, eight weeks after the presentation for princess Elena had taken place, Masako was invited with her parents to dine at the imperial palace, in a very small group of guests, only ten persons altogether. Four months later, in April 1987, the crown prince asked Masako to come to the house of his cousin, prince Takamado (for the close relations between the crown prince and prince Takamado see also “Wind of change”). In order to entertain Masako Naruhito had brought photos of his stay in Oxford and of a official trip he had taken to Nepal, Bhutan and India. When Masako arrived Naruhito was already there and welcomed her at the entrance. Then they had dinner with prince and princess Takamado and afterwards Naruhito showed his photos, and they had a lively conversation. And a rather long one – Masako returned home at one o´clock in the night.

Then again, six months later, in October 1987, the prince invited Masako to the palace to drink tea with him and a friend of his. This same friend, Masanori Kaya, said afterwards: “He was telling non-stop one story after the other. I had never before seen the prince like this. This is why his behaviour surprised me a lot.”

A bit later the yellow press became aware that there was something going on between the young diplomat and the crown prince. And so they set off to find out more - in a very direct way: one morning when Masako as usual left her parents´ home to go by foot to the train station she suddenly found herself in front of twenty or thirty photographers who were taking pictures of her and “bombarding” her with their flashlight. In shock, Masako turned back into the house. Her parents soothed her and convinced her to “brave the attack” and to go to the train station and then by train to her working place like she was used to do every day.

Several days after that a man whose identity is unknown to the public until this day came to Masako´s parents and told them: “There are people thinking of making your daughter the crown princess. Would you be able to appreciate this idea?” Well, they definitely were not able… They knew that their daughter had no plans to marry. She was doing her work in the foreign office with much enthusiasm, and she had been just selected to be sent abroad to Oxford for a two-year graduate study as a trainee of the Japanese foreign office.

We do not know by whom exactly this man had been sent and we do not know if ever Naruhito was informed of the answer that Masako´s parents had given. Maybe not, as on a press conference in February 1988, on occasion of his birthday, he said optimistically: “I have climbed 70 or 80% of the mountain Fuji if you take mountain-climbing as a metaphor for my marriage.”

But it were not only Masako´s parents who did not share the crown prince´s cheerful hopes. The kunaicho meanwhile had found out that Masako´s grandfather, Yutaka Egashira, had been working for Chisso, a company that had caused the biggest environment scandal in Japan after the second World War. Egashira could not personally be held responsible for the scandal in any way as he had become president of Chisso only when all had already happened but still – it did not sound so well. So the grand chamberlain of the kunaicho informed the crown prince that it was not acceptable for the future empress to have her name associated with this scandal… The crown prince hid his emotions and composedly said: “I agree.” (But afterwards he did not fail to ask Shigemitsu Dando, a specialist in law (who had also been charmed by Masako on the presentation for princess Elena) if it was really impossible… But he got the same answer: from the point of view of law it was not a problem but socially it was).

Fritz and Kobayashi discuss at this point if it really was only the career of Masako`s grandfather that displeased the executives of the kunaicho. They explain that from the point of view of ancient tradition there were several points that went against Masako: 1. She is a bit taller than the crown prince. (She is 1,63 m, he is 1,61 m – I know that is not the English measurement but I do not know how to translate this.) 2. She comes from a family with only daughters. 3. Even worse, her sisters are twins. 3. Conservative journalists criticized Masako because in her public appearances (when the yellow press photographers had taken her by surprise as she wanted to go to work, see above) she had shown too much self confidence. This lady, to their mind, seemed to have too strong a character for a Japanese princess.

Anyhow, Masako was certainly not sorry that she was not thought suitable as crown princess. According to her, the crown prince was a nice guy, softly spoken, accomplished, sensitive, good to look at. But the main thing for her was her planned stay in England where she would study “International relations” for two years. And so Naruhito and Masako in summer 1988 parted ways – seemingly for ever.

 

[Emi]

I know I've said this before, but thanks so much for the translations ChiaraC. This is a really insightful book and I'm always looking forward to each new translation.

In the second paragraph you posted where it talks about the conditions for the future crown princess... whoa! Talk about some stringent requirements! I was wondering, why was it necessary that the future crown princess had not attended a co-education school? I can understand the reasoning for the other conditions except that one. Do the authors give an explanation?

 

[tan_berry]

I absolutely agree with the kunaicho executives: Masako was not a suitable crown princess. Too brilliant and educated for being happy in that post. She did not choose well. Now, she should be allowed to teach in an university or work in a research agency, some hours a week, where she can find people like her and get intellectual stimulation. She is bored to death.

 

[ChiaraC]

Thank you, Emi and tan berry.
I am aware that it can feel a bit funny to keep repeating yourself when you say that you appreciate my translation. I am sure that in your place I would feel the same. But, being in my place, I find it very valuable to hear your opinion or just the statement of your interest. I always appreciate your interest very much.
Still, in the next weeks I will have to go a bit slower because I will be busy. Maybe I will have a little time to write but maybe not so much time as to go out and post it. I do not know yet. But sooner or later I will get it finished. (We are now in the middle of the second chapter, so we have to do still the second half of it and then the third chapter, and then we will be done.)

Concerning the co-education: Fritz and Kobayashi do not explain it. But we have the same phenomenon in „Masako growing up“: little Masako, coming home to Japan from Russia and the US, asks her mother innocently why people mock little gir.ls who play with little boys. There is obviously a cultural difference, at present. But although Fritz and Kobayashi do not explain it - if I look back in our (German) history I do not have such a problem to imagine a culture where „nice“ gir.ls do not play with boys... In former times, not so long ago, it was also the custom here that „nice“ gir.ls did not play with boys nor go to school with them. I do not know when it changed, probably gradually but I think that even in the fifties there were still some people who thought that co-education is something nasty that only communists do...

tan berry, I know what you mean. I agree with you in that it is absolutely necessary for Masako´s recovery that she do things that fit her abilities ( I think that also the crown prince said something like that on his last press conference.) This is not about her getting recovered to make her fit into the system, like a puppet. But I would not agree that she is not a suitable crown princess because the kunaicho says so. I would not leave the right to define what a suitable crown princess is to the kunaicho (at least, not without fight......). It certainly is open to discussion if the kunaicho´s definition of an suitable crown princess is more valid than the definition of the crown prince - who is the future tenno. In a monarchy, it is not unreasonable to expect that the sovereign´s opinion should be of higher importance than the opinions of the bureaucrats...

And there is one more thing: I have got the impression that some kunaicho-executives did in fact appreciate Masako – Sadame Kamakura, for example. (You find him in the story around the beginning of trying artificial insemination and the birth of Aiko.) He thought that she could help the monarchy get a modern face – and for that, as I report in „Jealousy“, page 4 - empress Michiko did not like Kamakura AT ALL...
What I want to say is that the kunaicho is certainly a very conservative institution. But: it also consists of individuals – who also may have opinions of their own about what will be in the best interest of the monarchy they are serving...

 

[Emi]

I see now, thanks for the explanation. I get the feeling that some of the more conservative views of the kunaicho are similar to what society was like in the 1950s (you can see this in how the royal ladies dress), almost as if time froze and the last 50 or so years have not happened. Though as you say there are a differing views among individuals in the organisation. Good luck with whatever you have coming up!

 

[tan_berry]

The american actor Geena Davies, who has an extremelly higy I.Q., had three children from 40 to 48 years old. And to choose the sex of the baby and have tweens for finishing pregnancies earlier, is nowadays regular practice among the rich and powerful. I think it would be excellent for Japanese monarchy to have a heir, a boy, with a mother so brilliant and nice like Masako.

I do not think kunaicho executives must have the last word about who is a suitable crown princess, but I understand their point of view. They know well the conservative institution they represent. That is why I do not think Aiko should be an empress. Not yet. That society and that institution are not prepared yet for it. They look to me like a good couple and to preserve that marriage should be the last word for everyone involved.

 

[Vanesa]

You said it Tan Berry. For me, it should be no problem in Princess Aiko being the next Japan Empress. She will not be MY Empress, but Japanese Empress. If Japanese people is not yet ready to have her as an Empress we can't force the country to change it's costumes only for they are not modern any more. A forced modernization could be a bad thing, since it couldn't be sincere at all and it could bring not desired troubles in the country. New ways are introduced little by little. Otherwise, the nation could feel something strange to them is making violence toward them . THings must to mature.

This is my reason tosay - without being contradictory at all that Infanta Leonor could be promoted as the next Queen of Spain, as there isn't any problem in England for having a real Queen, but I do not approve Princess Aiko as Japan Empress. Every country has its own rythm to accept certain ways of living. And some f them are never able to let them enter. It sounds sad, I know, but the truth will never be sad. Only the truth.

Vanesa.

 

[Mandy]

Until a few years ago a majority of the Japanese people approved Princess Aiko becoming of Empress Japan after her father. That is until the IHA began their negative campaign against the Crown Prince Couple.

Thank you so much ChiaraC. Everything is becoming so much clearer now. Poor Masako was backed to the wall on three fronts, a jealous mother-in-law, the kunaicho, and whoever was pushing her to have another child. Meanwhile, her only desire was to serve her country. It's no wonder she was diagnosed with an adjustment disorder.

 

[ChiaraC]

Ooops, a discussion! How very, very nice!

I have been thinking again about the co-education question – and as usual I have been thinking at home, so I have not taken into account the last postings (welcome! ) when I wrote it:

Concerning co-education, I think that from a traditional standpoint it makes sense that a future female member of the imperial family should have had as little contact with boys as possible. The ideal wife in their eyes is not required to love and respect her husband as her equal but to serve and worship him like someone superior. And if a gir.l sees boys on a regular basis in her everyday life – which is inevitable if she attends a co-educative school - it is rather probable that she will find out sooner or later that the male of the human species are not mysteriously superior but just normal people “like you ´n´ me” - which will prevent her from being able to honestly worship her future husband.

Masako´s sober reaction when she was offered the chance to become crown princess and the obvious lack of something like a “Cinderella-moment” (“Oh my God, the CROWN PRINCE wants to MARRY me!!!”) are probably at least partly owing to the fact that in her young life she already had seen a lot of the world and also of men. (I am personally quite sure that – for example – Lady Di DID have such a “Cinderella-moment” - several of them, probably.) And maybe (that is just a thought of mine) it was the lack of this “Cinderella-feeling” that the conservatives could never forgive Masako: it is all well and good if a young woman is ambitious and a hard worker and following in her father´s footsteps - as long as nothing better comes her way. But then: if a member of the imperial family (the IMPERIAL FAMILY!) offers himself as her husband she should, of course, at once forget all her past ambitions and be dutifully overwhelmed with gratitude and joy - and be aware that she never did anything to deserve this great luck and happiness… But if she – instead – just coolly says: “No thanks” and without doubts or regrets insists on continuing her career - that shows that she was all the time not acting as a dutiful daughter but that she did what she did because she WANTED IT HERSELF. So she is – horrors! – actually having a will of her own... In the eyes of the conservatives Masako was probably showing ingratitude in a highly provoking degree, she seemed to overrate her own value and to be completely unaware how to justly appreciate the greatness of the opportunity that was offered her and to recognize her own unimportance. (And again: that was probably one of the things the crown prince especially appreciated in her.)

And they are right at least in so far as Masako obviously never was very wild about the glamour of being a princess. This may be a nice trait of character as it shows a lack of vanity. But on the other hand, it means that she in fact is unable to appreciate one of the very few rewards the hard job of being Japanese crown princess has to offer...

 

[ChiaraC]

tan-berry, I also think that it would be great to have a son of Masako´s on the throne (if we cannot have her daughter- and I also see the problem of this, the problem to so radically change tradition in so short a time as I have explained already earlier in this thread). But although I know that it is scientifically possible something inside tells me that this is not going to happen. I do not know why... Maybe it is Masako´s destiny to show her nation and the world that a woman can be a great and unforgettable empress who brings much bliss to her people - although she is not the mother of the heir... To bear an heir was once seen as the first (and in a way even: only) duty of the crown princess/empress. They were/are not expected to be good for anything else. It seems to even raise aggression if they have other abilities. To understand that an empress without having a son can have a very positive impact and can be a great blessing for her people would obviously mean an incredible change of the national mind. If Masako will be able to help her fellow citizens see this she will have rendered her country a great service indeed. I hope she´ll get there.

Mandy, I think, too, that there are several reasons for Masako`s suffering and that every single one would have been sufficient to cause a breakdown. And I indeed have got the impression that her mother-in-law has not been very supportive to her during the last years. But, on the other hand, I am quite convinced that Michiko had in the beginning the best intentions to receive the bride of her eldest son with a warm welcome and that she did her best. In a way, like she did her best when she gave the future emperor an education based on nazi-principles... I think she has never really understood what the problem was, and in a way maybe this is hardly to be expected. She has been treated so meanly and unfairly herself by the conservatives and the court that she probably had to suppress much of her tender and soft feelings. She had, to a degree, to become hard in order to survive. And although Akihito loved her I doubt that he knew how to support her emotionally, considering his loveless childhood. She made a good game with very difficult cards and although I would oppose her judgement on Masako I still think we should make allowances for her situation and her story. In Michiko as well as in Masako we see that as human beings we are always limited. We may be ever so strong and intelligent but there is always a point where we have given all we had and can do no more.

 

[tan_berry]

Aiko

Aiko, such a perfect beauty, perfect like the children of love. The writer of a beautiful novel: " East wind, west wind", Pearl S. Buck, an american woman who lived in China for many years, says that the chinese think the children born out of love are perfect. This was her first novel, published in 1930. Eventually, she would be a Nobel laureate.

It has to be a tough life that of a queen, so full of duties and responsibilities. I would like a sweeter life for little princess Aiko. Sometimes I watch with pity to princess Victoria from Sweden. Usually men enjoy more that kind of life. It does not have so many restrictions for them.

I know it is important there are more women with power in the world, because men are too prone to war. But women president or CEO are not in the job for a lifetime. They can get some rest now and then, to take a sabbatical year, to retire. But a job for a lifetime is a tough destiny.

 

[HRH Abigail]

VERY NICE of you / Very nice!

Part of Masako´s attraction might have been that she was fully unaware of her charms and that she had taken absolutely no pains to impress anybody. After her success in the entrance test for the diplomatic service she had told the biggest Japanese daily, Yomiuri: “I do not think of marriage at present, work is for me everything.” So she afterwards had not a very clear memory of her first meeting with the crown prince. She only remembered having been nervous and that the prince was “an outspoken and considerate person”. (Fritz and Kobayashi do not comment this but I cannot help remarking that although the prince is certainly a man of much consideration the openness and liveliness that he showed Masako were not so much part of his character but the effect of his fascination with her – but, of course, how could she have known that?)

The prince, though, was already very much interested, to say the least, and he took pains to organize several carefully prepared meetings with Ms Masako. Obviously, he was trying to win her over slowly but surely. First, eight weeks after the presentation for princess Elena had taken place, Masako was invited with her parents to dine at the imperial palace, in a very small group of guests, only ten persons altogether. Four months later, in April 1987, the crown prince asked Masako to come to the house of his cousin, prince Takamado (for the close relations between the crown prince and prince Takamado see also “Wind of change”). In order to entertain Masako Naruhito had brought photos of his stay in Oxford and of a official trip he had taken to Nepal, Bhutan and India. When Masako arrived Naruhito was already there and welcomed her at the entrance. Then they had dinner with prince and princess Takamado and afterwards Naruhito showed his photos, and they had a lively conversation. And a rather long one – Masako returned home at one o´clock in the night.

Then again, six months later, in October 1987, the prince invited Masako to the palace to drink tea with him and a friend of his. This same friend, Masanori Kaya, said afterwards: “He was telling non-stop one story after the other. I had never before seen the prince like this. This is why his behaviour surprised me a lot.”

A bit later the yellow press became aware that there was something going on between the young diplomat and the crown prince. And so they set off to find out more - in a very direct way: one morning when Masako as usual left her parents´ home to go by foot to the train station she suddenly found herself in front of twenty or thirty photographers who were taking pictures of her and “bombarding” her with their flashlight. In shock, Masako turned back into the house. Her parents soothed her and convinced her to “brave the attack” and to go to the train station and then by train to her working place like she was used to do every day.

Several days after that a man whose identity is unknown to the public until this day came to Masako´s parents and told them: “There are people thinking of making your daughter the crown princess. Would you be able to appreciate this idea?” Well, they definitely were not able… They knew that their daughter had no plans to marry. She was doing her work in the foreign office with much enthusiasm, and she had been just selected to be sent abroad to Oxford for a two-year graduate study as a trainee of the Japanese foreign office.

We do not know by whom exactly this man had been sent and we do not know if ever Naruhito was informed of the answer that Masako´s parents had given. Maybe not, as on a press conference in February 1988, on occasion of his birthday, he said optimistically: “I have climbed 70 or 80% of the mountain Fuji if you take mountain-climbing as a metaphor for my marriage.”

But it were not only Masako´s parents who did not share the crown prince´s cheerful hopes. The kunaicho meanwhile had found out that Masako´s grandfather, Yutaka Egashira, had been working for Chisso, a company that had caused the biggest environment scandal in Japan after the second World War. Egashira could not personally be held responsible for the scandal in any way as he had become president of Chisso only when all had already happened but still – it did not sound so well. So the grand chamberlain of the kunaicho informed the crown prince that it was not acceptable for the future empress to have her name associated with this scandal… The crown prince hid his emotions and composedly said: “I agree.” (But afterwards he did not fail to ask Shigemitsu Dando, a specialist in law (who had also been charmed by Masako on the presentation for princess Elena) if it was really impossible… But he got the same answer: from the point of view of law it was not a problem but socially it was).

Fritz and Kobayashi discuss at this point if it really was only the career of Masako`s grandfather that displeased the executives of the kunaicho. They explain that from the point of view of ancient tradition there were several points that went against Masako: 1. She is a bit taller than the crown prince. (She is 1,63 m, he is 1,61 m – I know that is not the English measurement but I do not know how to translate this.) 2. She comes from a family with only daughters. 3. Even worse, her sisters are twins. 3. Conservative journalists criticized Masako because in her public appearances (when the yellow press photographers had taken her by surprise as she wanted to go to work, see above) she had shown too much self confidence. This lady, to their mind, seemed to have too strong a character for a Japanese princess.

Anyhow, Masako was certainly not sorry that she was not thought suitable as crown princess. According to her, the crown prince was a nice guy, softly spoken, accomplished, sensitive, good to look at. But the main thing for her was her planned stay in England where she would study “International relations” for two years. And so Naruhito and Masako in summer 1988 parted ways – seemingly for ever.

THANK you for this, ChiaraC.

Now, does the book simply leave off at 1988? I am referring to the last sentence of this translation as I see it, here.

I don't see the rest of the translation, or did I just skip over it?

Thanks,

-- Abbie

 

[ChiaraC]

Last time I was in such a hurry to get across my thoughts (as I had not much time) that I forgot to thank you, Emi and Mandy, for your support and your encouraging words. Thank you!!!

Tan_berry, you are right, Aiko is really special and will have a very special life, empress or no empress. I do not doubt this in the least. Maybe for her it is better if she can stay free from the imperial burden.
But for the Japanese people I still think it is rather a pity. We know from our European history what a positive impact female sovereigns in a male-dominated society are able to provide. I think, for example, of Elizabeth I and Victoria of England, Maria Theresia of Austria and Wilhelmina and Juliana of the Netherlands.
Most of them „should“ have been boys as well. It would even have saved Anne Boleyn´s life if her child had been a boy, in all probability she would then have lived to see him reign. But, on the other hand, this son could easily have become just another one of the insignificant English kings that are hardly remembered and not such an outstanding personality as Elizabeth.
And if you look at the Dutch queens you perceive that women may indeed have a different style in dealing with power: when they were getting old Juliana as well as Wilhelmina gave up the throne to their daughters. They obviously did not feel the necessity to cling to power until their dying day... Very wise. Women can learn from men to answer to a challenge and to hold a position of power when their time has come. But men can learn from women how to give up power when their time is over at last. The world would be a better place to live in if they learnt that.
(I am, too, very fond of Pearl S. Buck. I admire the love and care for people and especially for children that is expressed in her books and in her life – which was not an easy one...)

Abbie, no, the book does not leave off there. What a disappointment this would be for all of us! It is only that I am completely disrespecting the chronological order in doing this translation – I began this thread with chapter six about the conflict in the imperial family because I thought that would be the most interesting information for everybody. Then I did the circumstances of Aiko´s birth, then Masako´s illness. And now I have gone back to the very beginning, of Masako and Naruhito getting to know each other. And I will continue this story until they are finally married... Is it now clearer?
Or maybe you are just being irritated because I did not continue the translation for several weeks? As I said I am presently very busy so I have to go a bit slower but if you have to go slow for a time that does not mean you will stop altogether...
But thank you in any case for showing your interest! Very fortunately, I have just now a bit more of the translation ready to be put here. Here we go!

 

[ChiaraC]

The crown prince in search for a wife, part II

In September 1988, emperor Hirohito was diagnosed with cancer. The leading kunaicho-executives decided that he should live to see his grandson Naruhito married. And as they had, of course, no possibility to influence the tenno´s health the solution to this was obviously: to hasten the crown prince´s marriage.

The next candidate they presented to the prince was the daughter of a close friend of emperor Akihito. (Fritz and Kobayashi do not give his name. But they several times quote a friend of the tenno with pretty critical views about Masako – you will find some of them (with his name) also in my summary… I suspect that this friend might have also personal reasons for his critique that are to be found in the following story – but, of course, I cannot prove this and I may be wrong.) This said young lady was a twenty-eight-year-old fragile beauty. Like her father, tenno Akihito and prince Naruhito she had attended Gakushuin-school, the school of the former nobility. The families were close and met often so that she and Naruhito had been knowing each other already since they had been children.

Fritz and Kobayashi report that Naruhito and the young lady had met several times and had just begun to be interested in each other when the kunaicho found out that a great-grandfather of the lady had belonged to the Japanese colonial government in Korea and that, accordingly, she was not acceptable as wife for the crown prince as he could never travel with her to Korea where the great-grandchild of the former suppressor would not be welcome. Fritz and Kobayashi comment that experienced watchers of the Japanese monarchy secretly ask themselves why the kunaicho could not have found out this before the meetings of the crown prince with this young lady took place.

At this point, I want to present an alternative view of the facts that disagrees with the interpretation of Fritz and Kobayashi. I have read somewhere – I am sorry that I absolutely do not remember where but I remember it because to me it seemed to absolutely make sense (Judge for yourself if you think that, too!) – I have read that the executives of the kunaicho have always something in store to give as the official version (some great granduncle or mother´s cousin who did something unacceptable) just in case if a young lady is rejected for a reason that ought not to be published – for example, because the crown prince does not like her (or because the young woman seems to have too strong a character for a Japanese princess… ). So, to ask if the kunaicho could not have found out about the great-grandfather before the meetings took place, would, maybe, be putting the wrong question. Maybe they DID know before, and when their knowledge was required - as the prince did not like the lady - they came up with it as the good servants they are meant to be...

Could it be possible that this is the correct version of the story? In my opinion, yes. Sure, Fritz and Kobayashi report that the crown prince DID like this young lady and that, accordingly, the colonial great grandfather was not just a pretext. But who was it that gave them this information? (Fritz and Kobayashi do not say where they got that story from - which is not unusual in this book. They got a lot of their information only on condition that they consented to not mention their source – they inform the reader about his at the beginning of the book.) But I think that in this case it is very probable that they got the story from the father of the young lady, tenno Akihito´s friend. And maybe the truth of the tale was that the crown prince, after all, did not want the beautiful, traditionally raised young lady for his wife – although, maybe, she had been patiently waiting for the crown prince to tear his heart from Masako until she was already nearing the (traditionally) dangerous age of thirty... (Only supposing, of course, but it IS possible). And if it was so - then it is quite clear that the father would under no circumstances ever have admitted it. (Maybe not even to himself.) It would be no surprise then that he would prefer to name the great grandfather as the real problem and to blame the kunaicho for having neglected their duties… And it would be quite understandable as well that he never would be able to forgive Masako for having taken the place that he had wanted for his daughter...

I leave it to you to decide which version you think to be more probable.

 

[ChiaraC]

The crown prince in search for a wife, part III

The next two stories were similar: Naruhito met the young lady several times and was said to be interested but soon was stopped short. In the first case because of the kunaicho finding out about an uncle having been in prison, in the next case the father of the young woman died. (Both parents of a young woman marrying into the imperial family have to be alive.)

Again, I would comment: in the first case we do not know if it was really the uncle who was the problem or if Naruhito after three meetings found out that he was no longer interested in the young lady, and the kunaicho had to give an official explanation of some sort. Even more so, as, obviously, the crown prince at the time could hardly say “Hello!” to a young lady without raising speculations of the press about his being charmed by her and about her views of becoming Japanese crown princess soon. Fritz and Kobayashi report that about 100 women were mentioned by the media as potential candidates for this position (usually not by their names, but as Ms A, B or C). If, for example, a young woman attended a concert in the imperial palace or had a close contact to princess Sayako she was risking to find herself mentioned some day in a newspaper… The journalists were “hunting” these young women with eagerness, broke with cameras and helicopters into their daily lives – like they had done before, with Masako in autumn of 1987. (See: “Complicated courtship”) And – among others - they attacked Masako again – at Oxford! Crowds of Japanese reporters tried to stop her in the streets there with questions about her relationship with the crown prince. (At the time there was no contact whatsoever between the future couple. Naruhito may have been secretly thinking of Masako but that was all.) Masako tried to escape, walking several hundred meters without answering. She obviously hoped to get rid of the journalists without having to make a comment. (Not probable though - if they had followed her as far as Oxford…) Then she gave up and said – but without slowing down her pace: “I have nothing to do with this. I want to work as a diplomat. I have heard nothing like that from the prince. This is none of my business.”

And the women-hunt went on. Some of the young ladies did not even leave their home for weeks because in front of their door-steps a crowd of journalists was waiting for them night and day. It grew so bad that even tenno Akihito gave a comment: “There are women suffering because something is been written about them that is absolutely not based on facts.” But not even the tenno could stop the media. Some of them intentionally hurt the dignity of the women in question and also of the prince. In order to put a cynical smile on the face of the readers they published, for example, pictures of the prince on which he looked especially unattractive or they gave him advice concerning a new haircut that would make him look a little bit better… And their efforts turned out to have considerable success: in a poll, 75% of young Japanese women said they would decline a marriage offer from the crown prince. (We see, again, although this example is not quite so cruel as the “advice to an Asian princess” (see there): it would be too simple to say that the Japanese media treat the members of the imperial family with politeness and respect at all times.)

But it were certainly not only the slanderous articles of the media that reduced the crown prince´s attraction as a husband. The times had changed. As one of Naruhito´s teachers, Minoru Hamao, put it: “Thirty years ago, it was seen as a honour to become a member of the imperial family. But now many young women no longer care about it. They do not want to lose their freedom.” At the end of the eighties/ beginning of the nineties, the time we are presently talking about, Japan was in a “gold rush” mood. The economical circumstances of the day made it possible to dream of becoming a millionaire overnight. For the more traditional of the young women: to marry such a millionaire and to lead a life in luxury. And for the more modern or ambitious of the women it had become possible to attend one of the top universities and have a career of their own, as a lawyer, doctor or a diplomat. Compared to that, becoming crown princess was only second best, if that.

(Here I think of your comment, Emi, as the conditions for a crown princess-to-be being stringent: in case that becoming crown princess is the dearest wish of the most attractive and intelligent of Japanese young women I would not call them stringent. But, as it is, you are, IMO, right: those who match these conditions, who are charming, intelligent, beautiful, with a perfect family background – which still counts a lot in Japanese society – may nowadays be not very interested in wasting their qualities on the imperial family who, after all, will not appreciate all the advantages they bring with them but will only require them to produce a male child or two and then hold their tongue… And those who still may have entertained illusions concerning this state of things in the nineties certainly know better now, after having witnessed Masako´s destiny… I repeat that if things should not radically change, Hisahito will have a big problem to find a wife, may he even grow to be the handsomest and smartest prince ever seen. And concerning the kunaicho-conditions for a crown princess: they should in future be willing to put up with much less if they want to have a chance at all.)

 

[HRH Abigail]

ChiaraC, let me explain, please

Last time I was in such a hurry to get across my thoughts (as I had not much time) that I forgot to thank you, Emi and Mandy, for your support and your encouraging words. Thank you!!!

Tan_berry, you are right, Aiko is really special and will have a very special life, empress or no empress. I do not doubt this in the least. Maybe for her it is better if she can stay free from the imperial burden.
But for the Japanese people I still think it is rather a pity. We know from our European history what a positive impact female sovereigns in a male-dominated society are able to provide. I think, for example, of Elizabeth I and Victoria of England, Maria Theresia of Austria and Wilhelmina and Juliana of the Netherlands.
Most of them „should“ have been boys as well. It would even have saved Anne Boleyn´s life if her child had been a boy, in all probability she would then have lived to see him reign. But, on the other hand, this son could easily have become just another one of the insignificant English kings that are hardly remembered and not such an outstanding personality as Elizabeth.
And if you look at the Dutch queens you perceive that women may indeed have a different style in dealing with power: when they were getting old Juliana as well as Wilhelmina gave up the throne to their daughters. They obviously did not feel the necessity to cling to power until their dying day... Very wise. Women can learn from men to answer to a challenge and to hold a position of power when their time has come. But men can learn from women how to give up power when their time is over at last. The world would be a better place to live in if they learnt that.
(I am, too, very fond of Pearl S. Buck. I admire the love and care for people and especially for children that is expressed in her books and in her life – which was not an easy one...)

Abbie, no, the book does not leave off there. What a disappointment this would be for all of us! It is only that I am completely disrespecting the chronological order in doing this translation – I began this thread with chapter six about the conflict in the imperial family because I thought that would be the most interesting information for everybody. Then I did the circumstances of Aiko´s birth, then Masako´s illness. And now I have gone back to the very beginning, of Masako and Naruhito getting to know each other. And I will continue this story until they are finally married... Is it now clearer?
Or maybe you are just being irritated because I did not continue the translation for several weeks? As I said I am presently very busy so I have to go a bit slower but if you have to go slow for a time that does not mean you will stop altogether...
But thank you in any case for showing your interest! Very fortunately, I have just now a bit more of the translation ready to be put here. Here we go!

ChiaraC, I am not irritated with you, nor angry at you.

I was merely asking why what I read left off when it did.

The lack of book chronology had me confused. As the book appeared to jump around so, it became hard for me to follow.

Thank you,

-- Abbie