Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko invited Princess Kiko and little Prince Hisahito to join them for a little sea excursion near the Imperial Villa in the town of Hayama, south of Tokyo. The Imperial Family took a small boat they rowed themselves for the excursion; the boat had been used by Emperor Showa for his research of sea creatures. After they returned, the family proudly watched as 3-years-old Prince Hisahito steadily walked off the boat on a narrow plank: although the little Prince walked unaided, his grandparents, mother and local people all kept watchful eyes on him.

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Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko then showed their informal side, helping people to bring the boat ashore. Their Imperial Majesties appeared to be in good health and physical form and had obviously enjoyed the excursion. Princess Kiko and Prince Hisahito looked delighted with the family outing as well. Princesses Kako, Mako and Aiko wouldn’t be able to join the family because the school year has already started.

Meanwhile, President Lee Myung-bak expressed hope today that Emperor Akihito will visit Seoul next year on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Japan’s annexation of Korea. President Lee hopes that the visit would help to move Japanese-Korean relationships forward and would be a symbolic gesture to put an end to historical tensions between the two neighbors.

During a press conference, President Lee said: “Korea and Japan have difficulty in improving relations due to the past. Emperor Akihito’s visit to Seoul will have a significant meaning and would show that the countries can leave the past behind and try to develop a future-oriented relationship. The visit would be meaningful, produce positive results, and be a step permanently removing the distance between the two countries. The Emperor has traveled all around the world, but couldn’t visit Korea. I’m confident that Japanese-Korean relations will improve rapidly if he visits Korea”.

Marsel Japanese Royals Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko, President Lee, Prince Hisahito, Princess Kiko, South Korea

 Last month, Prince Akishino of Japan, and his wife Princess Kiko enjoyed a two-week visit to central and eastern Europe in honor of the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan, Austria and Hungary. The prince and princess also traveled to Bulgaria and Romania, in honor of the 50 years of diplomacy between these two nations and Japan. The elegant 42 year-old princess was the very image of traditional and modern royal style during the visit.

One of the highlights of the princess’ wardrobe during the visit was the beautiful, peach-colored silk kimono that she wore during her visit with the prince to the Klosterneuburg Abbey near Vienna. The kimono, which had short sleeves rather than the familiar trailing sleeves characteristic of kimono for girls and unmarried women, was accentuated by a wide cream and peach-colored obi with floral design and a peach obijime. The kimono had yuzen-dyed floral detail, similar to that on the obi; as is usual for a formal kimono for a married woman, the design was subtle and was mostly below knee height, with some detailing also on the left shoulder. No jewelry was worn to accentuate her outfit, as is the custom when wearing kimono. The peach color complimented the porcelain complexion of the princess. The material looked like a heavy, yet soft silk, and the kimono was perfectly fitted to suit the princess’ slim figure. Read more…

sgl Japanese Royals Austria, Bulgaria, Fashion, Hungary, Japan, Official Visit, Princess Kiko, Romania

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On Saturday, Prince and Princess Akishino arrived back home from their tour to the Danube countries – Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. In Romania, the fourth and last leg of their journey, the couple paid a courtesy visit to President Basescu on Wednesday and met with Chairman of the Romanian Senate Mircea Geoana and Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Roberta Anastase.

On the programme of the four-day visit were also a series of cultural and social events, such as visits to Cotroceni National Museum, the building of the Ministry of Culture, Religious Affairs and National Heritage, the Sinaia Monastery and Peles Castle. The royal couple also planted cherry trees at the Village Museum and met professors and students of the Japanese Section of the Foreign Languages and Literatures Department of the Bucharest University. (Article) Read more…

ChiaraC Japanese Royals Prince Akishino, Prince Naruhito, Princess Kiko

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Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko are presently on a two-week goodwill tour of Europe that began in Austria and took them in the following to Bulgaria and Hungary. The fourth and last leg of their journey is going to be Romania. The visits are taking place in order to celebrate the 140th year of Japanese diplomatic ties with Austria and Hungary and the 50th year since Tokyo resumed formal relations with Bulgaria and Romania.

Last Thursday the couple was welcomed by Bulgarian President Georgy Parvanov and his wife Zorka at the Presidential Palace in Sofia. On Friday, the prince and Parvanov were to open a replica of a famous Thracian tomb, funded by the Japanese government. On the royal programme were also visits to the golden-domed Alexander Nevski cathedral in Sofia and the Boyana Church, a UNESCO World Heritage site. At 18th secondary school “William Gladstone” as well as at Sofia University the prince and princess met with pupils, students and lecturers in Japanese studies.

On Saturday, the royal couple were received by Bulgaria’s former king and premier Simeon Saxe Coburg and his wife Margarita (Article) before they travelled on to Hungary where they visited an exhibition of Japanese design in Budapest’s Museum of Applied Arts. (Article) They went to see the Budapest Zoo and the Hungarian Museum of Agriculture on the following day. On Monday they met with Hungary´s President Laszlo Solyom who discussed environmental issues with his guests before presenting them with presents of a Herend porcelain bird and a zither.

Yesterday, Prince and Princess Akishino arrived on the fourth leg of their tour, in Romania, where they were scheduled to visit the Japanese School before meeting with Romanian President Traian Basescu and his wife Maria today at Cotroceni Palace in Romania´s capital Bucharest. (Article) Read more…

ChiaraC Japanese Royals Bulgaria, Hungary, Official Visit, Prince Akishino, Princess Kiko, Princess Masako, Romania, Succession

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Japan´s Prince Akishino met yesterday with Austrian President Heinz Fischer at the Hofburg Imperial Palace, the seat of the presidency in Vienna, at the start of a four-day visit to Austria. Princess Akishino (informally Princess Kiko) is accompanying her husband on a two-week tour of Europe that also includes Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. The prince and princess will return to Japan on May 23 after a brief stopover in Paris.

During their stay in Austria, Prince and Princess Akishino will visit the Japanese school in Vienna, the former home of classical composer Joseph Haydn, and Schoenbrunn summer palace as well as other cultural sights in and around the capital. The trip to Austria is probably an especially pleasant experience for Princess Akishino, as she attended school in Vienna for several years, due to her father´s work, and is still in contact with her old friends there.

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ChiaraC Japanese Royals Austria, Official Visit, Prince Akishino, Princess Kiko, Princess Mako

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 On May 10, Prince and Princess Akishino are expected in Austria for a four-day visit. They are scheduled to visit there Klosterneuburg diocese, Vienna’s Schönbrunn Castle, the Neusiedler Lake National Park in the province of Burgenland as well as the Japanese school of Vienna and the capital’s Museum for Natural History. 

Princess Akishino’s stay in the European country will probably remind the Japanese princess of happy times, as the former Kiko Kawashima attended elementary and high school in Austria when her father, Tatsuhiko Kawashima, became the chief researcher at The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Laxenburg, near Vienna. Stemming from that time, the princess is fluent in German. That Princess Kiko, as she is informally called, has always kept in touch with some of her father´s old friends in Austria, Norbert and Gabriele Orac, became obvious to the public in summer 2006 when the couple invited her eldest daughter, Princess Mako, for a two-weeks stay at their home in the suburbs of Vienna.

Prince and Princess Akishino will continue their trip by departing for Bulgaria on May 13 where they will stay until May 16, in order to mark the 50th anniversary of the reinstatement of diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and Japan. The couple will also visit Hungary and Romania, as 2009 is proclaimed the year of friendship between Japan and the Danube states. In January, Bulgaria’s President, Georgi Parvanov, and his wife, Zorka Parvanova, paid an official visit to Japan. (Photo)

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ChiaraC Japanese Royals Austria, Bulgaria, Official Visit, Prince Akishino, Prince Hisahito, Princess Kiko, Succession