A god becomes human
Here we go for the next parts, today all will be about Akihito, his story and his view of the role of the tenno:
We notice that even concerning this – for commoners absolutely private – issue, a couple´s having children, there already exist notable differences between the opinions of the crown prince and the crown princess on one hand and the emperor and the empress on the other. But although it can safely be said that the difficulties existing between them can be explained within the context of modern versus traditional it would be much too simple to say that the crown prince is modern and his father traditional. Akihito has been and partly still is called modern, even too modern by some.
And this seems to me the fundamental problem, we will see this phenomenon several times: that whatever a member of the imperial family does or fails to do a group of Japanese declares it to be end of the Japanese nation or of all values of the Japanese tradition or something of the sort. And another group of Japanese declares the same action to be the first step on a very necessary path that should have been taken a long time ago and that they have nearly despaired to hope for… (In my opinion, it is an interesting phenomenon that the discussions in this international forum often seem to reflect this national conflict like a mirror. Also here we often have very polarized opinions.) So, whatever the emperor does he can be sure of at least one thing: there will be somebody heavily complaining.
If we take Akihito´s marriage, for instance: It is known that his mother abhorred the thought that he should marry a commoner. And with this opinion she was very far from being alone. To give just one example: One of the most influential women of Japanese "high society" of the time, Itsuko Nashimoto, wrote in her diary on the 27th November 1958: "Today we get the news: Michiko Shoda is to become the wife of crown prince Akihito. Excitement and uproar in the whole country. Broadcasting and television are full of the engagement news. I feel angry and sick. Japan cannot be rescued, Japan is rotten."
But although Ms Nashimoto was very clear in her opinion there were a lot of people whose feelings concerning this matter were absolutely contrary to hers. Fritz and Kobayashi explain that after the fall of the feudal class by the end of the Second World War a prosperous middle class had began its rising in Japan. Michiko´s becoming a princess gave them something to dream of. "She ate bread, sat at a fireplace, played the piano, was a pupil of the private Christian school Sacre Coeur and studied English literature. Japanese women sighed when they thought of this life that resembled a fairytale." And Akihito´s marriage was "modern" not only because of the person of the bride. Also his reason for marrying her was modern: "I marry her because I love her", Akihito confessed to his friend Akira Hashimoto shortly before his wedding. Akihito who had in his earlier youth still been raised with the consciousness of being divine (we remember, the tenno is said to be descended from a goddess) and who – after Japan´s defeat – had been re-educated for the new task of becoming "a symbol" for the nation wanted to show by his marriage, that he, too, was, after all, a human being: "I wish that also the people should look upon our marriage from the point of view of humanity."
His old teacher Dr Shinzo Koizumi felt very relieved by the prince´s choice. The prince used to be called "the hope of Japan" by the media (which originally had been the idea of Elisabeth Gray-Vining, his other teacher), and if he had married a daughter of one of the (formerly) noble families that would have been like going back into the past that was still associated with the lost war.
After Japan´s defeat, Akihito´s father Hirohito had been in a very difficult position. He was in danger of being executed as a war criminal. All depended upon his making a good impression on general MacArthur. He succeeded by telling MacArthur: "You can do with me whatever you want. You can even send me to the gallows. But please do not let my people starve." MacArthur WAS impressed and decided that the tenno could help to initiate change and to help his people become democratic. Akihito publicly renounced his divinity and consented to serve in future as "symbol of the country and of the unity of the nation". Only one month after the end of the war, he told American journalists: "In my opinion, a constitutional monarchy like in England is ideal." And, as already mentioned, he found new teachers for his son: Elisabeth Gray-Vining, an American Quaker, author of many children`s books, and Dr. Shinzo Koizumi, a Japanese Christian who had been president of the famous Keio-university.
For Akihito ,the change was difficult. Fritz and Kobayashi report that once in high school during "constitutional science" he gave a scrap of paper to his friend Hashimoto. "Inherited professions are detestable, are not they?" was written on it… "Akihito even critized for a time his father and Vining. He thought at the time that his teacher (Vining) had influenced him too strongly and had made him become too American." But, however that was, Akihito was well aware that he had to take pains to become a good emperor (although he might not have been quite as sure what that meant). And even if he could have forgotten it, if left to himself - he had been given an unforgettable reminder: On his fifteenth birthday, seven Japanese were executed as war criminals by the Allied Powers. The birthday ceremonies were cancelled.
And Akihito obviously was never fully convinced that all this was past and gone and would never return. I quote: "When Akihito in 1958 heard the notice that king Faisal II of Iraque (who was his age and whom Akihito personally knew) had lost his throne by a putsch and had been killed, the crown prince turned pale, let his cup of tea drop and for a few seconds was unable to utter a word. Then Akihito is said to have told a friend who was with him that the story of Faisal would be his fate, too. For a time, Akihito even took pains to practice type-writing. His friend Akira Hashimoto asked him for the reason of this exercise. Akihito responded seriously: "If anything happens I will be able to work as a typist.""
Considering this background, we understand better why it is so important for Akihito to do everything in the "right" way (which, of course, is HIS way, but that is the same with all of us), why he is so concerned that his heir obviously does not share his view of the role of the tenno and why he is insisting so strongly on the necessity of a male heir: he thinks that every mistake, every compromise might be just one too much – and then the monarchy in Japan might cease to exist at all. It is not easy to be flexible under these circumstances (and even the early separation from his parents may have a subconscious influence here). How can he say: "I am doing it this way and the next emperor will do it in another way." if he fears – as this other way, in his opinion, is absolutely wrong - that the tenno tradition will be, shortly after his passing, lost forever?