Questions & Information About The Imperial Family of Japan

[Prisma]

Reiwa 4 (2022) Calendar

https://www.kikuyou.or.jp/hanpu/calender.html



The Kikuyou Cultural Association, which produces the Imperial family calendar, has no plans to replace photos even if Princess Mako marries by end of 2021.

https://txbiz.tv-tokyo.co.jp/txn/news_txn/post_236464

Why only new photo of the Akishino family? Other photos were published already.

[Prisma]

Toyama Prefecture's Tonami city held a boxing ceremony for tulip bulbs on October 6. This year, for the 68th time, the city will gift 4500 bulbs total of 6 varieties including 3 of Toyama's original varieties "Kikomachi", "Toyama Red" and "Hakuun."

1000 each to Emperor Naruhito and Emperor Emeritus Akihito
500 each to Imperial branch households: Akishino, Hitachi, Mikasa, Princess Nobuko, Takamado

The mayor usually delivers the bulbs directly to the Imperial Household Agency except for last year which were shipped due to the pandemic.

Source: https://www.hokkoku.co.jp/articles/-/545237

[Tatiana Maria]

Originally Posted by Prisma

The Kikuyou Cultural Association, which produces the Imperial family calendar, has no plans to replace photos even if Princess Mako marries by end of 2021.

https://txbiz.tv-tokyo.co.jp/txn/news_txn/post_236464

Why only new photo of the Akishino family? Other photos were published already.

Were they receiving complaints about Mako's inclusion?

It does seem a bit stingy to reuse old photographs, especially when a calendar is meant to mark the passage of time.

Originally Posted by Prisma

Toyama Prefecture's Tonami city held a boxing ceremony for tulip bulbs on October 6. This year, for the 68th time, the city will gift 4500 bulbs total of 6 varieties including 3 of Toyama's original varieties "Kikomachi", "Toyama Red" and "Hakuun."

1000 each to Emperor Naruhito and Emperor Emeritus Akihito
500 each to Imperial branch households: Akishino, Hitachi, Mikasa, Princess Nobuko, Takamado

The mayor usually delivers the bulbs directly to the Imperial Household Agency except for last year which were shipped due to the pandemic.

Source: https://www.hokkoku.co.jp/articles/-/545237

It is nice that the cadet branches receive gift bulbs also. I assume the IHA is expected to plant the tulips on the imperial palace grounds?

[Prisma]

I wouldn't be surprised if they received complaints. Anything Akishino family related get negative reaction. However, Princess Mako's yearend marriage news happened before the calendar was revealed so there are questions if there's enough time to swap the photo. The Kikuyou site has ordering instructions already so probably not. I assume some calendars have been printed already.

I don't know much about gardening but wonder about the lifespan of tulips... 68th year gifting so many tulips? Wouldn't the Imperial properties run of space?

[Futurist]

Random question, but here goes (hopefully this is an appropriate place to ask it): Do you think that Emperor Naruhito will ever abdicate in his old age (just like his father Emperor Emeritus Akihito did) in order to give his younger brother Crown Prince Fumihito a chance to reign? Or will he continue to reign up to his death?

It's quite interesting: Fumihito is likely to be the Japanese Crown Prince for decades, but whether he himself will ever personally inherit the Japanese throne is an interesting question, depending on whether or not his elder brother abdicates and, if not, on whether he actually manages to outlast his older brother. He's around five years younger than his older brother is.

[Prisma]

The Imperial Household is finishing "spring decorations" for New Year. Some use plum trees over 150 years old and others have been carefully placed in and out of greenhouses to time blossoming for the New Year. About 20 decorations will be displayed at the IHA building, Imperial Palace, and Imperial residences except for the Akishino residence due to mourning for Crown Princess Kiko's father who died in November.

It is not known when the tradition started but there are records of spring decorations in Emperor Komei's time.

Photos/sources: Sankei, Kyodo, news.tv-asahi.co.jp, Sankei

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtzRDEppPzQ

ETA: On November 30th, apple farmers in Iwate Prefecture gathered in Morioka City to package 28 varieties of apples into 12 boxes to present to the Imperial family. Except for a period after WWII, gifting apples has happened annually since 1940 when Prince Chichibu joined a regiment in Morioka City.

Photos: Yomiuri, NHK

[Prisma]

The Imperial Household Agency website recently updated the family tree.
- removed Mako
- new headshots for Princesses Nobuko and Yohko

New, late 2021


Old, after Ayako married & enthronement as titles changed

[Tatiana Maria]

The IHA was a bit late to update this time, weren't they? I suppose the pandemic may have slowed the work down.

Quite a different look for Princess Yohko!

[Somebody]

It remains a bit weird to pretend the princesses that left the family never existed but at least it is clear who the current formal members of the family are. It would have been nice if they had used this update to also include a new photo of Aiko.

[Prisma]

Originally Posted by Tatiana Maria

The IHA was a bit late to update this time, weren't they? I suppose the pandemic may have slowed the work down.

Quite a different look for Princess Yohko!

Ayako remained on the family tree for a while, maybe months. I wrongly assumed she'd be removed sooner. When I checked the IHA website in 2016-2019, the schedules and birthday/New Year info were regularly updated but not other pages. It seems there more frequent updates since the Reiwa era.

Yes, I like Yohko's new look. Hope to see a bigger photo someday.

Originally Posted by Somebody

It remains a bit weird to pretend the princesses that left the family never existed but at least it is clear who the current formal members of the family are. It would have been nice if they had used this update to also include a new photo of Aiko.

At least Aiko's is more recent (within 2 years?)
The Hitachi couple, Princess Yuriko, Princess Hisako, and Princess Tsuguko haven't changed for longer. I'm not sure Mako's photo was ever updated except for removal.

[Prisma]

FOCUS: Mental health issues show women bear brunt of Japan monarchy system - Kyodo News

The diagnosis of former princess Mako's post-traumatic stress disorder prior to her controversial marriage in October has once again highlighted the intense pressure that women in the Japanese imperial family face, with some other members also plagued by mental health issues.

The former princess, 30, who is a niece of Emperor Naruhito, came under massive public scrutiny after it became known that the family of her commoner husband Kei Komuro was involved in a financial dispute.

Her aunt Empress Masako, 58, has long been battling a stress-induced illness related to the pressure she was under to produce a male heir, while former Empress Michiko, 87, the emperor's mother, became unable to speak for months amid bashing by weekly magazines following her husband's accession to the throne in 1989.

[...]

"It is as if there are no human rights (within the imperial family)," said clinical psychologist Sayoko Nobuta.

[...]

Regarding his daughter's mental health, Crown Prince Fumihito, the emperor's brother, stressed on the occasion of his 56th birthday in November the need to establish "criteria to refute" erroneous reports.

While the agency has exposed fake news in the past, debunking some reports on its website since 2007, it does not have a clear policy on how to handle such matters.

"Even if (former princess Mako) was told to ignore or not engage with online bashing, one can't help but notice it in their daily life, and it will chip away at one's heart before they know it," said Rika Kayama, a psychiatrist and commentator on social issues.

[... Recap of Empress Michiko and Crown Princess Masako's mental health struggles ...]

"The emperor is the symbol of Japan, and the monarchy is a symbol of patriarchy. Therefore, discrimination against women is most pronounced in the imperial family," Nobuta said, adding that such an environment makes it difficult for bright women to survive.

Nobuta said that former princess Mako, who grew up watching these events and had studied at International Christian University in Tokyo as well as in Britain, must have felt the only way to truly live her life was to leave Japan.

"For former princess Mako, escaping was her main goal, and I think she chose Komuro as the man who could help her achieve this goal," Nobuta said.

[...]

All eyes are now on Princess Aiko, who turned 20 in December and is now expected to perform official duties as an adult member of the imperial family.

[...]

In the past, Princess Aiko has sparked concerns and speculation among the public for her prolonged absence from school and a sharp weight loss at one point, but it remains to be seen if the mental health issues that befell the female relatives before her will repeat themselves.

Hajime Sebata, an associate professor of modern Japanese history at Ryukoku University, said that building rapport with citizens through communication, not counterarguments, is key.

"If (the agency) regularly posts (information on royals) on social media and communicates, the public will come to trust the imperial family even if there are criticisms," he said.

[Prisma]

Royal Ties Underpin New Anglo-Japanese Alliance | Nippon.com

British Archives Reveal Royal Friendship
[...]

Britain and Japan are both island nations ruled as constitutional monarchies, and their respective royal families have enjoyed a relationship for around 150 years. I contacted the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle to inquire about any records they had regarding this special friendship. The archives hold files from King George VI’s personal secretary that include telegrams sent by the king to Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Shōwa, in 1940–41 to congratulate him on 2,600 years of Japan’s imperial line and on the marriage of Prince Mikasa, as well as a message of condolence on the death of the emperor’s aunt Masako, Princess Tsune. Telegraphic replies from Emperor Hirohito to King George were also displayed, confirming the close relationship between the two emperors.

New displays at the Royal Archives include:

• A draft of a telegram from King George to Emperor Hirohito congratulating him on the 2,600th anniversary of the imperial line on February 11, 1940, and a reply from the emperor to the king on February 12, 1940.
• A draft of a telegram from King George to Emperor Hirohito conveying condolences on the death of Her Imperial Highness Princess Masako, the sixth daughter of Emperor Meiji and wife to Prince Takeda Tsunehisa, on March 9, 1940, and the emperor’s reply of gratitude on March 11, 1940.
• A draft of a telegram from King George congratulating the emperor on the wedding of Takahito, Prince Mikasa, on October 22, 1941, and the emperor’s reply on that same day.

[...]

Showing the Value of Family Bonds
The connections between Britain’s royalty and the Japanese imperial household began in 1869, when Queen Victoria’s second son Prince Alfred visited Japan. Apart from one period during the war Japan’s imperial family members have looked to Britain’s royalty for hints on how to comport themselves ever since.

This friendship reached its peak during the reign of Emperor Shōwa. In 1921, when he was still crown prince, he became the first member of the imperial family to visit Britain. He left Yokohama on March 3 aboard the British-built warship Katori for a tour of five European nations. He returned six months later. His first, and longest, tour was of Britain. As it was only three years after the end of World War I, he made sure to visit the graves on Malta (then controlled by Britain) of Japanese sailors who died in a German attack in the Mediterranean Sea, as well.

At the time, King George V, Queen Elizabeth’s grandfather, was 55, while the crown prince turned 20 during his trip. The King took a paternal liking to the crown prince and offered him generous hospitality as they rode in the same carriage in a welcoming parade. During that trip, Crown Prince Hirohito learned the importance and warmth of family bonds from the modern royal family, as symbols of connection to their subjects. In 1979, while at the Imperial Villa in Nasu, the emperor reminisced that “The things I heard from King George V about constitutional monarchy’s nature became the root of my thinking for the rest of my life.”

[...]

In 1953, the year after Japan’s sovereignty was restored, Crown Prince Akihito made his first international visit to attend the crowning of Queen Elizabeth. The crown prince, who had learned the history of the British empire from Harold Nicholson’s biography of George V, was treated as a guest of honor by Prime Minister Winston Churchill. At a welcome luncheon, which included the owners of a popular newspaper that had once published anti-Japanese sentiments, the Japanese guest’s unpretentious personality made an impression on the British attendees, and relations between Japan and Britain began to improve.

In 1971, when Emperor Hirohito paid another visit to Britain 50 years after his first trip there as crown prince, royal family member Lord Mountbatten abstained from attending the official state banquet. Mountbatten had been Supreme Allied Commander in the Southeast Pacific Theater and had lost men in battle against Japan. Queen Elizabeth, though, eased the tension, saying, “We cannot pretend that the relations between our two peoples have always been peaceful and friendly. However, it is precisely this experience which should make us all the more determined never to let it happen again.” The Queen maintained a close relationship with the imperial family, and needless to say, was warmly welcomed in Japan on her first visit as a state guest in 1975.

In 1998, in conjunction with a visit to Britain by Emperor Akihito, Prime Minister Hashimoto Ryūtarō wrote an article in the UK newspaper The Sun expressing his deep remorse and heartfelt apologies, and the British government decided to offer special benefits to former Japanese POWs. Former British Ambassador to Japan David Warren has indicated that the 1998 visit played an important role in that step toward reconciliation.

[...]

[Blog Real]

I found information about Japanese imperial rituals:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Imperial_Rituals

[Prisma]

Exhibit showcasing U.K.-Japan royal relationship opens in London - Kyodo News

[...]

Objects on show include samurai armor and weaponry, lacquerware and ceramics. Viewed together, they trace the history of exchanges between the two courts -- from the first formal contact between Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu and King James I in the 1610s to gifts received by current monarch Queen Elizabeth II.

Among the exhibition's highlights is a set of silk screens given to Queen Victoria by Shogun Tokugawa Iemochi in 1860. The screens were previously thought to be lost and their provenance was only recently rediscovered by curators.

Research showed that the screens formed part of a grand gift to mark the resumption of direct relations between the two countries following Japan's 250-year "sakoku" policy of isolation from the outside world.

Another gift on display is a lacquerware cosmetics box sent by Emperor Hirohito, who has become posthumously known as the Emperor Showa, to Queen Elizabeth II to mark her coronation in 1953.

[...]

Also featured are letters and photographs detailing deepening ties between the two countries during the second half of the 19th century.

Among them is a letter from Prince Alfred to his mother, Queen Victoria, reflecting on his 1869 visit to Japan -- the first by a British royal -- and praising the Asian country's "beautiful landscape."

The exhibition was set to open in 2020 but postponed for almost two years due to the coronavirus pandemic. Peat said she was "delighted" to be able to welcome visitors at last.

[...]

[Prisma]

FEATURE: Poems by Emperor Meiji now in English after over 30 yrs of work - Kyodo News

English-language readers are now able to appreciate 100 classical poems by Emperor Meiji (1852-1912) thanks to over 30 years of translation work by Harold Wright, a U.S. scholar of Japanese literature who was a student of the late Japanologist Donald Keene.

The collection of poems in "Bridge on the Shikishima Way," released last month in Japan, brings to life the feelings of an emperor who lived in an era when tradition and modernity intersected, with Japan transforming from a feudal state during his reign.

"Emperor Meiji was not only a thoughtful emperor to his people, but also a gifted poet...(who) felt deeply that the world should live in peace with deepened feelings of international understanding," said Wright, who is now a professor emeritus of Japanese language and literature at Antioch College in Ohio in the United States.

[...]

One particular poem lamenting the outbreak of war between Japan and Russia in 1904 is said to have moved then U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, who led the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth that formally ended the Russo-Japanese war the following year.

It was our belief
that all the world's oceans
were born of one mother,
so why do the winds and waves
now rise up in angry rage?

[...]

Wright extensively researched Japanese history, culture and religion in the process, striving to remain faithful to each poem's original rhythm while maintaining a balance between meaning and imagery in a way consistent with the foundations of English poetry.

Each poem took several months, and in some cases even up to a year, to translate, with Wright repeatedly reading aloud both the original Japanese and English translation when finished to check its cadence.

[...]

[Prisma]

Reiwa 5 (2023) Imperial family calendar

https://www.kikuyou.or.jp/hanpu/calender.html

Again, the only new photo is the Akishino family.

[Tatiana Maria]

Thank you for the update. At least it is quite a nice-looking cover.

Fantastic news about the Emperor Meiji's poems becoming available in English. I appreciate the article's explanation of a delicate and intellectually consuming mission it is to translate between two languages and cultures as divergent as English and Japanese:

Wright extensively researched Japanese history, culture and religion in the process, striving to remain faithful to each poem's original rhythm while maintaining a balance between meaning and imagery in a way consistent with the foundations of English poetry.

Each poem took several months, and in some cases even up to a year, to translate, with Wright repeatedly reading aloud both the original Japanese and English translation when finished to check its cadence.

I never knew President (Theodore) Roosevelt read Emperor Meiji's poetry.

[Prisma]

Members of the imperial family hooked on heroes of manga, anime | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

While much of the lives of Japan’s imperial family take place behind closed doors, members occasionally dish details to a select few on their personal interests, such as which manga and anime they adore.

In January, Kazuyuki Tsuruma, a professor emeritus at Gakushuin University, accompanied Princess Akiko to brief her on exhibits associated with ancient China at a special exhibition at the Ueno Royal Museum in Tokyo.

He told reporters that Akiko, 41, is a die-hard fan of “Kingdom,” a manga series set in China’s Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (770 to 221 B.C.).

Akiko, the eldest daughter of the late Prince Tomohito, has read all 67 volumes of the popular manga and seen all live-action feature film adaptations, according to Tsuruma, a longtime acquaintance of the princess.

[...]


The princess appeared thrilled when she met Yasuhisa Hara, the creator of “Kingdom,” in person, according to Tsuruma.

[...]

During an autumn garden party held at the Akasaka Imperial Garden in Tokyo in 2013, Emperor Naruhito, then crown prince, told cartoonist Tetsuya Chiba that he had read the boxing manga “Ashita no Joe” (Tomorrow’s Joe), Chiba’s representative work.

When Chiba asked him if members of the imperial family read manga, Naruhito said, “All of us do.”

[...]

Naruhito, 63, was also known as an avid reader of “Thermae Romae,” a manga about a bathhouse architect in ancient Rome who travels through time to modern-day Japan.

[...]

Princess Kako, 28, also said during an official duty that she had read popular manga titles such as “Detective Conan” and “Magic Kaito,” which features a high school student who loves magic tricks.

Another day, the second daughter of Crown Prince Fumihito had a lively conversation with children about “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba,” a successful manga series with animated TV and feature film adaptations.