The Mikasa Family Thread

[fanletizia]

Princess Akiko to extend study at Oxford until 2010

(Kyodo) _ Princess Akiko, the elder of Prince Tomohito of Mikasa's two daughters, will extend her study at the University of Oxford four more years until June 2010, the Imperial Household Agency said Friday.

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060630/kyodo/d8ii8f201.html

 

[mandyy]

Prince and Princess Mikasa in Tochigo Prefecture on July 14, 2006.
From Yomiuri news

 

[mandyy]

Prince Tomohito hospitalized due to fatigue
................The 60-year-old prince does not have a fever or any other symptoms and is expected to be discharged from the Tokyo hospital in three or four days, the agency said...................
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060810/kyodo/d8jdfe280.html

Japanese royal offered war apology to China: report
TOKYO : A member of Japan's royal family privately apologised to China's president in 1998 over Japan's brutal wartime occupation of the country, a report has said.

Official Chinese documents cited by Jiji Press quoted Prince Mikasa, brother of wartime emperor Hirohito, as making the apology to former Chinese president Jiang Zemin at an imperial palace banquet in Tokyo.

"My conscience pricks me even now. I would like to apologize to the Chinese people," Mikasa reportedly said in November 1998..............................
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/224098/1/.html

Photo from channelnewsasia of Prince Mikasa, the youngest brother of late Emperor Hirohito

 

[mandyy]

Prince Tomohito was discharged from the hospital on Aug. 15. He was admited into the hospital due to fatigue.

 

[mandyy]

Prince Tomohito has minor heart attack
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060825/kyodo/d8jnf27g0.html

Prince Tomohito leaves hospital
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060827/kyodo/d8jogv0g0.html

 

[Prince of Chota]

Every royal family has one or two members that always seem to put their foot in their mouth. I get the feeling that Prince Tomohito is it, in Japan.

 

[mandyy]

Prince Tomohito visiting Chiba Prefecture iin July 15, 2006.
from yomiuri news


some old photos from www.yuko2ch.net

 

[merampo]

Prince and Princess Mikasa and Princess Akiko at the exhibition about Persian civilization
(2006-7-31)

 

[mandyy]

Prince and Princess Mikasa visited a zoo in Tokyo on May 12, 2007.

Photo from JIJI press

 

[Alison20]

Elderly men - from most countries - seem to have great difficulty accepting that women can be as competent as men!

Since I belive that Japan has in the past had reigning Empresses, and the men only ruling is relatively recent, I can't see why there is all this concern about 'breaking with tradition'>

 

[monica17]

Elderly men - from most countries - seem to have great difficulty accepting that women can be as competent as men!

Since I belive that Japan has in the past had reigning Empresses, and the men only ruling is relatively recent, I can't see why there is all this concern about 'breaking with tradition'>

Alison20, there is a thread on this..... please take a look at: Succession Issues.

Does anyone know if the Emperor and Empress had some time to see Princess Akiko during their recent visit at Oxford University?

 

[mandyy]

Prince Tomohito of Mikasa to receive treatment for alcoholism

(Kyodo) _ Japan's Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, a cousin of Emperor Akihito, needs to receive treatment for alcohol dependency for more than a month at the Imperial Household Hospital, the Imperial Household Agency said Friday.........
Prince Tomohito of Mikasa to receive treatment for alcoholism

 

[mandyy]

Prince uses speech to talk about his alcohol problem
SENDAI (Kyodo) Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, a cousin of Emperor Akihito, broke with Imperial tradition by speaking about his struggle with alcoholism in a speech Saturday.
"I am Prince Tomohito, dependent on alcohol," the 61-year-old prince said to begin his speech entitled "The Welfare of Our Country" at a meeting in Sendai on welfare services.
"I have been drinking alcohol since my days in university and am dependent on it, so I find it rather surprising that I am seen to have been hit by it now," he said, drawing laughter from the audience.
The prince is undergoing treatment for alcoholism at the Imperial Household Hospital...............
Prince uses speech to talk about his alcohol problem | The Japan Times Online

 

[mandyy]

A Japanese royal known for talking up a storm
Never tight-lipped about his recurring battle with cancer, he still surprised many Japanese by acknowledging that he was an alcoholic and checking himself into rehab over the summer. Family problems, he explained.
The inevitable strain of a quarter-century marriage, a cousin's cryptic comments, existential questions about the nature of family and life itself, all of this, he said openly, had contributed to his heavier than usual drinking.
The family in question is none other than Japan's imperial family, and the recovering patient is Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, a first cousin of Emperor Akihito. The family's other members are only seen, if they are seen at all, waving at some official event. But this prince has never shied away from offering his personal opinions on everything from preserving the throne's unbroken male line - even, he wrote mischievously two years ago, by reviving the concubine system - to the private burdens of royalty.
"It's not only the past one or two years," the prince said of the stress behind his alcoholism. "As long as I can remember, the imperial family's been like one big ball of stress."............
A Japanese royal known for talking up a storm - International Herald Tribune

An aritcle worth to read

 

[mandyy]

Prince Tomohito faces ninth cancer surgery | The Japan Times Online

Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, a cousin of Emperor Akihito, has again developed cancer in the throat and will undergo surgery Friday at a Tokyo hospital, the Imperial Household Agency said Tuesday. It will be the ninth cancer surgery for the 62-year-old prince, who began having operations to remove tumors from his esophagus and tongue in 1991, the agency said.....

 

[Kasumi]

Prince Mikasa left the hospital in a good condition
The prince who is 93 years old is the eldest living male member of the Japanese Imperial family.
The prince is Emperor's parental uncle.

 

[Al_bina]

It is sad to learn that Prince Tomohito, who seems to be a bit of a rebel in the Japanese Imperial family, is fighting the fatal illness.

 

[Kasumi]

The Princess Mikasa Yuriko at the Boshi-Aiiku-kai conference

HIH the Princess Mikasa-no-miya Yuriko speaks at the Boshi-Aiiku-kai conference on April 28th 2010.
The Boshi-Aiiku-kai is a charity maternity fund. Princess Yuriko (aged 86) patronizes this fund since 1948.
A picture - credits Kyodo

 

[Kasumi]

Prince Mikasa Tomohito opens Japanese art exibition in Turkey

A Japanese art exhibition opened at Istanbul's Topkapi Palace within the framework of activities of "Japan Year in Turkey, 2010".
Prince Tomohito Mikasa of Japan participated in the inauguration of the "5,000 Years of Japanese Art" exhibition at the Dormitory of the Privy Chamber of the Topkapi Palace.
"It is the right time to celebrate 'Japan Year in Turkey' since 2010 is the 120th anniversary of the establishment of Japanese-Turkish friendship," Mikasa said during the ceremony. - World Bulletin

“Enduring Beauty: 5,000 Years of Japanese Art” will open at the Topkapı Palace Museum - Hurriyet Daily News

Photo from Reuters - via Daylife

 

[Kasumi]

HIH the Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, a cousin of Emperor Akihito, will make a private visit to Turkey for about a week from July 7 with his eldest daughter Princess Akiko. As honorary president of the Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan, the prince will attend a completion ceremony of an exhibition hall at the center-affiliated Japanese Institute of Anatolian Archaeology in central Turkey, according to the agency.
He will also visit ancient ruins during his stay through July 14, while his daughter will return to Japan on July 12. - Kyodo

 

[Turkish Delight]

Oh, yes! I heard that this year is Japan Year in here Turkey. Here is the English website & here is the Turkish one. Also, Japan's foreign minister Katsuya Okada visited Turkey for this event.

 

[Kasumi]

The Prince Mikasa Tomohito and his eldest daughter the Princess Mikasa Akiko were present at the opening ceremony in the Turkish archeology museum on July 22nd 2010.
Picture - Kyodo

 

[Kasumi]

Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, a cousin of Emperor Akihito, was discharged Tuesday from a hospital in Tokyo's Minato Ward after undergoing treatment for an irregular heartbeat - Kyodo

 

[iceflower]

___________________


Prince Mikasa and Princess Yuriko looking at an album at their residence in Tokyo, in this handout
picture released by the Imperial Household Agency of Japan and taken October 19, 2011. The
prince, 95, and the princess, 88, celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary on October 22, 2011.


** Pic **

 

[Kasumi]

Absolutely adorable photo! Thanks for sharing, iceflower.

 

[iceflower]

You are most welcome, Kasumi

I thought so as well, it's a really nice shot, not too formal and touching in some way..

 

[ChiaraC]

Prince Mikasa undergoes surgery

Prince Mikasa, the 96-year-old uncle of the Emperor, successfully underwent surgery Wednesday to help restore mitral valve functions in his heart. The operation started at about 1 p.m. at St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo, according to the Imperial Household Agency. The prince was returned to his room after 4:30 p.m. following the surgery.

Prince Mikasa undergoes heart surgery to correct a defective heart valve

The 96-year-old Prince Mikasa is the youngest brother of Emperor Hirohito, (aka Emperor Showa) was initially hospitalized for fatigue on June 15, and this was a day after the funeral service for his son Prince Tomohito of Mikasa. The surgery was performed to restore the function of the prince’s mitral valve. Apparently this valve was not closing completely and causing a backflow of blood.

For the moment, the prince’s heart is functioning well and he is recuperating in the intensive-care unit. His wife Princess Yuriko opted for the surgery because it was difficult for the prince to undergo conventional blood pressure-raising treatment, as this increased the risk of heart failure.

Prince Mikasa undergoes heart surgery

The prince had been hospitalized before with the same heart-valve problem but was not operated on mainly due to his age. Hirokazu Nagawa, chief physician with the imperial household, said the doctors decided to proceed with the surgery this time because his condition was not expected to improve without it. "There's a danger of infection with the current therapy and continual pressure-raising treatment will place a burden on his heart," Nagawa said before the operation.

The survival rate 30 days after the surgery is more than 80 percent, the agency said.

 

[iceflower]

.

After his heart surgery in July, Prince Mikasa was released from St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo today, August 31, 2012. Princess Yuriko has fetched him home.



** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 **

 

[ChiaraC]

Pictures
Video

(...)

Simply amazing...

 

[Artemisia]

Wonderful news!
I must admit, I feared the worse given the Prince's age and seriousness of the condition.