Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko Current Events Part 2: November 2006 - April 2017

[Al_bina]

Princess Kiko looked lovely as usual.

 

[Kasumi]

HIH the Prince Akishino is attending the 56th Shimonoseki aquaria conference on February 2-4, 2012. The scientists discuss the new fish breeding results at Shimonoseki City Hall, Yamaguchi pref.
The Prince Akishino is the President of national Ichthyology association. - Source

 

[Kasumi]

HIH the Prince Akishino representing the Emperor during the annual ceremony at the Ichimonji shinto shrine in Kyoto on January 30th, 2012.

**Pic 1** **Pic 2** - sankei

The shrine is famous for its' ancient koyamaki trees (Japanese umbrella-pines). The koyamaki was chosen by the Imperial family as little Prince Hisahito's personal chrest.

 

[Kasumi]

HIH the Princess Akishino attending the largest in Japan Flower Design Exhibition in Yokohama on February 25th, 2012.

**Pic** - sankei

 

[Al_bina]

Thanks for the photo!
It would be safe to say that Princess Kiko enjoyed undertaking this engagement and saw amazing flower arrangements.

 

[Kasumi]

TIH the Prince & the Princess Akishino visiting HM the Emperor two days after the surgery at the Tokyo University hospital
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vdXFOKRvpg
The Princely couple looked relaxed and answered the questions about HM's health with happy smiles.
It was the second visit of prince Akishino to the hospital, the first one was alongside with the Crown Prince a few hours after the monarch's surgery.

 

[ChiaraC]

Severed finger sent to politician because of "insult" of the imperial family

A severed finger was among several intimidating items sent to a Japanese politician by right-wing activists yesterday.

Hiroshi Nakai, a veteran lawmaker in the left wing Democratic Party of Japan, received a shoe box, delivered by a courier service to his office at 2pm yesterday. The box contained the tip of a little finger, a DVD reportedly with a recording of the severing process, an eight-centimetre bladed knife and a letter containing right wing sentiments. The letter, which was addressed to Nakai, had a handprint reportedly made in blood, and contained phrases like “the Imperial Family has been politically shamed” and “prepare for divine retribution”. [...]

Last year, Nakai came into strife after shouting insulting comments towards the members of the Imperial family. Nakai called for Prince Akishino and his wife to “Hurry up and sit down! We can’t sit down [until you do]” at the 120th anniversary of the opening Diet.

asiancorrespondent.com


While this is not a nice story and while I am sure that Prince and Princess Akishino as well as the rest of the imperial family would decidedly prefer to do without this sort of "protection" , it is imo still very well worth mentioning.

It shows that the imperial house in Japan has still a political significance that cannot be compared to that of any contemporean European monarchy and that should never be ignored.

 

[Artemisia]

A very strange story indeed.
I'd say the Imperial Family's influence is not only political, judging by the threat of divine retribution. The Imperial Family would definitely rather avoid being associated, however remotely, with that kind of people.

 

[iceflower]

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Prince Akishino with Princess Kiko and their children visited an exhibition at the Museum of the
Imperial Collections in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on March 26, 2012.



** Pic **

 

[Artemisia]

Thank you for the picture, Iceflower!
It's so nice to see Princesses Mako and Kako, and little Hisahito has grown up so much since I last saw him.

 

[ChiaraC]

More pics of the Akishino family at the exhibition
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2

The exhibition is called "Momijiyama Imperial Cocoonery and Restoration of Shoso-in Textiles".

Sericulture is one of the traditional cultures within the Imperial Household started by Empress Dowager Shoken in 1871. Sericulture has been passed down through the Taisho (1912-1926) and Showa (1926-1989) periods, and now in the Heisei period the tradition has been upheld with great care by the current Empress. In recent years it was discovered that silk from the silkworms raised by Her Majesty, Koishimaru, a species indigenous to Japan and known to produce extremely delicate silk thread was indispensable for the restoration of ancient textiles.

More details see here.

Imperial sericulture/Empress Michiko
1
2

 

[ChiaraC]

Prince and Princess Akishino to visit Uganda

Two members of the Japanese royal family will visit Uganda next month. Among other places, Prince and Princess Akishino will visit Jinja District, although they will spend five days in the country.[...]
“I do not know why they picked Uganda. But this will be their first visit to Africa,” the Ambassador of Japan to Uganda, Mr Kazuo Minagwa, said. [...]
The royal couple’s visit comes just when the two States are planning to commemorate 50 years of diplomatic ties. Uganda mainly exports Nile Perch, coffee, sesame oil and cobalt estimated at $20 million (Shs49.1 billion) to Japan.

Daily Monitor

 

[ChiaraC]

Japan royals to visit Uganda

HIS Imperial Highness Prince and Her Imperial Highness Princess Akishino of Japan will pay a three day visit to Uganda from tomorrow June 12th to Friday 15, 2012. During the visit, he will also hold talks with the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. The Prince's visit to Uganda will also be his first time he is visiting the African continent with Uganda being his first country.

Addressing journalists at the Uganda Media Center in Kampala, the ambassador of Uganda to Japan, Wasswa Biriggwa said the visit will also commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the two countries. [...]

The Prince and his wife will visit the new River Nile Bridge Project, which will be supported by the Government of Japan and Rice Research and Training Centre at Namulonge which was also supported by Japan. He will also visit Phenix Logistics, a company owned by a Yuichi Kwashiwada a Japanese national, Ashinaga an international organization that supports children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and Uganda Wild Life Center.

The Prince will later be hosted by President Museveni at State House Entebbe where they will discuss various issues about the two countries.

"Japan and Uganda have been enjoying very cordial relations for the last 50 years. This trip is also aimed at strengthening and diplomatic ties between the two nations," Biriggwa noted.

He stressed that Japan has supported Uganda with $1bn in the last five years funding many programmes in various sectors including health, agriculture, electricity, road construction and education among others.

Biriggwa stressed that in spite of the various problems including the massive earthquakes and tsunami Japan expressed in March last year, they did not cut aid to Uganda.

 

[ChiaraC]

Japan royals visit Uganda Museum, Phenix logistics

Visiting Japan royals His Imperial Highness Prince and Her Imperial Highness Princess Akishino have visited Uganda museum and garments factory, Phenix logistics on their first day in Uganda.

They arrived Tuesday morning aboard British Airways at Entebbe Airport where they were welcomed by the state minister for international cooperation Oryem Okello and state minister for gender Lukia Nakadama among other officials.

 

[iceflower]

Here are some more pics of their visit to Uganda:



At the Phenix Logistics textile company in Kampala on June 12:


** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 **


At the Ashinaga Uganda Rainbow House for orphans on June 13:


** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** Pic 3 **


And at a meeting with Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni and First Lady Janet Museveni at State House in Entebbe:



** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** Pic 3 ** daylife gallery **

 

[ChiaraC]

Prince Akishino, Princess Kiko return home from Uganda

Prince Akishino, the second son of Emperor Akihito, and his wife Princess Kiko returned home Sunday from a visit to Uganda [...] During the first official trip to Uganda by members of the Japanese imperial family, the prince attended a banquet Wednesday evening while paying a visit with his wife to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in the Ugandan capital Kampala.

The couple also visited a facility run by a Japanese nongovernmental organization supporting children who have lost their parents to AIDS and a wildlife education center during their weeklong visit to the country.

 

[Al_bina]

Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko seems to have a busy agenda. I have to say that Princess Kiko looks amazing.

 

[iceflower]

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Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko visited the Fukuzenji Temple in Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan on July 17, 2012.



** Pic **

 

[ChiaraC]

Prince Akishino will visit Vietnam in his private capacity from Aug. 16 to 23 for “poultry-related cultural research” and in order to conduct “separate research on an ethnic minority group”. His wife will not accompany him. Article

 

[iceflower]

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Prince Akishino, Princess Kiko and Prince Hisahito visited an art exhibition at the Suntory Museum in Tokyo on August 13, 2012.



** Pic **

 

[ChiaraC]

Two more pictures of the same event:
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2

When he was a toddler, Hisahito was grinning most of the time. But it seems that now he starts getting really serious. The same happened to his sisters. (Pic) Does not seem easy to be an imperial child...

 

[rominet09]

Delicious Hisahito ! So cute, and how precious pix are !!!!

 

[iceflower]

Prince Akishino will visit Vietnam in his private capacity from Aug. 16 to 23 for “poultry-related cultural research” and in order to conduct “separate research on an ethnic minority group”. His wife will not accompany him. Article

Here's a first pic of Prince Akishino in Vietnam.

He met with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang at the presidential office in Hanoi today, August 17, 2012.


** Pic **

 

[ChiaraC]

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Prince Akishino, Princess Kiko and Prince Hisahito visited an art exhibition at the Suntory Museum in Tokyo on August 13, 2012.



** Pic **

Another pic, same occasion.

 

[rominet09]

Quite lovely this little darling !

 

[iceflower]

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Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko viewed traditional Japanese paintings by Atsushi Uemura, nihonga artist in Tokyo on September 25, 2012.




** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 **

 

[iceflower]

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On November 7 Prince Akishino, Princess Kiko and Prince Hisahito visited the mausoleum of Emperor Kanmu in Kashihara, Nara


** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 **


and today, November 8, they made a visit to the Nara park in Nara:



** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** Pic 3 **

 

[rominet09]

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On November 7 Prince Akishino, Princess Kiko and Prince Hisahito visited the mausoleum of Emperor Kanmu in Kashihara, Nara


** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 **


and today, November 8, they made a visit to the Nara park in Nara:



** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** Pic 3 **

Thank you so much, pix of this little cutie are so rare !!!!

 

[ChiaraC]

On November 7 Prince Akishino, Princess Kiko and Prince Hisahito visited the mausoleum of Emperor Kanmu in Kashihara, Nara

So far, I thought that Emperor Kanmu´s mausoleum is near Kyoto. I was not aware that there is a Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Kanmu in Nara. While I am certainly no expert regarding Shinto shrines (nor regarding geography), I could not get any info about any such shrine via Google, even if I tried really hard. There is one Kashihara Shrine in Nara Prefecture, but it is dedicated to Japan's first emperor, Emperor Jimmu, as far as I am informed.

Also this Google translation of an Asahi article speaks about the Akishinos „worshiping“ Emperor Jimmu. I would never totally rely on a Google translation for correct information, but I am still asking myself if Getty could have gotten anything wrong there?

(I have seen that Gettyimages says: „KASHIHARA, JAPAN - NOVEMBER 07: Japanese Prince Akishino, Princess Kiko and their son Prince Hisahito, on their way back from their visit to mausoleum of Emperor Kanmu on November 7, 2012 in Kashihara, Nara, Japan.“, and so I suppose that is where you got the info from, Iceflower. )

If anybody has any ideas regarding this matter, I´d very much like to hear them.

***

A few more pics from the park visit

 

[ChiaraC]

It seems that Getty indeed made a mistake. This blog also talks of a visit to the mausoleum of Emperor Jimmu.