Questions & Information About The Imperial Family of Japan

[Prisma]

Former Prince Nobuhiko Higashikuni died on March 20 at age 74. He was the eldest child of former Princess Shigeko, Emperor Hirohito's eldest daughter. The Ōke Imperial branches and nobility were abolished in 1947.

Nobuhiko Higashikuni graduated from Keio University, worked for Mitsui Bank, served as managing director of the Japan-Thailand Association, and was honorary president of the All Japan Baseball Conference. Other positions included honorary adviser of the Japan-US Friendship Bridge Executive Committee, honorary chairman of the Society "Togo Association" and honorary president of the Association to Protect Japanese Tradition.

Source: Kyodo

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

 

[Spheno]

what is known about Yukihiko Higashikuni's family?

 

[Prisma]

Apparently, Yukihiko Higashikuni has a son, born in 2010.

Naohiko Higashikuni, a younger brother of Nobuhiko, has 2 sons with the eldest having a son. (born 2004)

Hidehiko, another brother of Nobuhiko, was adopted into the Mibu family as "Motohiro Mibu". He has 2 sons and each of them have a son (from around 2010)

Sources: Japanese Oke: Higashikuni - Wikipedia and English Shigeko Higashikuni - Wikipedia

Funeral and burial are scheduled for March 26 and 27th at Toshimagaoka Cemetery. Nobuhiko Higashikuni's wife Yoshiko is chief mourner.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited their nephew at his home in Minato, Tokyo on March 8th. The IHA reported Nobuhiko had been receiving medical treatment recently and died around 3am on the 20th.

Sources: news.tv-asahi.co.jp

 

[Prisma]

Japan Society of the UK - Prince and Princess Chichibu, Two Lives Lived Above and Below the Clouds - Japan Society of the UK

Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi

[...]

Princess Chichibu was most reluctant to accept the proposal that she should marry the young prince and in her reluctance she was supported by her parents, but the pressure from the Empress Dowager forced her acceptance. Once she became a princess she was not allowed before the war to do anything for herself, but she had to follow all the antiquated protocol. She recalls with embarrassment some of her ‘blunders’ arising from her ignorance of absurd rules: “The first one was when we returned to Tokyo after the enthronement ceremonies [for the Showa Emperor] and visited the Tama Imperial mausoleum with Their Majesties. I should have ascertained carefully beforehand how many times I was expected to bow, but the prince had assured me that all I needed to do was to copy him, which I did – only to hear someone’s discreet chiding voice behind me, ‘Since Your Highness is on the distaff side, you should have turned once more, stopped, and bowed. Remember to do so next time.” I was cut to the quick. Moreover, I had no idea what was meant by ‘the distaff side.’ Later, back in my own room I remember how downcast and dejected I felt.”

Later in the war years at Gotemba, where the Prince who was suffering from tuberculosis had gone in the hope of a cure, Princess Chichibu apart from ministering to the Prince, developed her gardening skills in growing vegetables and farming. [...]

This charming memoir makes it clear why Princess Chichibu became the British Royal Family’s favourite member of the Japanese Imperial family. Prince Charles apparently always called her his Japanese grandmother.

[...]

Crown Prince Naruhito on Princess Takamatsu (Kikuko) at his 2005 birthday press conference

Press Conference on the occasion of His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince's Birthday (2005) - The Imperial Household Agency

I was most saddened at the passing of Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamatsu in December last year. From my childhood, Princess Takamatsu was always most kind and after our marriage she would often invite us to her residence, where we would talk about various things, including the old days. She once told us with relish of a story of how shortly after her marriage she visited the United States at the time of Prohibition, where, DURING a banquet she asked President Hoover, "what would you say if I told you that at a luncheon the other day I was served wine?" and President Hoover's laughter in response was reported in the newspapers, because the President was someone who never usually laughed. I shall also never forget how she also told us with the look of a mischievous child, "immediately after that incident I received a rebuke from the Imperial Household Ministry, now the Imperial Household Agency, telling me to 'take caution in what you say.'" Princess Takamatsu was also concerned about Princess Masako's health and she wrote a "waka" poem in celebration of the birth of Princess Aiko. I am most grateful for all her kindnesses.

 

[Prisma]

A few reasons why Japan’s new emperor still has to carry a sword: The Asahi Shimbun

[...]

Akihito's eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, will receive the Imperial Regalia consisting of the sword, “magatama” (comma-shaped beads) and other items during the "kenjito shokei no gi" on May 1. The government says, based on the Imperial Household Economy Law, these are non-religious “time-honored objects that ought to be passed along with the imperial throne.”

[...]

“Weapons made from metal, which didn’t exist in the Jomon Pottery Culture (c. 14,500 B.C.-1,000 B.C.), could instantly decapitate human bodies. I think ancient people were shocked at the sight. They must have felt a divine presence behind the spectacle,” said Mamoru Saso, a professor at Kokugakuin University specializing in religious archaeology.

[...] The weapons became important items for creating political clout. When the swords were melded with politics, they took on even more of an aura of a “divine nature,” he added.

An entry in the “Kojiki” (Records of Ancient Matters) dating from the eighth century describes how a god of war gave Emperor Jinmu, thought to be Japan's first emperor, a sword called “Futsu-no-mitama.” The sword itself was considered a god and was enshrined at Isonokamijingu shrine in Nara Prefecture.

In a scene in the chronicles portraying “Tenson Korin” (heavenly descent), a magatama and a mirror are introduced along with a sword--the so-called Three Sacred Treasures. The sun goddess Amaterasu-omikami orders that the mirror should be enshrined as her soul.

HIROHITO'S DETERMINATION TO 'SHARE DESTINY'

[...]

Koichi Kido, Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal, wrote in his diary dated July 25, 1945, that if the regalia were lost, “we wouldn’t be able to safeguard and maintain the imperial household and ‘kokutai’ (national polity).”

According to Teruomi Yamaguchi, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo specializing in modern Japanese history, debates over the nature of kokutai entered a new phase after the Public Security Preservation Law was enacted in 1925.

But as Japan’s defeat began to seem certain, a consensus emerged that kokutai's core consisted of a “monarchy headed by the emperor of the unbroken imperial lineage,” which needed to be safeguarded and maintained, and the regalia became the symbol of that system.

[...]

Half a month before Japan’s defeat, Kido mentions in his diary these words uttered by Hirohito about the mirror enshrined at Ise Jingu in Ise, Mie Prefecture, and the sword located at Atsutajingu shrine in Nagoya: “After all, I think it is best to bring the sacred treasures at the Ise and Atsuta shrines to a place near me to protect them ... If anything should happen, I think I have no choice but to protect them myself and share the destiny.”

[...]

“I had the impression he cornered himself to the point that he would fulfill minimum obligations so as not to let others say he caused kokutai's collapse,” Yamaguchi said.

[...]

 

[Prisma]

On April 21st, Atsuko Ikeda attended a ceremony celebrating the new entrance of Ikeda Zoo in Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture.

Atsuko Ikeda is Emperor Akihito's older sister and formerly titled Princess Yori.

The zoo had a deficit of 250 million yen due to declining visitors. Experts, business circles and government officials created a reform plan to save the zoo. Besides the entrance and building renovations, new animals will be added. A white tiger will debut on April 26. Nippon Kabaya Ohayo Holdings donated for the zoo's survival. The reforms expect an increase of 8000 visitors and stable management going forward.

Photos: fnn.jp, sanyonews.jp

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D4vH1lGUEAAGgtJ.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D4vH3d0UwAAGW7A.jpg

 

[Prisma]

'Superfan' of Japan's royals has followed them for decades | The Wider Image | Reuters (includes fun photos of the writer following the fans!)

Wherever Japan's royals go, there too goes Fumiko Shirataki: in summer heat and winter cold, to the ocean and to the mountains.

[...]

Shirataki's passion for "okkake," as the pursuit is known in Japan, began in 1993, when she followed then-Masako Owada after her engagement to Crown Prince Naruhito but couldn't get good photos.

"I wasn't used to carrying such a heavy camera, so I'd shoot the tyres, or the back seat, or the driver," Shirataki said in the kitchen of her home in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, decorated with a photo of Masako and an Imperial Family calendar.

[...]

Shirataki won't reveal how she and her fan friends figure out the royal schedules. But once she has the details, she loads a backpack, takes a collapsible chair and a rice ball to eat, and heads out.

[...]

Shirataki and her fellow chasers, nearly all of whom are female, say their main focus is the royal women and their clothes. [...]

Shirataki says Masako is her favourite and has even appeared in her dreams. But Shirataki worries how she will fare as empress after the stress-related illness that kept her out of the public eye for many years.

"There could be a lot of times where Masako won't go with the emperor," she said. "If it's just him, we won't go. Her alone? Yes."

Shirataki may already have reached the pinnacle of okkake success: this year, she shook hands with the empress.

[...]

 

[Prisma]

Gifu items shed light on imperial tradition of using wet nurses: The Asahi Shimbun

[...] Akihito, who abdicated on April 30, is the last emperor who had been cared for by a “menoto,” [...]

One discovery was a black-and-white photo that shows a crowd of people looking at a kimono-clad woman standing in the center. She was Toshiko Takenaka, a former menoto who breast-fed Akihito.

Toshiko was born and raised in Yawata, present-day Ikeda, in Gifu Prefecture.

[...]

The picture was apparently taken when all the villagers greeted Toshiko when she returned home after finishing her role as a nanny. The photo had been kept by Toshiko’s family after her death.

[...]

Yohei Mori, 54, a Seijo University professor, said two women were usually recruited for a one-year term as menoto during the time of Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa.

[...]

A survey conducted by Mori confirmed that Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako had 18 menoto in total for their two sons and five daughters, including Akihito.

Toshiko was among three nannies assigned to Akihito. She started her service as a “supplementary nanny” at the Imperial Palace in May 1934 when she was 20 years old. Just a few months before that assignment, Toshiko gave birth to her eldest daughter.

She moved to Tokyo with her daughter and kin to live at the palace and served as a nanny.

Akihito was about six months old at the time, and Toshiko breast-fed him for about seven months.

[...]

But Hirohito and Nagako apparently wanted a “modernization” of family. The empress breast-fed her children herself during the day, and menoto wet-nursed them on early mornings, late at night and on other occasions when Nagako was out for official duties.

[...] it was an auspicious occasion for people to see a member of their community singled out as menoto. They would organize going-away and welcome parties to celebrate the honor.

When Toshiko was picked as a nanny, a local women’s association built a stone monument in May 1935 to commemorate her service as menoto. The inscription read: “Supreme honor.”

[...]

In addition to the photo, a “kosode”-style kimono apparently worn by Toshiko when she served as menoto was recently found. She is believed to have bought the white silk robe at a department store in Gifu before she moved to Tokyo with the robe as a service suit.

[...]

http://www.asahicom.jp/ajw/articles/images/AS20190507001691_comm.jpg
http://www.asahicom.jp/ajw/articles/images/AS20190507001692_comm.jpg

 

[Prisma]

8th-century biwa lute reproduced - The Japan News

The Empress Emerita has helped create a replica of a five-string biwa lute believed to have been used by Emperor Shomu in the eighth century.

The Imperial Household Agency unveiled the accurate replica of “Raden Shitan no Gogen Biwa” to reporters on Thursday, before it is displayed at the Museum of the Imperial Collections in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo from Saturday.

The replica’s strings are made of silk from koishimaru silkworms, an indigenous species in Japan, raised by the former Empress at the palace.

The original lute, made of shitan red sandalwood with mother-of-pearl inlay decorations, is one of the treasures donated by Emperor Shomu to the Todaiji temple in Nara about 1,200 years ago and kept at the Shosoin [...]

In 2011, the agency’s Shosoin office started replicating the only surviving ancient biwa of the kind, 108.1 centimeters long and 30.9 centimeters wide, to learn the manufacturing techniques and reproduce its sounds.

The project was completed in March this year.

During their visit to Kyoto on March 27, the then Empress and then Emperor saw the completed work at the Kyoto Omiya Imperial Palace.

[...]

Mainichi gallery comparing the real biwa (left) to the replica (right)

Replica:
https://www.sankei.com/images/news/190711/lif1907110030-p1.jpg

 

[Prisma]

When a child's life was nothing so long as images of Hirohito lasted: The Asahi Shimbun

[...]

“We gathered up portraits of members of the imperial family from schools across Okinawa and stored them in the bunker,” recalled 88-year-old Hiroshi Yabiku, a resident of Kita-Nakagusuku in the prefecture. “Then we built a shack of sorts in front of it so that we could maintain a vigil, taking turns with teachers.”

Yabiku was a member of the “Goshinei-hogotai,” a special squad formed with the express task of protecting portraits of Hirohito and his family members during the waning months of World War II.

[...]

In 1943, the ministry formally notified schools about the course of action teachers should take in the event of an air raid.

It called for maximum priority to be given to the “protection of the imperial portraits, a copy of the rescript and copies of imperial edicts.”

The “protection of students and children” came second.

U.S. air raids across Okinawa Prefecture on Oct. 10, 1944, caused widespread damage and also leveled much of Naha's city center.

This prompted prefectural authorities to decide to bring all of the imperial portraits kept at schools in the main Okinawa island to one venue in order to save them from destruction.

A special nine-person squad consisting of school principals and teachers was established for the project.

Ten or so students were also designated to serve as “assistants.” Yabiku was one of them.

[...]

Yabiku and fellow members transported more than 100 imperial portraits to the bunker.

They were mounted on rectangular cardboard and stored in a box made of paulownia wood.

Yabiku and the other assistants wrapped the boxes with white cloths and carried them on their backs.

Each box, also containing copies of the Imperial Rescript on Education, weighed about 20 kilograms.

“Don’t you dare put it down on the ground! Never,” the students were ordered.

Yabiku and the other assistants were not even allowed to touch the portraits, because, they were told, “Goshinei is the emperor’s other self.”

“I thought we had been given an extremely special and important mission,” Yabiku said.

On April 1, 1945, U.S. forces landed in the central part of the main island and quickly advanced to the north, forcing Yabiku and the squad to abandon the bunker.

They buried the copies of the rescript in the grounds of a nearby shrine.

Carrying nothing but the portraits of Hirohito, who died in 1989 and is posthumously called Emperor Showa, and other imperial family members in their knapsacks, they fled to the mountains.

Their food provisions soon ran out, forcing the team members to forage for hibiscus shoots and other plants.

Yet, they never skipped the morning ritual of making profound obeisance to the portraits.

'WE SHOULD NEVER FORGET'

Yabiku and his fellow portrait guardians spent more than 80 days in the mountains.

[...]

At the end of June, the squad burned the portraits to deprive enemy forces of getting their hands on them.

[...]

Having witnessed changes in imperial eras from Showa to Heisei and now Reiwa, Yabiku wistfully observed that Japan now "exists in a peaceful time indeed.”

“We deluded ourselves into thinking that the portraits were truly more important than our lives,” he said. “We should never forget that there were times like that.”

Akira Kawamitsu, who has done extensive research on the special squad's endeavor and collected oral testimonies about the mission, noted that prior to World War II, Japan developed as a militarized nation in which "everybody was ready to die for the emperor.”

[...]

Kawamitsu is determined to keep memories alive of the special squad Goshinei-hogo-tai because he fears that Japan is gradually shifting to a course that could find itself in a war situation.

On June 9, two weeks before the annual Memorial Day to remember the victims of the Battle of Okinawa that claimed more than 200,000 lives, including U.S. troops, Kawamitsu spoke to 70 or so high school students.

[...]

 

[Muhler]

A truly thought-provoking article.

Especially the last bit...

 

[Prisma]

Yasukuni's bid for emperor to visit on 150th anniversary rebuffed - Kyodo News+

Yasukuni Shrine, seen by critics as a symbol of Japan's past militarism, last fall sought a visit by then-Emperor Akihito to mark the 150th anniversary this year of its establishment, but his aides declined, Kyodo News learned Tuesday.

Yasukuni contacted the Imperial Household Agency last September regarding a visit, citing the examples of emperors who went to the Shinto shrine in Tokyo on its 50th and 100th anniversaries, according to officials at the two entities who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The rejection by the agency increases the possibility that the emperor will not visit the shrine in the future.

[...]

The agency's Board of Ceremonies replied to Yasukuni that then-Emperor Akihito was busy preparing for succession rites prior to his abdication in April and it declined to pass on the message from the shrine to the agency's chief, Shinichiro Yamamoto, or to the Board of Chamberlains, which handles the day-to-day activities of the imperial family, the officials said.

The shrine took the reply as a "no" and does not plan to approach the agency about a visit by newly enthroned Emperor Naruhito, a Yasukuni staff member said, adding, "We can only wait for his majesty to visit."

[...]

Emperor Taisho visited the shrine in 1919 on its 50th anniversary, while Emperor Hirohito, known posthumously as Emperor Showa, visited in 1969 for its 100th anniversary and again in 1975.

The visits stopped with the 1978 enshrinement of 14 Class-A war criminals including Japan's wartime prime minister, Gen. Hideki Tojo.

[...]

 

[Ista]

This is very interesting, and quite reassuring as well. It's a consistent message, and the significance of it will not be missed by those ultra conservatives who long for a return to what they see as Japan's former (militaristic) glory.

 

[Ista]

A truly thought-provoking article.

Especially the last bit...

Indeed.

The entire article was very moving, and gave plenty of food for thought, both about where Japan is right now, and about the potential for the future if lessons from the past are forgotten.

 

[theroyalfly]

I've seen articles from the international media saying Kei and Ayako are expecting their first child this late autumn, is this news verified?

 

[Ista]

I've seen articles from the international media saying Kei and Ayako are expecting their first child this late autumn, is this news verified?

Prisma links to the report on the Takamado thread, post #496.

 

[Prisma]

Yomiuri's article about the Imperial family’s history with rugby.

Although Crown Prince Akishino is the honorary president of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, the Chichibu and Mikasa Imperial branches are more closely connected to the sport in Japan.

Prince Chichibu was the first member of the Imperial family to love rugby. Known as the "Sports Prince," rugby immediately fascinated him. He recalled his excitement watching his first match in Osaka in May 1923. He attended university competitions and fought for rugby despite its financial difficulties. While traveling in Kansai in 1928, Prince Chichibu noticed many vacant lots along the train route and proposed a rugby field, which led to the construction of Hanazono Rugby Field in Osaka. He became president of Japan Rugby Football Association in 1947. When he died in 1953, Tokyo Rugby Field was renamed Chichibu-no-miya Rugby Field.

The next Imperial member to love rugby was Prince Tomohito of Mikasa who inherited the Presidency of the Japan Rugby Football Association. He actively got to know players. When Ippei Onishi retired, Prince Tomohito encouraged Onishi to cooperate with the political and business world to contribute to society through rugby.

Princess Akiko of Mikasa is the current president. She will attend the World Cup Pool D match between Australia and Fiji at Sapporo Dome on September 21st.

The association says "The history of Japanese rugby cannot be told without the existence of the Imperial family."

 

[Prisma]

Imperial family calendar for Reiwa 2 (2020)

http://www.kikuyou.or.jp/pdf/calender07.pdf

Kikuyou Court Culture Institute - Calendar

Why so many old photos?

 

[Prisma]

On December 10th, the Cabinet Office announced Grand Steward Shinichiro Yamamoto (69) will retire on December 17.

Yamamoto was born in Fukui Prefecture, graduated from Kyoto University, and entered the Ministry of Home Affairs (now the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications) in 1973. He was Vice Minister of the Cabinet Office and served as Vice Grand Steward from June 2012 before becoming Grand Steward in September 2016.

Vice Grand Steward Yasuhiko Nishimura (64) will succeed Yamamoto as Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Agency. Nishimura was born in Mie Prefecture, graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1979, and entered the National Police Agency. Previous positions include head of National Security Agency, general manager of Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, and Cabinet Crisis Management Director before assuming the post of Vice Grand Steward in September 2016.

Kenji Ikeda (58) will become new Vice Grand Steward. Ikeda served under Emperor Emeritus' Household and was previously Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Sources: NHK, Sankei, Jiji

 

[Ista]

It will be interesting to see if there are any noticeable shifts in the way the IHA is run. The internal workings of the IHA are fascinating to me. One can't help wondering how much the noticeable improvement in then CP Masako's health was related to both her new lady in waiting, and the Grand Steward Yamamoto taking over control of the IHA.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Do either of you - or any other IHA watchers here - have any thoughts in regard to Mr. Yamamoto's leadership of the Agency? I only know that he was promoted to replace Noriyuki Kazaoka when Mr. Kazaoka was fired by the Abe government for permitting Emperor Akihito to express his wish to abdicate, and I remember wondering if the successor would toe the government line more than Mr. Kazaoka.

 

[Prisma]

On April 21st, Atsuko Ikeda attended a ceremony celebrating the new entrance of Ikeda Zoo in Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture.

Atsuko Ikeda is Emperor Akihito's older sister and formerly titled Princess Yori.

The zoo had a deficit of 250 million yen due to declining visitors. Experts, business circles and government officials created a reform plan to save the zoo. Besides the entrance and building renovations, new animals will be added. A white tiger will debut on April 26. Nippon Kabaya Ohayo Holdings donated for the zoo's survival. The reforms expect an increase of 8000 visitors and stable management going forward.

Photos: fnn.jp, sanyonews.jp

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D4vH1lGUEAAGgtJ.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D4vH3d0UwAAGW7A.jpg

Found video of last April's Ikeda Zoo new entrance ceremony

 

[Prisma]

Mainichi has a special gallery on the Imperial family's bonbonnière, candy boxes gifted at celebrations or banquets.

The Sannomaru Shozokan (The Museum of the Imperial Collections) published a book with 236 photos. The first bonbonnière was distributed at a banquet on February 11, 1889. Sadly, the IHA does not have the first candy box. However, the museum has about 420 bonbonnières donated from Chichibu and Takamatsu branches and others.

1. Globe, celebrating Crown Prince Hirohito's return from a European tour in 1921
2. Round, white with blue flower/motif to celebrate Princess Kako's birth (1995). Kako's personal emblem is Hibiscus tiliaceus.
3. Treasure ship to celebrate the 1935 visit of Puyi, ruler of Manchukuo, to Japan
4. Round, white with tiger, goldfish and pigeon toys to celebrate Princess Tsuguko's birth (1986)
5. Round, white with snowflake to celebrate Princess Akiko's coming-of-age (2001). Akiko's personal emblem is snow
6. Round, white with stars, circles and triangles to celebrate Princess Yoko's coming-of-age (2003). Yoko's personal emblem is star
7. Egg-shaped with flowers to celebrate Prince and Princess Hitachi's 25th wedding anniversary (1989)
8. bonbonnière with family crest of Yi Un (or Lee Eun) Crown Prince of Korea. Circa 1910-1930s. He's the husband of Yi Bangja (born Princess Masako of Nashimoto)
9. Round, white with blue flower to celebrate Princess Mako's birth (1992). Mako's personal emblem is Rosa banksiae.
10. Chestnut shaped (wood?) to celebrate the longevity of Princess Chichibu in 1990
11. Round, metal with ducks to celebrate Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako's marriage in 1993
12. Artillery shell shaped to celebrate Prince Nagahisa Kitashirakawa's rank as Lieutenant in 1931
13. Cranes for Emperor Taisho's 25th wedding anniversary in 1925
14. Traditional armor to celebrate Emperor Emeritus Akihito's birth in 1934
15. Gagaku drum shaped to celebrate Emperor Showa's enthronement in 1928

Asahi previously featured Imperial bonbonnieres in 2017

Photos of the IHA's "The Imperial Family and Bonbonnieres - Tracing Their History" exhibition, July 15 - September 10.

Asahi gallery

1. Chakko-no-gi ceremonies: flower for Princess Sayako (1973), fan for Prince Akishino (1970), and Go board for CP Naruhito (1964).
2. Oval Crane and Turtle for Emperor Meiji's 25th wedding anniversary in 1894
3. Go board for Prince Mikasa's Chakko-no-gi ceremony in 1919
4. Hexagon with Pine Decoration for Emperor Showa's wedding in 1924
5. Cranes for Emperor Taisho's 25th wedding anniverary in 1925
6. Cart for Emperor Taisho early Showa era. (Not sure, maybe this means Emperor Showa was regent)
7. Armor in Taisho from early Showa era
8. Hand Drum with Young Pine and Star Design from private banquet hosted by Empress Dowager (Empress Teimei) celebrating the marriage of Prince Chichibu in 1928
9. Airplane celebrating the adulthood of Prince Takahiko of Asaka in 1932
10. Tank for Prince Takahiko of Asaka becoming lieutenant in 1933
11. Dog from a private banquet in 1934 celebrating Emperor Akihito's birth
12. Hand drum from a private banquet in 1935 celebrating Prince Hitachi's birth
13. Round Plum Blossom for Princess Shigeko's marriage to Prince Morihiro of Higashikuni in 1943
14. Overlap Box Shimomura Tsurum for Emperor Showa and Empress Kojun's 25th wedding anniversary in 1949
15. Shape of a Chrysanthemum Flower with Pair of Cranes from Private banquet celebrating the marriage of the Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko in 1959
16. Flowers, leaves, and clouds for Prince Tomohito and Princess Nobuko's marriage in 1980
17. Fan shape with lotus for Princess Sayako in 1990 for her coming of age
18. Globe commemorating Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko's foreign visits in 1991
19. Cranes celebrating the marriage of CP Naruhito and CP Masako in 1993

[...]

 

[Ista]

It is fascinating to see all the bonbonnieres, thank you for posting those links, Prisma!

Since the hand drum designed for Prince and Princess Chichibu's private wedding banquet in 1928 is listed (#8 in the Asahi gallery), here is an excerpt from Prince and Princess Chichibu, Two Lives Lived Above and Below the Clouds describing the bonbonniere in Princess Chichibu's own words:

"At the Japanese Court it is the custom to give small silver confection boxes--known by the French word bonbonniere--as mementos to mark special occasions. Much thought is given to their design, with the occasion in mind, so that each one is unique(.....)
.....Her Majesty called the Prince and me over to her and handed the gifts to each of us personally. She had designed the silver memento herself. It was a miniature tsuzumi, the ancient Japanese hand drum shaped like an hourglass. Fine rose colored silk cord had been used for the tension-adjusting drum-rope, and the body of the drum was embossed with a pattern of tiny young pines and stars. The young pines were the Prince's symbol, the rose colored cord was for England, where he had studied, and the stars were for the Stars and Stripes of America where I had been to school. Her Majesty's hope that our union would bring England, America and Japan closer together was beautifully expressed in her touchingly thought-out gift.

Looking at this ancient musical instrument reproduced in miniature I cannot help feeling how modern it seems today. The rose-colored cord has been replaced, but the silver is as bright as ever and I keep this treasured memento in a glass case in my drawing room. I often pick it up and marvel anew at Her Majesty's extraordinary originality and aesthetic sense. Sadly, the one I personally received was destroyed in the bombing during the Second World War. This is the one she gave the Prince, and it survived because it had been put away in the fireproof storehouse."

 

[Prisma]

Thank you Ista! I love learning more about Prince and Princess Chichibu's wedding bonbonniere. Her book is on my reading list. ?

 

[Ista]

I highly recommend it, Prisma, I think you would enjoy it immensely. It is a rare glimpse into a very private world, and is rich with the kind of details that we usually have to speculate about.

 

[Prisma]

'Superfan' of Japan's royals has followed them for decades | The Wider Image | Reuters (includes fun photos of the writer following the fans!)

More about superfan Fumiko Shirataki and her friends.

Fumiko lined up at 4am near Akasaka for a good spot on November 10 for the enthronement parade. She watched rehearsals in October. [fnn.jp]

Fumiko and her fellow royal fans Hisa Yoshida and Orie Hirokawa shared some of their photos with Asahi. (published in May and October 2019)

Asahi 1, Asahi 2 galleries

Fumiko (78) started following the Imperial family, specifically Masako and Michiko, in January 1993 after the Crown Prince's engagement announcement. She and a friend visited the Owada residence and although her friend only went once, Fumiko found herself visiting daily. Her first camera was a 10,000 yen compact camera without zoom. 6 months later, she upgraded to a camera with interchangeable lens. Fumiko took a break when Masako became ill but returned when Masako became active again.

Hisa Yoshida (50s) began following the Imperial family in June 1993. She got married in May 1994 and her husband is fully aware of her hobby. Masako's fashion has influenced her own style. To get the royal schedule, Hisa and her companions contact the prefecture or city. Hisa took a break for about 4 years after Masako became ill.

Orie Hirokawa (84) stopped chasing royals 6 years ago due to age and health issues (high blood pressure, diabetes, and asthma). Her most memorable photo is of Masako at Hayama taken June 29, 1996.

About 12 people, mostly older women, regularly follow Empress Masako according to Fumiko. Recently she's seen some men in their 20s.

Fans used to be allowed inside Hanzomon gate but security became stricter after the Sarin attack in 1995. Recently, only 4 people are allowed in the front row along the pavement before the gate. Fumiko has waited 3 hours for a front row place.

 

[Prisma]

75% of Japanese positive about emperor: Kyodo survey

[...]

In the mail-in survey that covered around 3,000 people aged 18 and older, 58 percent of respondents said they felt an affinity for Emperor Naruhito, higher than the 48 percent recorded for Emperor Akihito, the current emperor's father, in an interview survey in December 1989 about a year after his enthronement.

With another 17 percent stating they view him as "wonderful," a total of 75 percent of respondents felt positive about the 60-year-old emperor.

The survey, conducted since March, drew 2,003 responses by April 10, of which 1,899 were treated as valid -- a response rate of 63.3 percent.

The poll also found that 85 percent of respondents would accept a female monarch and 79 percent would accept an emperor descended from a female member of the imperial family, despite the country's law currently limiting succession to men from the paternal line.

Asked in a multiple-choice question about what they hoped the emperor would do, 56 percent said build international friendships, and 58 percent said the same for Empress Masako, 56, a former diplomat educated at Harvard and Oxford universities, while visiting disaster-hit areas to console those affected was also cited.

A total of 75 percent said they were interested in the imperial family to some or a great extent, while 21 percent said they were not very interested and 4 percent said they had no interest.

[...]

In November, a conservative grouping in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party proposed to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that unmarried men in the now-abolished collateral branches of the imperial family be reinstated.

The latest Kyodo survey showed 70 percent opposed the proposal, however, with most saying allowing female members to become heirs would suffice.

In a multiple-choice question, 72 percent said the government should discuss having female monarchs, and 40 percent said emperors from the maternal line should be considered, while 18 percent called for discussing the reinstatement of members of the 11 collateral branches that left the imperial family in 1947.

[...]

Emperor Naruhito completed a slew of ceremonies accompanying his succession to the throne in December, including "Daijosai," a Shinto thanksgiving ceremony that has been criticized by some as going against the principle of separation of state and religion.

In the survey, 72 percent viewed the ceremonies as appropriate, while 12 percent said religious elements should have been eliminated and 10 percent said such ceremonies were unnecessary.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

In the mail-in survey that covered around 3,000 people aged 18 and older, 58 percent of respondents said they felt an affinity for Emperor Naruhito, higher than the 48 percent recorded for Emperor Akihito, the current emperor's father, in an interview survey in December 1989 about a year after his enthronement.

I wonder if the difference could be attributed to the reduced amount of controversy over the monarchy (and the previous monarch's reign) in 2020 in comparison to 1989.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Moved part two of my response here: https://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/f68/succession-and-membership-issues-4108-61.html#post2310496