Chubb Fuddler
Aristocracy
- Joined
- May 26, 2014
- Messages
- 228
- City
- Victoria
- Country
- Australia
Some people felt that it was inappropriate to take an informal photo of the off-duty Emperor and Empress (they were on their way back to Tokyo). The Emperor and Empress do not appear too distressed by coming face to face with a teenage girl and her iPhone, so I don't think the photo itself is really the problem.
But to see the photo on Twitter did unsettle some conservative Japanese. One lady said that “Imperial family members are not TV personalities. It is not polite to casually post photos on the Internet. It makes me uncomfortable.” There seems to be a bit of tension between two views of the Emperor; that of the dignified symbol of the state, versus the informal, kindly grandfather.
But to see the photo on Twitter did unsettle some conservative Japanese. One lady said that “Imperial family members are not TV personalities. It is not polite to casually post photos on the Internet. It makes me uncomfortable.” There seems to be a bit of tension between two views of the Emperor; that of the dignified symbol of the state, versus the informal, kindly grandfather.