Empress Michiko

Empress Michiko
皇后美智子

The Empress during Barack Obama's visit to the Imperial Palace, 24 April 2014
Empress consort of Japan
Tenure 7 January 1989 – present
Enthronement 12 November 1990
Born (1934-10-20) 20 October 1934
Tokyo Imperial University,
Tokyo City, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
(now The University of Tokyo Hospital, Hongō, Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan)
Spouse Emperor Akihito (m. 1959)
Issue Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan
Fumihito, Prince Akishino
Sayako, Princess Nori
Full name
Michiko (美智子)
House Imperial House of Japan
Father Hidesaburō Shōda
Mother Fumiko Soejima
Religion Shinto
prev. Roman Catholicism

Empress Michiko (皇后美智子 Kōgō Michiko), born Michiko Shōda (正田 美智子 Shōda Michiko) on 20 October 1934, is the Empress consort of Japan as the wife of Emperor Akihito, the current Emperor of Japan reigning from 7 January 1989. She succeeded her mother-in-law, Empress Nagako (Kōjun), consort of the late Emperor Hirohito (Shōwa).

Michiko married Crown Prince Akihito and became the Crown Princess of Japan until the death of Emperor Hirohito. She was the first commoner to marry into the Japanese Imperial Family. She has three children with her husband. Her elder son, Naruhito, is the current heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne. As crown princess and later as empress, she has become the most visible and widely travelled imperial consort in Japanese history.

Early life and education

The future Empress in 1940

Michiko Shōda was born in Tokyo, the second of four children to Hidesaburō Shōda (正田 英三郎 Shōda Hidesaburō), president and later honorary chairman of Nisshin Flour Milling Company, and his wife, Fumiko Soejima Soejima Fumiko (副島 富美子). Raised in Tokyo and in a cultured family, she received a careful education, both traditional and "Western", learning to speak English and to play piano and being initiated into the arts such as painting, cooking and Kōdō. She has an older brother Iwao, a younger brother Usamu and a younger sister Emiko.[1] She is the niece of several academics, including Kenjirō Shōda, a mathematician who was the president of the University of Osaka from 1954 until 1960.[2]

Shōda attended Futaba Elementary School in Kōjimachi, a neighborhood in Chiyoda, Tokyo, but was required to leave in her fourth grade year because of the American bombings during World War II. She was then successively educated in the prefectures of Kanagawa (in the town of Katase, now part of the city of Fujisawa), Gunma (in Tatebayashi, home town of the Shōda family), and Nagano (in the town of Karuizawa, where Shōda had a second resort home). She returned to Tokyo in 1946 and completed her elementary education in Futaba and then attended the Seishin (Sacred Heart) Junior High School and High School in Minato, Tokyo. She graduated from high school in 1953.

After attending college, she became known by her family as "Mitchi" (ミッチ), but admitted to have also been named in her childhood as "Temple-chan", because of her curly hair and reddish hues unusual for a Japanese girl which made her look like the American child actress Shirley Temple.

In 1957, she graduated summa cum laude from the Faculty of Literature at the University of the Sacred Heart (a Catholic university in Tokyo) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature. She also took courses at Harvard and Oxford.[3]

Since she came from a particularly wealthy family, her parents were very selective about her suitors. In fact, there had been several contenders for her hand in marriage in the 1950s.[4] Biographers of the famous writer Yukio Mishima including Henry Scott Stokes report that Mishima had considered marrying Michiko Shōda, and that he was introduced to her for that purpose some time in the 1950s.[5][6]

Engagement and marriage

Wedding portrait with Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun, 10 April 1959
The newly married Crown Prince and Crown Princess in traditional Japanese attire, with the Prince wearing a sokutai, the Princess a jūnihitoe
Michiko and her family in 1969

In August 1957, she met then-Crown Prince Akihito on a tennis court at Karuizawa near Nagano. The Imperial Household Council (a body composed of the Prime Minister of Japan; the presiding officers of the two houses of the Diet of Japan; the Chief Justice of Japan; and two members of the Imperial Family) formally approved the engagement of the Crown Prince to Michiko Shōda on 27 November 1958. At that time, the media presented their encounter as a real "fairy tale",[4] or the "romance of the tennis court". The engagement ceremony took place on 14 January 1959.

Although the future Crown Princess was the daughter of a wealthy industrialist, she was still regarded as a commoner. During the 1950s, the media and most persons familiar with the Japanese monarchy had assumed that the powerful Imperial Household Agency would select a bride for the Crown Prince from the daughters of the former court nobility, or from one of the former branches of the Imperial Family. Some traditionalists opposed the engagement, as Shōda came from a Roman Catholic family,[7] and although she was never baptized, she was educated at Catholic institutions and seemed to share the faith of her parents. It was also widely rumored that Empress Kōjun had opposed the engagement. After the death of Empress Kōjun in 2000, Reuters announced that the former Empress was one of the strongest opponents of the marriage, and that in the 1960s, she had driven her daughter-in-law to depression by persistently accusing her of not being suitable for her son.[8] Death threats alerted the authorities to ensure the security of the Shōda family.[4] Yukio Mishima, known for his traditionalist position, said at the time: "The imperial system becomes "tabloïdesque" (sic) in its move toward democratization. It's all wrong--the idea (of the Imperial Family) losing its dignity by connecting with the people."[9]

However, the young couple had by then gained wide public support. That support also came from the ruling political class. Additionally, everyone showed affection for the young "Mitchi" who had become the symbol of Japan's modernization and democratization (the media at the time hinted at the phenomenon of a "Mitchi boom"). The wedding finally took place as a traditional Shinto ceremony on 10 April 1959. The wedding procession was followed in the streets of Tokyo by more than 500,000 people spread over a 8.8 km route, while parts of the wedding were televised, thus making it the first imperial wedding to be made available for public viewership in Japan, drawing approximately 15 million viewers.[9] In accordance with tradition, Shōda received a personal emblem (o-shirushi (お印)): the white birch of Japan (Shirakaba (白樺)) upon admission to the imperial family.

Crown Princess

Crown Princess Michiko with First Lady Nancy Reagan during an official visit to the United States in November 1987

The young couple then moved to Tōgū Palace (東宮御所 Tōgū-gosho), or "the East Palace of the Imperial House", the traditional name of the official residence of the crown prince installed since 1952, located within the grounds of the Akasaka Estate in Motoakasaka, Minato, Tokyo. They left Tōgū Palace after her husband acceded to the throne in 1989.

The couple have three children:

  1. Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan (皇太子徳仁親王 Kōtaishi Naruhito Shinnō, born 23 February 1960)
  2. Fumihito, Prince Akishino (秋篠宮文仁親王 Akishino-no-miya Fumihito Shinnō, born 30 November 1965)
  3. Sayako, Princess Nori (紀宮清子内親王 Nori-no-miya Sayako Naishinnō, born 18 April 1969), following her marriage to urban designer Yoshiki Kuroda on 15 November 2005, Princess Nori gave up her imperial title and left the Imperial Family as required by 1947 Imperial Household Law, took the surname of her husband and became known as "Sayako Kuroda" (黒田清子 Kuroda Sayako).

In 1963, Associated Press reported that the Crown Princess, then approximately three months pregnant, underwent an abortion on 22 March, in Tokyo.[10] As the article stated, "The operation was advised by her physician, Prof. Takashi Kobayashi, who delivered Michiko's first child, three-year-old Prince Hiro, a spokesman said. The spokesman said it is believed the 28-year-old princess' health has been impaired by a continuous round of official and social functions before pregnancy".[10]

Crown Princess Michiko with her husband on a state visit to the Netherlands on 5 October 1979. Also in the photograph are Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands and Prince Claus of the Netherlands

Contrary to the tradition that the children of the imperial family should be separated from their parents and placed with private tutors, Crown Prince Akihito and his wife Crown Princess Michiko again broke precedent from the start by preferring to raise their children instead of entrusting them to the care of court chamberlains; the Crown Princess even breastfed.[11] She and her husband have also built up a strong position among the general public, by their frequent trips in the 47 prefectures in the country to go to meet people but also for the liberties taken by the imperial couple vis-a-vis the protocol. At a more formal level, the Crown Prince and Princess visited 37 foreign countries between 1959 and 1989.

She suffered from several nervous breakdowns because of the pressure of the media and, according to Reuters, the attitude of her mother-in-law, that have resulted in particular to make her lose her voice for seven months in the 1960s and again in the fall of 1993. More recently, Empress Michiko had to cancel many of her official duties in the spring of 2007, while suffering from mouth ulcers, nosebleeds and intestinal bleeding due to "psychological stress", according to her doctors.[12] This would be similar to the situation of her daughter-in-law, Crown Princess Masako, who also underwent several depressions due to pressures of her position.[13]

Empress Consort

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko at the Imperial Palace during her visit to Tokyo in 2011

Upon the death of Emperor Shōwa on 7 January 1989, Crown Princess Michiko's husband became the 125th Emperor of Japan, and she became "Empress Consort". The new Emperor and Empress were enthroned (Sokui Rei Seiden no Gi) at the Tokyo Imperial Palace on 12 November 1990.

Since their enthronement, the imperial couple have visited 19 countries, and have done much to make the Imperial Family more visible and approachable in contemporary Japan. They also tried to be close to the people, visiting the 47 prefectures of Japan.

Her official duties, apart from visits to other countries, are to assist her husband at events and ceremonies, both within and outside the Imperial Palace (she has been at the Emperor's side everywhere, for example during the opening ceremony of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano), receiving official guests including state guests and also to visit the social, cultural and charitable institutions and facilities. For example, in 2007, the Empress performed duties in her official capacity on more than 300 occasions.[14] For many years the Emperor and Empress have visited facilities for children on Children's Day and facilities for the elderly on Respect for the Aged Day. The Imperial Household Agency announced that after 2014 they will pass on these duties to the younger generation. Their health has had no bearing on this decision.[15] Following the death of her mother-in-law, Empress Dowager Nagako, on 16 June 2000, she succeeded her as Honorary President of the Japanese Red Cross Society.[16]

The Empress on the occasion of the Emperor's Birthday at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, 23 December 2005

As empress, she is particularly responsible for Momijiyama Imperial Cocoonery, a sericulture farm on the grounds of the imperial palace. She participates in the annual ceremony of harvesting silk, personally feeds silkworms with blackberries and is responsible to take care of them, the frames, and the harvesting. The production and harvesting of silk are part of her ceremonial duties, linked to Shintoism, Japanese culture, and tradition. Since 1994, the Empress offers a part of the harvested silk of the koishimaru variety (the oldest species now kept in Japan) to the Shōsōin Treasure-house in the Buddhist temple Tōdai-ji in Nara to be used for the restoration of its treasures.[14]

The Empress is expected to be the embodiment of traditional values such as modesty and purity. She has demonstrated a strong sense of duty throughout her life, which makes her quite popular amongst the Japanese. She takes part in religious ceremonies with the Emperor, such as visits to Ise Grand Shrine, other Shinto shrines and Imperial mausoleums to pray to the Imperial Family's ancestral spirits. In addition, she is an accomplished classical pianist.

The Empress was elevated into the Hall of Fame of International Best Dressed List in 1990.[17][18]

Hobbies, passions and literary works

Michiko Shōda while playing piano in October 1958

The Empress particularly enjoys reading, music and plays the piano.[19] Moreover, the imperial family has been known for several decades to form, occasionally, a small family band, with Crown Prince Akihito playing the cello, Crown Princess Michiko playing the piano, and Prince Naruhito playing the violin. Empress Michiko is also known to be particularly keen on gagaku, a kind of traditional Japanese court music.

Book by Michiko

She is also a fan of poetry, including the works of Michio Mado that she has selected, compiled and translated several of his poems in a series of collection under the titles Dobutsu-tachi (Animals) in 1992 and Fushigina Poketto (The Magic Pocket) in 1998.[11] In June 2013, two collections of the poetry of Michio Mado, which the Empress had been asked to translate into English in the early Heisei era, Rainbow: Niji and Eraser: Keshigomu, were published.[19] Together with her previously published translations of Michio Mado's poetry, including The Animals: Dobutsu-tachi, the publication of these new books means almost all the translations by the Empress of Mado's poems, which earned him the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1994 are now published.[19]

She herself has composed several poems, including waka.[20][21] Some of them have been published: a series of compounds wakas by Akihito and Michiko, Crown Prince and Princess, were published in 1987 and then republished in 1991 under the title Tomoshibi: Light. Finally, a collection of 367 waka by the Empress was published in 1997 under the title Seoto (瀬音 The Sound Current), and 53 of them have been translated into French and published in France by Signatura under the title Sé-oto, song of the ford.[22]

In 1991, she wrote a children's book, illustrated by Wako Takeda: Hajimete no Yamanobori ("My First Mountain Climb").[11]

Titles, styles and honours

Styles of
Empress Michiko
Reference style Her Imperial Majesty
Spoken style Your Imperial Majesty
Alternative style Ma'am
Imperial Standard

Titles

Honours

See also List of honours of the Japanese Imperial Family by country

National honours

Foreign honours

Honorary positions

Issue

The Emperor and Empress with their family on the occasion of the New Year Greeting at the Tokyo Imperial Palace in 2016
Name Birth Marriage Issue
Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan 23 February 1960 9 June 1993 Masako Owada Aiko, Princess Toshi
Fumihito, Prince Akishino 30 November 1965 29 June 1990 Kiko Kawashima Princess Mako of Akishino
Princess Kako of Akishino
Prince Hisahito of Akishino
Sayako, Princess Nori 18 April 1969 15 November 2005 Yoshiki Kuroda

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Michiko Shoda and Her Family" Corbis Images. "In the picture are (left to right), front row, Mrs. Fumi Shoda, her mother; Michiko; Telichiro, her grandfather; Emiko, her younger ssiter; and Hidesaburo Shoda, her father. Standing in back are (left), Usamu, a younger brother; and Iwao, an elder brother. The engagement of the Crown Prince to a commoner breaks more than 2,000 years of Japanese tradition. November 27, 1958."
  2. ↑ "History". University of Osaka. Archived from the original on 2 March 2009.
  3. ↑ "The commoners who married royalty". BBC. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 "JAPAN: The Girl from Outside". TIME. 1959-03-23. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  5. ↑ "Briton let author commit hara-kiri". Sunday Times. 2 May 2005. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  6. ↑ Saru (2015-10-26). "三島入門 (An Introduction to Mishima) | Mutantfrog Travelogue". Mutantfrog.com. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  7. ↑ Herbert P. Bix, "Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan", New York, 2001, p. 661
  8. ↑ "Japan's Dowager Empress Dead At 97". CBS News. 2000-06-16. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  9. 1 2 "Imperial marriage created bond with people | The Japan Times". Search.japantimes.co.jp. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  10. 1 2 "Japanese Princess Has An Abortion", The Miami News, 22 March 1963, page 3
  11. 1 2 3 "Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress - The Imperial Household Agency". Kunaicho.go.jp. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  12. ↑ "Japan Empress Michiko ill". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  13. ↑ Powell, Mike. "The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  14. 1 2 "Activities of Her Majesty the Empress over the Past Year and Her Birthday Schedule" (PDF). Kunaicho.go.jp. October 20, 2007. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  15. ↑ "Press Conference on the occasion of His Majesty's Birthday (2013) - The Imperial Household Agency". Kunaicho.go.jp. 2013-12-23. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  16. ↑
  17. ↑
  18. ↑ Ultimate Style – The Best of the Best Dressed List. 2004. p. 158. ISBN 2 84323 513 8.
  19. 1 2 3 "Press Conference on the occasion of Her Majesty's Birthday (Written Answers) (2013)". Kunaicho.go.jp. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  20. ↑ "Year-end Presentations of Waka Poems (2013)". Kunaicho.go.jp. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  21. ↑ "Waka Poems by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress and Their Imperial Highnesses the Crown Prince and Princess (2014)". Kunaicho.go.jp. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  22. ↑ (French) Présentation du livre Sé-oto, Le chant du gué de l'impératrice Michiko sur le site shunkin.net Archived 27 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  23. ↑ "Photographic image" (JPG). 1.bp.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  24. ↑ "Photographic image" (JPG). Sohanews2.vcmedia.vn. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  25. ↑ "Photographic image" (JPG). S-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  26. ↑ "Photographic image" (JPG). Noticiasnippon.jp. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  27. ↑ "Photographic image" (JPG). Kunaicho.go.jp. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  28. 1 2 "Photographic image" (JPG). S-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  29. 1 2 "Photographic image" (JPG). S-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  30. ↑ "Reply to a parliamentary question about the Decoration of Honour" (PDF) (in German). p. 1298. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  31. ↑ "The Belgian King Albert II (L) and Queen Paola (2ndL) and their eldest son, crown Prince Philippe of Belgium (C) are welcomed by Japanese Empress Michiko and Emperor Akihito, at the Imperial Palace... Pictures". Getty Images. 1996-10-22. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  32. ↑ "Photographic image" (JPG). Blog-imgs-62.fc2.com. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  33. ↑
  34. ↑ "Photographic image" (JPG). Blog-imgs-54.fc2.com. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  35. ↑ "Photographic image" (JPG). Enjoy.eastday.com. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  36. ↑
  37. ↑ "Photographic image". Theroyalforums.com. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  38. ↑ "Japanese Emperor Akihito Welcomes King of Morocco Mohammed VI In Tokyo Photos and Images". Getty Images. 2005-11-28. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  39. ↑ "Japanese Emperor Akihito Welcomes King of Morocco Mohammed VI In Tokyo Photos and Images". Getty Images. 2005-11-28. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  40. ↑ "NEPAL : Order of Ojaswi Rajanya" (PDF). Omsa.org. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  41. ↑ "Embassy of Japan in Nepal". Np.emb-japan.go.jp. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  42. ↑ "Photographic image" (JPG). C7.alamy.com. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  43. ↑ "Photographic image" (JPG). Static3.volkskrant.nl. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  44. ↑ "Photographic image" (JPG). C7.alamy.com. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  45. ↑ "Photographic image". Theroyalforums.com. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  46. ↑ GOVPH. "Filipino recipients of Japanese decorations and Japanese recipients of Philippine decorations | Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines". Gov.ph. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  47. 1 2 "CIDADÃOS ESTRANGEIROS AGRACIADOS COM ORDENS PORTUGUESAS - Página Oficial das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas". Ordens.presidencia.pt. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  48. ↑
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  50. ↑ "Photographic image" (JPG). Myroyal.files.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
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  52. ↑ "Photographic image" (JPG). 1.bp.blogpsot.com. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
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  54. ↑ http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/b4/50/f6/b450f6f8c300347a91adfcaf125d17c5.jpg
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  56. ↑ "Photographic image" (JPG). C8.alamy.com. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  57. ↑ "Banquet Celebrates Thailand King's 60th Anniversary Photos and Images". Getty Images. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  58. ↑ "Photographic image" (JPG). S-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  59. ↑ "Photographic image" (JPG). 4.bp.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
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Japanese royalty
Preceded by
Empress Kōjun		 Empress consort of Japan
1989–present 		Incumbent
Order of precedence in Japan
First Ladies
as the Imperial Consort 		Succeeded by
The Crown Princess
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