Now that the Heisei Era is over, here are some memories of the Heisei Emperor and Empress (after May 1, 2019, they will be referred to as “Jokogo” and “Joko” during their lifetime, but for the sake of clarity, we will refer to them as such) and the Showa Emperor.
1．Memories of the Heisei Emperor and Empress
It is worthy of respect that Emperor Heisei was blessed with two good teachers, Mrs. Vining and Mr. Shinzo Koizumi, during his time as Crown Prince, and that he has continued to earnestly seek the “ideal” form of the “Emperor as a symbol” under the Japanese Constitution.
The appointment of Mrs. Vining, an American, as the Crown Prince’s tutor was not forced by GHQ, but at the request of the Showa Emperor. Since he was no longer an “arahito gami” (a god of humanity) after making the “Declaration of Humanity,” and since he would be interacting with the U.S. and other foreign countries from now on, it was probably out of “parental love” for him to learn Western ways of thinking and to become fluent in English.
Another person who played the most important role was Michiko Shoda. She was the first “commoner” to be a Crown Princess who was not a member of the Imperial Family or the old noble family.
She married the Crown Prince after meeting him on a tennis court in Karuizawa.
This marriage was vehemently opposed by Empress Nagako and other members of the royal family. In retrospect, this was “an extremely anachronistic opinion based on the prewar status system. However, the Showa Emperor’s strong desire to “bring new blood into the imperial family” seems to have brought about the marriage.
Her comment about her impression of the Crown Prince at the engagement press conference, “He is a very clean, honest, and honorable man, and I trust him with all my heart…” attracted much attention, and “clean and honest” became a buzzword, triggering the “Michi Boom”.
She had a very difficult time both during her time as Crown Princess and after she became Empress, being subjected to various bullying and unfair bashing.
Out of remorse for the fact that the Crown Prince grew up without the “warm taste of home” and the “love of parents,” she raised her three children, Prince Hiromiya, Prince Akishinonomiya, and Prince Norinomiya, by herself, just as any normal family would do. Without a doubt, it was Michiko Shoda who opened the “window to society” for the Crown Prince.
However, he suffered from aphonia due to the extreme stress caused by the bashing of the Imperial Family and heartless newspaper and magazine articles, but he persevered and continued to support the Crown Prince and Emperor out of his “sense of responsibility as a member of the Imperial Family.
I watched the Japanese video of the Empress’s elegant keynote speech in English, “Peace through Children’s Books – Memories of Reading as a Child – Michiko,” at the 26th International Children’s Book Council Conference in New Delhi in 1998, and was deeply impressed by its rich content and her profound culture and dignity.
The fairy tale “Dendenmushi no Kanashimi” by Nankichi Niimi has become very famous.
Whenever there was a great natural disaster, the Emperor and Empress took the initiative in visiting disaster areas to comfort the victims and showed their attitude of being close to the victims. After the death of Emperor Showa, she energetically made a “Memorial Journey to the Pacific War” until just before her abdication.
I believe that Mrs. Vining’s teaching, “Think for yourself,” is still alive in his request for “abdication before his death” because he judged that it would be difficult for him to properly perform his duties as the Emperor due to his advanced age.
In this way, the Heisei Emperor and Empress seem to have successfully fulfilled the role of “Emperor and Empress as symbols” of the Japanese Constitution, and at the same time, they have put into practice the “ideal image of an ideal couple.
Since “oshidori huhu” (loving couple) and “hiyoku renri” (cordial couple) sound too commonplace, I would like to introduce a four-character idiom, “kyoan seibi,” which best describes the image of the Emperor and Empress Heisei as a married couple. This is “a parable in which a wife respects her husband with utmost courtesy. It is also a metaphor for a husband and wife being courteous and respectful to each other and getting along well. The source is the Liang Hong Deng in the Later Han Book.
2．Memories of the Showa Emperor
I was born in 1949, so the period from my childhood to the age of 40 was the era of “Emperor Showa. Speaking of Emperor Showa, he was so friendly that his habit of saying “Ah, so” became a popular phrase.
The unique intonation of the “Imperial Rescript of the End of War” on August 15, 1945 (I was not yet born at that time, so I only know it from the recordings played many times later) and the “Words” at the “National War Memorial Ceremony” held every year on the anniversary of the end of the war were interesting, and my family affectionately nicknamed “Ten-chan” .
I also feel close to him in terms of his love for nature. I am impressed by the episode in which he admonished his attendants by saying, “No weeds are called weeds.
The emperor’s throne room had a large garden called “hiroshiba,” which was a favorite of the emperor because wild birds such as pheasants and kodjukis flew there.
However, because of the large garden, grass seeds flew in from all over the place, and in the summer the grass became overgrown. In the summer immediately after the war, the emperor and empress went to the imperial villa in Nasu for a summer retreat and were scheduled to return in early autumn. When the Emperor and Empress returned, they thought it would be unsightly if the grass was in a state of disrepair, so the attendants divided up and worked hard to cut the grass.
When the emperor returned, he asked, “Who cut the grass in this garden? The attendant replied, “We did our best to cut the weeds, but this is all that remains. I will clean it up sooner or later.
To this the Emperor replied, “What are you talking about? There is no grass called weed. Every weed has a name. Each chooses its own favorite place to live. We should not mow them and clean them up based on one-sided human thinking.
I don’t agree with this “Let it be.” but it is an episode typical of the Showa Emperor, who was a nature-loving and kind-hearted man.