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Mar 10, 2017 · Empress Michiko turned 59 on October 20, 1993. At the time I was teaching at a university, and that morning I delivered a lecture on the topic of “Empress Michiko’s self-realization.” When I ...
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Scholarly analysis and entertaining articles on Japanese...
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Japanese imperial family. Michiko (美智子, born Michiko Shōda [正田 美智子 Shōda Michiko] on 20 October 1934) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan. She was Empress of Japan as the wife of Akihito, the 125th Emperor of Japan reigning from 7 January 1989 to 30 April 2019. Michiko married Crown Prince Akihito and became Crown ...
- Michiko Comes from An Aristocratic-Like Family
- She Has A Keen Interest in Irish Culture
- Yukio Mishima Was One of Her Suitors
- The Imperial Romance Began on A Tennis Court
- TV Sales Soared as A Result of The “Mitchi Boom”
- Empress Nagako Reportedly Opposed The Marriage
- The Naru-chan Constitution Became A Best-Seller
- Michio Mado’s Award-Winning Poetry Was Translated by The Empress
- A “Deep Sadness” Caused The Empress to Fall Mute
- Michiko and Akihito Helped to Bring The Secluded Palace Closer to The People
Michiko Shoda may not have descended from royal blood, but her family was extremely wealthy. Born to Hidesaburo Shoda and Fumiko Soejima on October 20, 1934, she had a very privileged upbringing. Her grandfather Teichiro Shoda founded Tatebayashi Flour Milling (now known as Nisshin Seifun Group) in 1900 which became the largest wheat miller in Japa...
Before a state visit to Ireland in 2005, Empress Michiko told reporters that she had been taught by Irish nuns as a youngster, recalling “the charm and loveliness of each one of them.” While majoring in English literature at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, where she graduated summa cum laude, the future empress learned about Irish hist...
As well as coming from a rich family, Michiko Shoda was also known for her grace and elegance. It was, therefore, no surprise that she had several contenders for her hand in marriage. According to several of his biographers, among them was Yukio Mishima, one of the most influential writers Japan has ever produced. Perhaps his pre-nuptial demands pu...
In August 1957, a mixed-doubles tennis match in Karuizawa that lasted more than two hours ended in defeat for the Crown Prince Akihito and his partner, but he wasn’t too disappointed. On the opposing side of the net was Michiko Shoda and an American 12-year-old boy named Bobby Doyle. It was the first time the future emperor and empress had met. Acc...
Breaking with over 2,000 years of tradition, Michiko was set to become the first commoner to marry into the cloistered Imperial Household. As the marriage drew closer, interest in the English literature graduate intensified. The public was enthralled by a woman seen as a symbol of the country’s modernization. It was the start of the so-called “Mitc...
Not everyone was happy to see the couple wed. Traditionalists expected their future emperor to find a bride among the Kazuko ranks, the former Japanese hereditary peerage, not a commoner who had been educated at a Catholic institution. Michiko’s mother-in-law Empress Nagako (posthumous name Kojun), was one of the marriage’s most vigorous opponents....
Until the birth of Prince Naruhito on February 23, 1960, the everyday care of royal children had been the responsibility of wet nurses and maids. Again, breaking with tradition, Crown Princess Michiko decided to raise her son, followed by his siblings Prince Akishino and Princess Sayoko herself and even breastfed them. When she was away, she left a...
In 1994, Michio Mado became the first Asian person to receive the Hans Christian Andersen Award for writing, recognizing his lasting contribution to children’s literature. A revered poet in Japan for several decades, Mado only started to gain international recognition in the early 1990s when Empress Michihiko began delicately translating his work i...
On this day 27 years ago, Empress Michiko collapsed as she prepared to celebrate her birthday. She recovered consciousness fairly quickly but was unable to say a word for around two months. A similar thing happened to her in the 1960s. Doctors put the mysterious sickness down to a “deep sadness” most likely caused by the unusually negative press sh...
Following the volcanic eruption of Mount Unzen in Nagasaki prefecture in 1991, their majesties visited shelters near the site to hear stories from the evacuees while offering encouragement as they knelt to be at the same eye level. After flying there on a commercial flight, they were then offered a special room on the fifth floor of their hotel, bu...
Oct 20, 2024 · Empress Emerita Michiko celebrates her ninetieth birthday on October 20, 2024. As the first commoner to marry a Japanese crown prince and later become empress, she has been a public figure for ...
Oct 20, 2024 · Michiko is the first commoner to become empress in modern Japanese history. Catholic-educated Michiko Shoda and then-Crown Prince Akihito married on April 10,… Empress emerita Michiko received greetings from her relatives and palace officials to celebrate her 90th birthday Sunday as she steadily recovers from a broken leg, officials said.
Oct 20, 2024 · Michiko is the first commoner to become empress in modern Japanese history. Catholic-educated Michiko Shoda and then-Crown Prince Akihito married on April 10, 1959, after what is known as their ...
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Oct 20, 2024 · SHARE/SAVE. Oct 20, 2024. Empress Emerita Michiko, wife of Emperor Emeritus Akihito, celebrated her 90th birthday on Sunday while undergoing rehabilitation following a recent leg injury. A ...
