CP Naruhito & CP Masako - NEWS

[Eugenie]

ChiaraC, I followed your posts with great interest. I never knew much about the Japanese Imperial Family, so thanks a lot for the input!

[Miss Waynfleet]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himiko
http://www.telegraph.co.u...e-Queen-Himiko-found.html

Very interesting 

[abs]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himiko
http://www.telegraph.co.u...e-Queen-Himiko-found.html

Very interesting  

The country formerly had a man as ruler. For some seventy or eighty years after that there were disturbances and warfare. Thereupon the people agreed upon a woman for their ruler.

 

Many female rulers have been excellent (and a few not so good).

When Himiko passed away, a great mound was raised, more than a hundred paces in diameter. Over a hundred male and female attendants followed her to the grave. Then a king was placed on the throne, but the people would not obey him. Assassination and murder followed; more than one thousand were thus slain. A relative of Himiko named Iyo [壹與], a girl of thirteen, was [then] made queen and order was restored. Chêng issued a proclamation to the effect that Iyo was the ruler. (tr. Tsunoda 1951:16)

[BessieWallis Warfield]

I'm of the opinion that at least in modern day constitutional monarchies, girls rule!  (pun intended!!!)

[ChiaraC]

ChiaraC, I followed your posts with great interest. I never knew much about the Japanese Imperial Family, so thanks a lot for the input!

Thank you very much, Eugenie!  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himiko
http://www.telegraph.co.u...e-Queen-Himiko-found.html

Very interesting  

Interesting indeed. I have written a blog about this theme some time ago, if you do not mind me advertising it  : http://www.theroyalforums...ry-japanese-queen-himiko/

Queen Himiko is mentioned several times in records from the Chinese court, with which the Yamatai kingdom had links, but the earliest Japanese sources, compiled in the 8th century, fail to mention her, with but one remarkable exception. The “Nihon Shoki“, an 8th-century Japanese source, quotes the Chinese “Records of Wei” three times, mentioning shortly a “queen” or “ruler of Wa”. (“Wa”, probably meaning “dwarf”, was the Chinese-Korean ancient term for the Japanese people.) But, strikingly, the “Nihon Shoki” omits the queen’s name and further colourful particulars that the original Chinese source includes. [...]

Queen Himiko is claimed as ancestress by Japan’s imperial family but it would be difficult to give a clear account in which way. According to one theory, the grandfather of Jimmu, the legendary founder of the Japanese imperial dynasty, came as a pirate trader from Korea to Kyushu in Japan and married the granddaughter of one of the local sun priestesses, Pimeko, the head of a company of shamans whose power depended on possession of the community’s magic tokens: a mirror, a sword and a necklace of shells (the very items comprising Japan’s imperial regalia to the present day). This story would also explain to the more secular-minded why the tenno claims descent from the sun goddess. Also in ancient Europe, the children of a priestess would sometimes be seen as the children of the deity she was serving. But, on the other hand, it also becomes very clear why Japanese traditionalists, and, especially, the Imperial Household Agency, have a dislike for historical research. The mere thought of Korean provenance of the Japanese dynasty must seem to them highly distasteful. In addition, although this story may offer solutions to many questions, it also would raise a lot of new ones.

For example, according to the (still) official genealogy of the imperial house, the first tenno, Jimmu, founded the monarchy in 660 B.C.. So, it would have to be asked how he could possibly have descended from a sun priestess who lived in the third century A.D.? It is true, though, that no serious historian would give this question a second thought as the 660 B.C. date is very obviously made up. The authors of Japan´s first historical records, the “Kojiki” (712 A.D.) and the “Nihongi” (720 A.D.), quite simply used Chinese astrological and genealogical tables, calculating that 1260 lunar years had passed since the reign of the first (Chinese) emperors. Taking 600 A.D. as their starting point and subtracting 1260, they concluded that the first Japanese emperor ought to have ascended the throne in 660 B.C.. Undoubtedly, this appears to be an exceptionally unscientific calculation that no historian nowadays would rely on.

It would further have to be considered that, although the circumstances under which the “Kojiki” and the “Nihongi” were written is a matter of unending debate, it seems, at least, to be clear that it was one of their main purposes to provide the by-then established “tenno”-dynasty with a historical and mythological background that would serve to justify their ruling claim and to stabilize their position of dominance. In order to achieve this purpose, the authors tried to imitate in their description the much admired example of China as a powerful unified country, ruled by an ancient dynasty claiming heavenly descent. So, it might well be possible that the authors purposefully decided not to mention Himiko, as her existence would only have served to disturb the story they were trying to tell: the story of the glorious reign of their dynasty that, up to their time, had remained unbroken for more than a thousand years. This presumption is rendered even more probable by the fact that historians nowadays agree that a character like Jimmu, a sort of tribal chief who was putting together political hegemony over large areas of Japan, could not have appeared before around the fourth century as, before that time, Japan, in the sense of an unified country, did not exist. Likewise, it is well known, at least to historians, that around the first 10 to 15 emperors listed in ancient histories are legendary characters, and although they oftentimes bear symbolic significance, representing the various stages leading to the monarchy’s final establishment, it is very uncertain if they have ever existed as individually recognizable persons. [...]

There may be several reasons why the Imperial Household Agency (IHA) still upholds their claim to Queen Himiko as ancestress of Japanese royals, but one of them is easy to guess: In spite of scientists’ appeals who crave to examine the more than 400 tombs the Government asserts hold the remains of emperors, empresses and their relatives, in spite of their declaration that the scientific gain of excavations would be immeasurable, as these tombs of Japanese rulers and nobles use to contain the richest materials of their times, and in spite of the fact that there is strong reason to believe that many of the tombs are misidentified, the IHA still refuses to grant archaeologists access. Officially, the IHA maintains this is simply a matter of not wanting to desecrate the graves of the emperor’s ancestors. And this might explain that they insist on claiming Queen Himiko as imperial ancestress. (Otherwise, they would have no pretext left for barring her tomb against research.) But the reasons for their lack of support to scientists are lying much deeper as the words of one retired IHA executive reveal: “The archaeologists’ job is to overturn the accepted, and this is the accepted history of Japan. If you let archaeologists in, it could cause confusion. Why is it so important to find out the truth?” [...]

[ChiaraC]

Good news about Masako!  

On her first trip to Japan as the Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), Ertharin Cousin this week welcomed the continued commitment by Japan – including the Japanese government, business, non-governmental organizations and citizens – to the fight against hunger. [...] Her lecture, entitled “Fighting Hunger Worldwide,” was attended by Their Imperial Highnesses Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako and an audience comprising diplomats, representatives of UN agencies, NGOs and private companies, university teachers, students, and individuals.

http://www.wfp.org/news/n...-commitment-ending-hunger



There is a video that shows the couple at the event at this blog that is dedicated “to the beautiful family of the crown prince of Japan“: http://aiko-toshi.tumblr....ged/crown-princess-masako

It is said there that the event was originally scheduled to be attended by the crown prince alone.    

[ChiaraC]

Here is a lighter version of the pics:

[loubna]

very good news
i hope that masako will be more and more present, and it would be just fantastic if their daughter will be the future empress

[Miss Waynfleet]

Interesting indeed. I have written a blog about this theme some time ago, if you do not mind me advertising it  : http://www.theroyalforums...ry-japanese-queen-himiko/

Queen Himiko is mentioned several times in records from the Chinese court, with which the Yamatai kingdom had links, but the earliest Japanese sources, compiled in the 8th century, fail to mention her, with but one remarkable exception. The “Nihon Shoki“, an 8th-century Japanese source, quotes the Chinese “Records of Wei” three times, mentioning shortly a “queen” or “ruler of Wa”. (“Wa”, probably meaning “dwarf”, was the Chinese-Korean ancient term for the Japanese people.) But, strikingly, the “Nihon Shoki” omits the queen’s name and further colourful particulars that the original Chinese source includes. [...]

Queen Himiko is claimed as ancestress by Japan’s imperial family but it would be difficult to give a clear account in which way. According to one theory, the grandfather of Jimmu, the legendary founder of the Japanese imperial dynasty, came as a pirate trader from Korea to Kyushu in Japan and married the granddaughter of one of the local sun priestesses, Pimeko, the head of a company of shamans whose power depended on possession of the community’s magic tokens: a mirror, a sword and a necklace of shells (the very items comprising Japan’s imperial regalia to the present day). This story would also explain to the more secular-minded why the tenno claims descent from the sun goddess. Also in ancient Europe, the children of a priestess would sometimes be seen as the children of the deity she was serving. But, on the other hand, it also becomes very clear why Japanese traditionalists, and, especially, the Imperial Household Agency, have a dislike for historical research. The mere thought of Korean provenance of the Japanese dynasty must seem to them highly distasteful. In addition, although this story may offer solutions to many questions, it also would raise a lot of new ones.

For example, according to the (still) official genealogy of the imperial house, the first tenno, Jimmu, founded the monarchy in 660 B.C.. So, it would have to be asked how he could possibly have descended from a sun priestess who lived in the third century A.D.? It is true, though, that no serious historian would give this question a second thought as the 660 B.C. date is very obviously made up. The authors of Japan´s first historical records, the “Kojiki” (712 A.D.) and the “Nihongi” (720 A.D.), quite simply used Chinese astrological and genealogical tables, calculating that 1260 lunar years had passed since the reign of the first (Chinese) emperors. Taking 600 A.D. as their starting point and subtracting 1260, they concluded that the first Japanese emperor ought to have ascended the throne in 660 B.C.. Undoubtedly, this appears to be an exceptionally unscientific calculation that no historian nowadays would rely on.

It would further have to be considered that, although the circumstances under which the “Kojiki” and the “Nihongi” were written is a matter of unending debate, it seems, at least, to be clear that it was one of their main purposes to provide the by-then established “tenno”-dynasty with a historical and mythological background that would serve to justify their ruling claim and to stabilize their position of dominance. In order to achieve this purpose, the authors tried to imitate in their description the much admired example of China as a powerful unified country, ruled by an ancient dynasty claiming heavenly descent. So, it might well be possible that the authors purposefully decided not to mention Himiko, as her existence would only have served to disturb the story they were trying to tell: the story of the glorious reign of their dynasty that, up to their time, had remained unbroken for more than a thousand years. This presumption is rendered even more probable by the fact that historians nowadays agree that a character like Jimmu, a sort of tribal chief who was putting together political hegemony over large areas of Japan, could not have appeared before around the fourth century as, before that time, Japan, in the sense of an unified country, did not exist. Likewise, it is well known, at least to historians, that around the first 10 to 15 emperors listed in ancient histories are legendary characters, and although they oftentimes bear symbolic significance, representing the various stages leading to the monarchy’s final establishment, it is very uncertain if they have ever existed as individually recognizable persons. [...]

There may be several reasons why the Imperial Household Agency (IHA) still upholds their claim to Queen Himiko as ancestress of Japanese royals, but one of them is easy to guess: In spite of scientists’ appeals who crave to examine the more than 400 tombs the Government asserts hold the remains of emperors, empresses and their relatives, in spite of their declaration that the scientific gain of excavations would be immeasurable, as these tombs of Japanese rulers and nobles use to contain the richest materials of their times, and in spite of the fact that there is strong reason to believe that many of the tombs are misidentified, the IHA still refuses to grant archaeologists access. Officially, the IHA maintains this is simply a matter of not wanting to desecrate the graves of the emperor’s ancestors. And this might explain that they insist on claiming Queen Himiko as imperial ancestress. (Otherwise, they would have no pretext left for barring her tomb against research.) But the reasons for their lack of support to scientists are lying much deeper as the words of one retired IHA executive reveal: “The archaeologists’ job is to overturn the accepted, and this is the accepted history of Japan. If you let archaeologists in, it could cause confusion. Why is it so important to find out the truth?” [...]

  

[Schockobaerin]

Someone has to tell the IHA, aka the japanese gray men, that the most remarkable monarchs in history were women!!
for example: Elizabeth I, Victoria, Elizabeth II for Great Britain
The dutch Queen Wilhemina (Juliana and Bea werent bad queens either)
The Empress Catherine the Great in Russia!!
The austrian Maria Theresia!
The egiptian Cleopatra!!

In the other corner, men botched many monarchies: Wilhem II, Edward VII, Nicholas II, Hirohito(he sended soldiers to that stupid WWII, and look what happened), henry viii, george iv, louis xvi, etc, etc, etc...

Why dont give the posibility to a woman to represent the country, women have something special, if not, remember margaret thatcher, golda meir, hillary clinton, angela merkel, the list is endless...
Such a "advanced" country like japan, but so archaic, it just a pity..

ahh and dear IHA. story repeats itself, if you dont change, your monarchy isnt going to be longer avaliable...Japanese want to have an empress!! not always a male heir is the best choice, just look at sweden, the big difference btw Victoria and CP... !!

Sayonnara!!

[My13]

ITA Schockobaerin! Royal women don't grow up with a sense of entitlement - they know they have to prove themselves equal to men.

[ChiaraC]

The emperor and empress have visited the residence of the late Prince Tomohito, prior to the start of a two-day wake in the Akasaka Imperial Compound in Tokyo in Tokyo on June 12, 2012. The imperial couple will not attend his funeral, scheduled on Thursday, June 14 at the Toshimagaoka Imperial cemetery in Tokyo, in accordance with Imperial custom.






The crown prince and princess attend the wake.
Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako arrive at the residence of the late Prince Tomohito, a cousin of Emperor Akihito, for a wake in the Akasaka Imperial Compound in Tokyo on June 12, 2012.








Crown Prince Naruhito, Crown Princess Masako and Princess Akiko pay their respects to the late Prince Tomohito during a wake at Tomohito's residence in the Akasaka Imperial Compound in Tokyo Tuesday, June 12, 2012.

[just a serf]

It seems strange they adopt Western black funeral clothing (except the 'priest'), but keep everything else in traditional white.

[digitalkat]

It seems strange they adopt Western black funeral clothing (except the 'priest'), but keep everything else in traditional white.

Regarding the color black, Japanese people have worn black kimonos (with their family emblems printed on them) to funerals for centuries.
These black kimonos are reserved for formal occasions such as funerals, weddings (yes, don't be surprised), annual family gatherings, etc.
The only living person wearing white at funerals is probably the priest. The other person wearing white would be the deceased.
 
The JRF has adopted tiaras and all sorts of western paraphernalia, royal and non-royal, so I don't find it that surprising that they are wearing western mourning clothes to funerals.

[PeDe]

true, true digit

Mofuku : Mourning dress
In old days, people used to wear white in funerals. Especially the chief mourner was expected to wear " Shinishozoku " to act as substitute for the deceased. Today, people wears full dress in black for a funeral. A man usually wears black mourning dress or a set of haori (Japanese traditional half coat) and hakama (divided skirt for formal wear for men ) of black silk material ( called Habutae ) with five crests. Woman usually wears black afternoon dress or solid black kimono with five crests over a white silk "Habutae" underwear.