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The Love that Broke 2600 Years of Tradition
Emperor Akihito, the 125th emperor of Japan, reigned from 7 January 1989 to 30 April 2019. His reign is known as the Heisei era and posthumously, he will be called Emperor Heisei. He succeeded to the Chrysanthemum Throne upon the death of his father, Emperor Showa. On April 30th, 2019, he abdicated, making way to his eldest son, Naruhito. Upon his abdication, he became Emperor Emeritus. It was the first imperial abdication for more than 200 years. Emperor Akihito’s health had been deteriorating since he underwent surgery for prostate cancer in January 2003.
Akihito was a modern monarch, who expressed overtly the desire to bring the imperial family closer to the ordinary people of his country. He caused controversy by declaring in 2001, when political tensions were mounting between Japan and Korea, that as a descendant of Emperor Kammu (in the picture) – the son of a Korean Princess, Niigasa – he felt a kinship with Koreans. Akihito was born on 23 December 1933 in the Tokyo Imperial Palace, as the fifth child and the eldest son of the Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) and the Empress Kōjun (Nagako),
In August 1957, he met Michiko Shōda on a tennis court at Karuizawa near Nagano. Initially there was low enthusiasm for the relationship between the couple. Michiko Shōda was considered too low-born for the young Crown Prince and was educated in a Catholic environment. In September 1958, Michiko was sent away to Brussels to attend an international conference of the Alumnae du Sacré-Cœur. The Crown Prince was determined to keep in contact with his girlfriend but didn’t want to commit a diplomatic incident. He contacted the young King Baudouin of Belgium to send his messages directly towards his loved one. Later King Baudouin also negotiated the marriage of the couple with the Emperor directly stating that if the Crown Prince is happy with Michiko, he would be a better emperor later on. They married in April, 1959. It was the first Japanese sovereign to marry a commoner – breaking more than 2,600 years of tradition.
Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Princess Michiko made official visits to thirty-seven countries. As an Imperial Prince, Akihito expressed the desire to help bring the Imperial family closer to the people of Japan. During his reign (Heisei Era, 1989 to 2019), the nation enjoyed peace, but it was burdened by a period of economic stagnation – “the Lost Decade” – after the Japanese asset price bubble’s collapse in later 1991; followed by the loss of more than 16,000 lives to the massive tsunami that flooded 200 square miles of coastal land in 2011.
The Emperor Emeritus Akihito and the Empress Emerita Michiko had three children: two sons Naruhito (born 23 February 1960; Prince Naruhito Hiro-no-miya, the 126th Emperor of Japan) and Fumihito, Prince Akishino (born 30 November 1965; Prince Fumihito Aya-no-miya), and a daughter Mrs. Sayako Kuroda (born 18 April 1969; Princess Sayako Nori-no-miya before marriage).
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