culture corner: Imperial Tumult

This week’s Culture Corner might read more like a gossip column than an informational editorial. Feuding brothers, scoffed proposals, pregnancy speculation—no, we’re not talking about the celebrity gossip you read while waiting in the commissary checkout line. We’re talking about the Japanese Imperial Family.

The longest-running hereditary monarchy in the world, the Japanese Imperial Family has ruled Japan for more than 2,600 years. According to legend, the first emperor of Japan was Jimmu. Believed to be a descendent of the Shinto sun goddess Amaterasu, legend says he ruled from 660 BC to 585 BC. The next 13 emperors who followed were also the stuff of legend, with the first recorded historical emperor, Ojin, reigning through the early 5th century. As their lineage was believed to have descended from the gods, emperors were considered heavenly sovereigns and viewed with great reverence and awe.

After WWII, the face of the imperial institution changed drastically. Upon Japan’s surrender in 1945, the Allied Occupation redesigned the government, changing the make-up, rights, and responsibilities of the Imperial Family. All but the immediate relatives of the emperor were stripped of their royal titles. Although still highly regarded, the emperor was now a purely ceremonial figurehead, and the government was to be run much like other constitutional monarchies in the world.

Today Emperor Akihito reigns. The activities of the 23-member imperial family are neatly scheduled by the Imperial Household Agency, a mysterious hybrid of royal butlers and Secret Service, and for all intents and purposes, the family leads a peaceful life. Or so it would seem.

The crux of royal consternation lies with the emperor’s eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, and his wife, Crown Princess Masako. Married into the Imperial Family in 1993, the Harvard- educated Princess Masako married the Prince only after turning down his first two proposals. Japan hailed her as a commoner sure to revolutionize the steady, albeit stuffy, Imperial Family, but in the years after their marriage, Princess Masako enjoyed less favorable reviews. First, the royal couple has only one child, Princess Aiko, whose birth sparked a great succession debate. By law, female descendents cannot ascend to the throne, and although some agreed it was time to modernize, others argued against it, even pressing, it was rumored, for the re-adoption of the concubine system in order to produce more male heirs. The issue was shelved, however, as Prince Fumihito, the emperor’s other son, and his wife had a son a year later.

Princess Masako also suffers from a stress disorder and has been unable to fulfill her imperial duties for years. For a country that values gaman, or perseverance, her inability to fulfill royal duties isn’t regarded well, particularly as Japanese tabloids recentlyphotographed her enjoying extravagant dinners and shopping trips. Prince Naruhito has also been accused of shirking his duties by none other than his younger brother, who publicly scolded him for not visiting their parents enough.

So, although they enjoy a rich and highly respected history of royal rule, it seems that not even the Japanese Imperial Family can avoid a little bit of drama.

—Richenda Sandlin-Tymitz