Empress Michiko of Japan
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Early life
Empress Michiko was born in Tokyo, the eldest daughter of Hidesaburo Shoda, president and later honorary chairman of Nisshin Flour Milling Company, and his wife, Fumiko Soejima. She attended Futaba Elementary School in Tokyo, but was obliged to leave during the fourth grade because of the American bombing during World War II. She returned to school after the war ended and attended the Seishin (Sacred Heart) High School in Tokyo.
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| Imperial Household of Japan |
|---|
| HIM The Emperor |
| HIM The Empress |
| HIH The Crown Prince |
| HIH The Crown Princess |
| HIH Princess Toshi |
| HIH Prince Akishino |
| HIH Princess Akishino |
| HIH Princess Mako |
| HIH Princess Kako |
| HIH Prince Hitachi |
| HIH Princess Hitachi |
| HIH Prince Mikasa |
| HIH Princess Mikasa |
| HIH Prince Tomohito of Mikasa |
| HIH Princess Tomohito of Mikasa |
| HIH Princess Akiko |
| HIH Princess Yohko |
| HIH Prince Katsura |
| HIH Princess Takamado |
| HIH Princess Tsuguko |
| HIH Princess Noriko |
| HIH Princess Ayako |
Education
She earned a bachelor of arts in English literature from the Faculty of Literature at the University of the Sacred Heart, Tokyo in 1957. In August of that year, she met then-Crown Prince Akihito on a tennis court at Karuizawa. The Imperial Household Council (a body comprised of the prime minister of Japan, the presiding officers of the two houses of the Diet of Japan (or parliament), the chief judge of the Supreme Court, and two members of the imperial family) formally approved the engagement of the Crown Prince to Michiko Shoda on November 27, 1958. (Biographers of the writer Yukio Mishima report that he had considered marrying Michiko Shoda, and was introduced to her for that hopeful purpose sometime in the 1950s.)Marriage and family
Although the future crown princess was the daughter of a wealthy industrialist, she was a commoner. During the 1950s, the media and most persons familiar with the Japanese monarchy had assumed the powerful Imperial Household Agency (Kunaicho) would select a bride for Crown Prince Akihito from among the daughters of the former court nobility (kuge) or from one the former branches of the imperial family. Some traditionalists opposed the engagement, and it was widely rumored that the Empress Kōjun also was against her son's engagement. When the dowager empress died in 2000, Reuters news agency reported that she had bullied her effervescent new daughter-in-law into a rumored nervous breakdown in the early 1960s. The young couple nonetheless proved widely popular among the Japanese public. The couple married on April 10, 1959.
Three children were born to the couple:
- HIH Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan, b. February 23, 1960;
- HIH Prince Akishino (Fumihito), b. November 30, 1965; and
- The former HIH Princess Nori (Sayako), b. April 18, 1969.
| Styles of The Empress of Japan | |
|---|---|
| Reference style | Her Imperial Majesty |
| Spoken style | Your Imperial Majesty |
| Alternative style | Ma'am |
Upon the death of the Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) on January 7, 1989, her husband became Japan's 125th emperor and she became empress (consort). The new Emperor and Empress were enthroned (Sokui Rei Seiden no Gi) at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on November 12, 1990.
As Crown Prince and Crown Princess, Akihito and Michiko made official visits to thirty-seven countries. Since their enthronement, the Imperial couple have visited an additional eighteen countries, and have done much to make the Imperial family more visible and approachable in contemporary Japan.
External links
- [Kunaicho | Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress]
- [Hello! Magazine | Empress breaks her silence over Masako's illness]
- [Japan 101 | Empress Michiko]
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