The Emperor is stressed out. He's turning 75 this year, and bad relations with his son and heir, Crown Prince Naruhito, has him plagued with worries about the fate of the Imperial Family, causing rumored stomach problems that may keep him away from the spotlight this New Years. Since World War 2, the Emperor of Japan has just been a figurehead—its greatest role in today's Japan is as the favorite subject of fluffy rumors and as the symbol behind the Japanese dating system—since his reign started, we entered the Heisei era (Hirohito's time was Showa). Despite his lack of political power and the fact that most young Japanese people don't even know his name, though, I think he still plays an important societal role, maybe. Whose babies will we collectively fuss over as a nation if we no longer cared about how the Emperor's granddaughters look as they commute to school?
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December 11, 2008
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About
Lisa Katayama's personal blog.
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- I write articles about culture, technology, and human rights for Wired, Popular Science, Fast Company, and the New York Times Magazine. I also produce radio segments for PRI's Studio360 and am a Correspondent for Boing Boing, one of Time Magazine's five most essential blogs of 2010.
In 2008, Chronicle published my book: Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan.
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The Emperor is still relevant. He is a living link to Japan's past. I love the way the Japanese seem to be able to look to the past and to future while still living firmly in the present.
Posted by: BobbyMike | December 11, 2008 at 07:15 PM
I think I just read that they've canceled his birthday appearance and news conference on the 23rd due to illness. No B-Day pix at the palace this year. We'll see if he's better by Jan 2nd.
Posted by: vagrant | December 17, 2008 at 04:37 PM