Culture · From the archive
Japanese Royal Birth with Many Symbols
Preserved in the archive in 2002. Historical article; travel and business details may have changed.
**Christmas in Japan
New Year in Japan
ROYAL BIRTH WITH MANY SYMBOLS**The birth of a princess to the crowned Prince and Princess Masako has generated a great deal of excitement for the Japanese. The reaction to this royal birth is really no different to our reaction to the birth of Princes William of the British Royal family. People lining up to leave messages of good will, senior politicians and members of the Japanese royal family visiting the crowned Prince.
The new princess was named, as is tradition on the seventh day after birth. The naming ceremony was carried out in the royal hospital. This ceremony includes the first bath for the child. The Emperor chose the new princess’s name; Aiko, which means filled with love and Toshinomiya (princess of respect).
The royal birth has more significance in a social and political sense because the child is a girl and not a boy. The line of Japanese Royal family can be traced back two thousand years and for most of this time the line has passed down from father to son. This is where the problem lies. The crowned Prince and Princess Masako have already lost one child through miscarriage and given the age of Princess Masako (38), the chances of another child born are small and even less for it to be male.
The crowned Prince’s brother has two princesses. This all creates a potential problem for Japanese Royal family and legal one for Japanese Government. For the first time in a long time the succession of the Japanese Royal family may not pass from father to son. It would be very symbolic for a woman to be the heir, but with the changing rolls of women in Japanese society, this may only be a reflection of rest of Japanese society. Only time will tell.
On the topic of the Japanese Royal family, you may be aware that during World War Two the Japanese Emporia was seen to be a living god. The Emporia had not always had this status. The Emporia was raise to this status in the years proceeding the war to benefit those in political power at the time.
