On Jan. 7, 1989, upon the demise of Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa, His Majesty Emperor Akihito acceded to the throne as the 125th emperor of Japan. The ceremony of enthronement was held at the Imperial Palace on Nov. 12, 1990. From abroad, representatives of 158 countries, including monarchs and heads of state, and two international organizations attended the ceremony. As stated in the Constitution of Japan, the Emperor is “the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people” and derives his position from “the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power”. Personal life Akihito was born in Tokyo on Dec. 23, 1933, to the great joy of the entire nation, as the first son of Emperor Showa and Empress Kojun. He has four elder sisters, one younger brother and one younger sister. He received his elementary and secondary education at Gakushuin, the then Imperial Household Ministry school, which later became a private institution. During the war, he and his elementary school classmates were evacuated from Tokyo to the countryside of Nikko. He was still in Nikko when the war came to an end in 1945. In 1952, he entered Gakushuin University's Faculty of Political Science and Economics. In the same year, his coming-of-age ceremony and his investiture as crown prince were held. He thus began to carry out official duties in his capacity as crown prince. The next year, he made his first overseas journey to attend the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, and traveled extensively in North America and Europe. He completed his university education in 1956. In addition to his formal education, the crown prince received special tutoring from authorities in Japanese history, constitutional law and other areas of learning. Empress Michiko Empress Michiko was born in Tokyo on Oct. 20,1934, as the first daughter of Hidesaburo and Fumiko Shoda. The Shoda family is prominent in both industrial and academic circles, counting among its members two recipients of the Order of Culture, the highest order given to scholars and artists by the Emperor. On learning of the crown prince's choice of Miss Shoda as his bride, the nation expressed delight and admiration for the family's modest and dignified way of life. On April 10, 1959, Crown Prince Akihito married Miss Shoda. Dr. Shinzo Koizumi, who supervised the Crown Prince's education for many years, said of this marriage: “The Crown Prince chose her, and so did we.” The Imperial Family In accordance with the Imperial House Law, the Imperial House Council, headed by the prime minister, gave its unanimous consent to the marriage. The whole nation was enchanted by the traditional wedding ceremony and the splendid open horse-drawn carriage procession that followed. Over 500,000 people gathered on the streets to celebrate this occasion. The crown prince and crown princess established a happy family with their three children, Prince Naruhito, Prince Fumihito and Princess Sayako. They decided to keep the children by their side, breaking away from tradition. In spite of her busy life, the crown princess herself gave them loving care. Official duties The Emperor performs those acts of state which are provided for in the Constitution, such as appointing the prime minister and the chief justice of the Supreme Court, attesting the appointment of ministers of state and other high officials, convoking the National Diet, promulgating laws and treaties, awarding honors, attesting the credentials of Japanese ambassadors leaving for overseas as well as receiving foreign ambassadors to Japan. In these matters of state, he acts on the advice and approval of the Cabinet. Public activities Since the enthronement in 1989, the Emperor, together with the Empress, has been carrying out a wide variety of official duties related to his position as the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people. The 20th anniversary of the enthronement of the emperor was celebrated in 2009 with a number of commemorative ceremonies and colorful events involving people from various walks of life. With their strong sense of duty and constant attention to the needs of the people, Their Majesties, with warmth and dignity, have brought the Imperial Family much closer to the general public. Official visits Their Majesties have visited all 47 prefectures and many of the remote islands of Japan. They make at least three domestic trips every year, attending the National Sports Festival, the National Arbor Day Festival and the National Convention for the Development of an Abundantly Productive Sea, which are held in different prefectures in rotation. The Emperor and Empress, as well as other members of the Imperial Family, pay visits to foreign countries in order to foster friendly relations with these countries through meetings with Heads of State and other people from various sectors, as well as visiting various places within each country. Inheriting the traditions Every year, following the example of his father, Emperor Showa, who initiated the practice in 1927, the Emperor himself plants and harvests rice, the traditional main crop in Japan, in the paddy field in the Palace Grounds. The Empress raises silkworms at the palace sericulture center, with the help of several staff members. She feeds the silkworms with mulberry leaves, following the precedent set in 1871 by Empress Dowager Shoken, empress and consort of Emperor Meiji, the great-grandfather of His Majesty. Every spring, the Empress tends 120,000 to 130,000 silkworms during almost more than two months and harvests some 150 kg of cocoons in the beginning of summer. Some of the silk produced is used for the restoration of old textile material of historical value kept by the Imperial Family at the Shosoin Repository in Nara since the 8th century, when it was the capital of the country. Cultural activities Their Majesties' interests encompass broad areas of learning and culture. They attend annual award ceremonies of the Japan Academy and the Japan Academy of Arts. They often receive at the Imperial Palace scholars and artists including the members of the academies as well as the recipients of the Order of Culture. They also attend award ceremonies as well as international conferences held in Japan. Taxonomic research For many years, the Emperor has made a taxonomic study of gobies, small fish found in fresh, brackish and marine waters. As a member of the Ichthyological Society of Japan, he published 30 papers in the society's journal between 1963 and 1989. He was one of the contributors to The Fishes of the Japanese Archipelago (1st edition in 1984), the first illustrated book of all the fishes in Japanese waters. He served as honorary president of the Second International Conference on Indo-Pacific Fishes in 1985, and presented a paper, “Some Morphological Characters Considered to be Important in Gobiid Phylogeny,” which was later included in the conference proceedings. Art and music Empress Michiko has an extensive interest in art, and is particularly well-read in Japanese classical literature. She has kept up her interest in children's literature and contributed to that field herself. Hajimete no Yamanobori (My First Mountain), a picture book for which the Empress wrote the story, was published in 1991.
