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Japan's Imperial Problem: Are the Emperor and His Son Really Feuding Over Masako? Japan's Crown Princess Remembered on International Women's Day
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Unless you are a Japan watcher, this post probably won't interest you -- unless you are into royals. And most Japan watchers for that matter aren't interested in the imperial family and the goings-on within Japan's secretive aristocracy. But I am going to write about this Tokyo soap opera anyway.
I was somewhat dismayed yesterday by Crown Prince Naruhito's "official apology" to his parents. Last May, the Crown Prince made the public comment, "It is true that there were developments that denied (Crown Princess) Masako's career as a diplomat as well as her personality."
Allegedly, this statement triggered icy relations between the Chiyoda Palace, occupied by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko and the Akasaka Palace occupied by the Crown Prince and his wife. In fact, Imperial Household staff short-hand references to the Emperor and his son by just calling them "Chiyoda" and "Akasaka".
But here's the deal. I don't buy the story that Naruhito's mom and dad are so upset. What has happened is that the Imperial Household Agency, the massive, largely secret bureacracy that manages the affairs of Japan's imperial family, was irritated by the Crown Prince's honesty, and lapse of protocol.
In fact, the Imperial Household Agency's behavior about this seemingly innocuous statement. Well, it's not innocuous -- it was an endearing admission from Japan's next emperor that lives lived on the other side of the Imperial moat can be stifling and exhausting. But the Imperial bureaucracy's resistance to such modern honesty belies their desire to keep the imperial institution lurking in Japan's political system in case the opportunity for "Imperial revival" presents itself in the future.
Japan's emperor has rarely been a powerful force unto himself (or herself -- as there have been female emperors in Japan's ancient past) but has always been an important instrument of legitimacy for whatever force was ruling Japan. There have been times, however, where the Emperor did emerge as a powerful player -- as in the case of Emperor Meiji -- and the Imperial Household sees itself as cocooning the Imperial line until such a case arises again.
This has kept the Imperial household a favorite of right-wing zealots in Japan and the consequences for individuals, journalists, politicians, or other social leaders who publicly question whether the Imperial Household should exist -- or disparage the emperor or imperial system in any way -- run a real risk of being beaten up, or even killed, by imperial institution-loving thugs.
The antics that have played out between Imperial dad and son only add to the worst side of Japan's imperial mystique. And it is my view that the Emperor himself is a puppet of these bureaucrats and that the Imperial family itself is caught in the intrigue of the staff surrounding this family.
For years, Empress Michiko was treated badly by her in-laws, the Emperor Showa and his wife, who detested Michiko's commoner status. I have had the opportunity to meet the Emperor and Empress a couple of times -- usually at cultural events in Japan, once at an art tribute to woodblock print artist Yoshihiro Mori and another time at a reception and dinner for the 75th Anniversary of the America-Japan Society in Tokyo.
I took former California Governor George Deukmejian, who happened to be in Tokyo, to that America-Japan Society dinner and found myself automatically upgraded to a far better table than I would have had alone and got to attend the reception preceding the dinner with Emperor Akihito and his wife. Jimmy Carter was there.
When the imperial couple, who were smiling and bowing, shaking hands, even, worked through the room and got to me -- with Jimmy Carter just standing to my right (and I knew that the Imperial couple was moving towards him, not me), I mentioned the name of a woman, Noriko Matsumoto -- a really wonderful person who worked on my staff at the Japan America Society of Southern California in Los Angeles and who had left Japan after a terrible divorce and raised her young daughter alone in America. I had heard that Noriko had been in school with the Empress -- so I decided to be indiscreet and ask about this.
When I mentioned Noriko's name, the Empress's face got all contorted, and she actually grabbed my arm with both of her hands, looking close into my face, and said "Noriko, Noriko...where is she? How is she?" Jimmy Carter then commented from the side -- somewhat irritated I think that I had preempted the quick move of the couple to him -- that "this Noriko must really be something."
My point in recounting this anecdote is that the Empress seemed desperate for a connection to her past and seemed in that moment as if she were near some kind of breakdown herself. The Emperor was very kind, smiled, shook hands, but he was not indifferent at all to his wife and her obvious concern for Noriko Matsumoto. Not too long after that, the Empress lost her voice and stopped speaking to anyone for a very long time.
There are responsibilities and pressures of living as a member of the Imperial household that became obvious to me then -- and it was clear to me in my moment at that reception with Empress Michiko that this family knows how important "humanity" and human connections are. That is one of the reasons I just don't buy the notion that the parents are angry at Naruhito for expressing concern about his wife's circumstances and her sacrifices to be a part of their family.
I knew Masako Owada pretty well when she worked at Japan's Foreign Ministry and got in some hot water for jokingly calling her "damn stubborn" when the Los Angeles Times asked me about her. I meant this comment only in the best of senses and with admiration actually because she was tenacious and very smart.
In a somewhat crass article about Masako's engagement to the Crown Prince, the Los Angeles Times ran this 1993 clip in a really silly article:
* And Masako, don't sell out.
At least one acquaintance of yours doesn't believe you'll buckle under imperial pressure to conform. "Damn stubborn" is the way Steve Clemons -- executive director of the Japan America Society of Southern California -- affectionately describes you. "She isn't going to last long in all of these little knickknacks that they're going to try to fit her into."
Other watchers of the Chrysanthemum Throne think you've already caved -- that you were lost as soon as you donned the pillbox hat and the dowdy yellow dress. "She will suffocate if no one gives her a chance to open her window," says Joi Takei, a Japanese film producer living in Los Angeles.
But Clemons believes you're in the power position: "I give her three years and she's going to start knocking down walls."
My point at the time was that I thought that Masako Owada's tough backbone and independence would be something that finally brought the sprawling, self-indulgent Imperial Household bureaucracy to heel.
I was completely wrong -- and I feel quite badly that Japan has so overtly and symbolically stifled the dynamism and independence of a brilliant, career-minded woman who in her imperial role might have revolutionized the position of women in Japan and might have helped restore the importance of "merit" in a system corrupted by age-old personal networks.
If Naruhito's dad was ticked off by his son's comment about the pressures his wife must have felt giving up her career aspirations, then his father has done a major disservice to all Japanese women. But again, I just don't buy it. These bureaucrats who work vigorously to maintain an other-worldly aura and mystique around the imperial household create tension in a model of Japanese democracy that can accept a transparent constitutional monarchy -- but the characteristic opaqueness of this system is clearly at odds with democracy.
Crown Princess Michiko may get her revenge -- and will hopefully raise her daughter, Aiko, to have the same stubborn brilliance she has. And with no other male prospect on line, Japan may just revise its Imperial Household Law to allow a woman to ascend the throne as empress. Most Japanese would like to see this done.
When Emperor Akihito was installed, 14 Japanese female attorneys sued the government arguing that the Imperial Household Law that prohibited women from becoming emperor was unconstitutional.
Article 14 of Japan's Constitution reads:
Article 14 [No Discrimination and Privileges]
(1) All of the people are equal under the law and there shall be no discrimination in political, economic, or social relations because of race, creed, sex, social status, or family origin.
(2) Peers and peerage shall not be recognized.
(3) No privilege shall accompany any award of honor, decoration, or any distinction, nor shall any such award be valid beyond the lifetime of the individual who now holds or hereafter may receive it.
I never heard what happened to their lawsuit -- which meant that it went nowhere most likely.
However, it is time that Japan's elected legislators came to Masako's rescue -- pried open the walls of secrecy that surround Japan's imperial system -- and made the institution more democracy-friendly than it is in its current form.
Michiko and Masako should rebel and just walk out across their respective moats and start campaigning for "healthy families" in Japan -- which includes women living more fulfilling lives in careers they choose and ending the political correctness about women subordinating themselves in male-dominated corporations (and imperial families).
Ok -- enough on Japan's Imperial Problem.
I just needed to think about something other than John Bolton being appointed American Ambassador to the United Nations. More on that later.
-- Steve Clemons
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Steve,
Thank you for the piece on the Japanese Royal family. It was very interesting and a great deversion that we all needed.
Martin Slater
Blue Hill, Maine
The Imperial Household Ministry is the most hide-bound, reactionary agency in the Japanese government. It is extremely resistant to change and there seems to be no authority in Japan which is able to force change upon it, including the Emperor. It's no surprise to me that these ossified old men have beaten down the spirits of women such as Empress Michiko and Princess Masako. I hope Mr. Clemons proves prescient in that a future Emperor (or Empress) is able to defy this "old boys' club."
Steve,
It was nice of you to notice that today is International Women's Day, which is a unique opportunity for people everywhere to reflect on women's struggle for equal rights everywhere.
I think it especially ties in well with your clear interest in China, because it is in developing countries especially (and even in industrialized ones, as you pointed out in the case of Japan) that taking note of the status of women (as delegates are now doing at the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York) is especially vital to ensure that economic development benefits all members of society equally well.
I was disappointed, however, that when I checked your blog earlier this morning, you hadn't mentioned IWD. It seems you changed the title of your post at some point, hopefully after realizing what an important day this is. In fact, Laura Bush and Condoleeza Rice spoke earlier this morning at the State Department to commemorate it, and although their words were mostly empty ("we stand in solidarity with women everywhere" - why not rethink USAID's Afghanistan policy, then, whose programs so often do not take into account their effects on the whole society, as in the case of impending poppy eradication there), it was nice to see that at least *they* noticed.
I would love to see a post in the future on what some of the policies you discuss here mean for not only women but other groups as well.
Alex -- Great post. You are right. I had no idea it was International Women's Day when I wrote my brief in support of Masako. But after kicking around the web, I saw that Google had changed its logo -- clicked it -- saw the International Women's Day sites and realized that I had stumbled onto the right theme on a good day.
But thanks for pointing out my earlier lapse -- really appreciate it....
best,
Steve Clemons
I share an experience with the Imperial Household Agency that sheds similar light on its desire to retain total control over the lives of the Imperial family. Around 1989-1990, when I was a reporter for the Associated Press in Tokyo, the Crown Prince's younger brother was married to his commoner sweetheart Kawashima Kiko. A photo was taken at (or around the time of) the wedding, in which the princess-to-be, I believe, was lovingly brushing back the prince's hair. It was the most human and candid of all of the wedding photographs, and soon found its way to the front of all the Japanese newspapers. However, before the foreign press could obtain a copy of the photo (which had been distributed within the Japanese press), the Imperial Household Agency withheld it, saying that it was not "appropriate" for a wedding photo. We did a story on this small act of censorship, and I interviewed an IHA spokesman who explained that in initially releasing the photograph the Agency had been caught "with its pants down." (Amusingly, I was interviewed by one of the Japanese tabloids afterwards who grilled me on my interview with IHA, because it was titilated by the Agency's use of the word "pants", which can refer to underwear in Japanese.)
Great post - thanks for your insight from an interested observer
"The bond of our common humanity is stronger than the divisiveness of our fears and prejudices." - James Carter
Steve, a phenomenal post- thanks.
All this ruckus over the throne reminds me of Beate Sirota Gordon's New York Times Op-Ed from August 2004.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/12/opinion/l12japan.html
Essentially, she (as you have) reminded us that the Japanese Constitution prohibits gender discrimination. The Imperial House Law is not above the Japanese Constitution, no matter what anyone may think.
Gordon seems to be a very interesting person who had a large impact on the status of women in Japan. I hope to meet her someday.
Thanks Steve,
An interesting post about which I know nothing...thank you.
I note with some humor that I was chewed out today for noting [with regret] that women are underrepresented in Engineering. The person who condemned me was a woman, she felt that this observation somehow demeaned women and should not be spoken. Since I hope to do business with the company she represents [daughter of owner], I made every effort not to offend while making every effort to untangle the message from the messenger, but to no avail.
Happy IWD day, I believe women to be more just by nature/nurture, I think the world will be better served when women have equal say in the affairs of earth.
a tidbit for the liberals here. i clicked on a littlegreenfootballs link and an idf page came up. i back clicked and tried again and watched the bottom window bar alternate between waiting for littlegreenfootballs.com and waiting for www1.idf.il
Steve: I want you to know that I copied this intriguing and educational post and shared it with colleagues at the high school where I teach, and several of us used it in our courses yesterday.
Because of the way you "package" important ideas, contemporary challenges, and history -- your material sells well to our students. I'm sure you will see many of our kids working through your excellent blog.
Thanks so much,
Darci
You seem to have encapsulated a great deal about Japan past and present with this fascinating and illuminating post. Got any more stories that "probably won't interest" anyone?
Steve, this was a fascinating post. Thanks so much. And, if I may, I'd love to hear more of your perspectives on Japan. Looking on your "about" page it seems that most of what you've written on the subject has been published in Japan. We need more of your knowledge and thoughtfulness on this topic over here. Lots more.
Dear Steve,
Your post did not surprise me - I have been aware of this matter for some time. However, I must congratulate you on informing more people about this situation. Japan is still a male-dominated society in some ways. Many women have been breaking down these barriers, but it isn't easy. For example, Japanese history is still dominated by male characters. Despite the importance of women throughout Japan's past, they are often ignored or not examined properly. Some scholars are challenging this, but there is still a lot more work to be done.
The Imperial Household Agency are a disgrace. It is dominated by conservative, small-minded men and women. All I can say is that they are shooting themselves in the foot. Naruhito-sama and Aiko-sama will not have any patience with them and may well make a lot of changes during their reigns. I hope that Masako is allowed to live the life she wants and enjoy seeing her daughter grow up into the confident, intelligent young woman I am sure she will be. I also hope that the manipulative, heartless members of the IHA are severely disciplined in the future.
Keep us all informed over this issue. Kudos!
Your readers may be interested in the concluding observations of the UN Human Rights Committee in regard to Liechtenstein's male-only succession rules to the office of crown prince, filed on December 8, 2004:
"The Committee is also concerned about the compatibility with the Covenant of laws governing the succession to the throne (arts. 2,3,25 and 26). ... While noting Liechtenstein's interpretive declaration concerning article 3 of the Covenant, the State party may wish to consider the compatibility of the State party's exclusion of women from succession to the throne with articles 25 and 26 of the Covenant."
Steve,
Thank you for writing about HRH Masako. I was an undergraduate at Harvard at the same time she matriculated there and although I am not a close friend, I do remember her from Japanese Cultural Society events as a brilliant, strong and happy person. Although the daughter of a high-ranking Japanese diplomat, she was down to earth, friendly and kind.
Do you know of a way of sending her a letter of support? The college's alumni website does not list one. If not, I hope she reads this and knows that there are dozens women (and men) out here who remember her from Harvard and send her sympathy and support. The gender of her beautiful child was not within her control and it is a crime to cause her such pressure over this issue. We all wish she could rise above this for her own sake, for the sake of her daughter and for all women in Japan, but we do not walk in her shoes and cannot imagine the barriers facing her. Anyone who knows HRH Masako can attest that she has the brilliance and personality to revive support for and interest in the Imperial Family, like nothing ever seen before in Japanese history, as Princess Diana did for Britain. Shame on the IHA. Gambatte kudasaimase, Priness Masako!
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