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

Empress Michiko of Japan, (born October 20, 1934) formerly Michiko Shōda (正田 美智子 Shōda Michiko) and later the Crown Princess of Japan (April 10, 1959 to January 7, 1989), is the wife and consort of the reigning Emperor of Japan, HIM Emperor Akihito. She was the first commoner to marry into the Japanese imperial family. As crown princess and later as empress, she has become the most visible and widely travelled imperial consort in Japanese history. Her full title is Her Imperial Majesty Empress Michiko of Japan. Image File history File links Imperial_Seal_of_Japan. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Emperor Akihito of Japan (Japanese: 明仁) (born December 23, 1933) is the current Emperor (天皇, tennō) of Japan and the 125th according to the traditional order of succession. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Masako, Crown Princess of Japan (雅子皇太子妃殿下 Masako kōtaishihi denka, the Crown Princess Masako) (born December 9, 1963, Tokyo, Japan) is styled Her Imperial Highness The Crown Princess of Japan. ... Princess Toshi (Aiko) of Japan (敬宮愛子内親王殿下 Toshi no miya Aiko naishinnō denka), born December 1, 2001, is the only child of Their Imperial Highnesses Crown Prince Naruhito, heir apparent to the Japanese throne, and Crown Princess Masako. ... Prince and Princess Akishino after the funeral of Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte of Luxembourg His Imperial Highness Prince Akishino (秋篠宮文仁親王殿下 akishino no miya fumihito denka) also known as Prince Fumihito (文仁親王 fumihito shinnō) (born 30 November 1965) is a member of the Japanese imperial family. ... HIH Princess Kiko Her Imperial Highness Princess Akishino (秋篠宮紀子親王妃 akishino no miya kiko shinnōhi), née Kawashima Kiko (川島紀子), (born 11 September 1966), is the wife of Prince Akishino (Fumihito), the second son of the Emperor Akihito and the Empress Michiko, and a member of the Japanese imperial family through marriage. ... Princess Mako Akishino of Japan (秋篠宮眞子内親王殿下 Akishino-no-miya Mako naishinnō denka) (born 23 October 1991) the elder daughter of Prince Akishino (Fumuhito) and his wife, the former Kawashima Kiko, is a member of the Japanese imperial family. ... Princess Kako Akishino of Japan (秋篠宮佳子内親王殿下 Akishino-no-miya Kako naishinnō denka) (born 29 December 1994) the second daughter of Prince Akishino (Fumuhito) and his wife, the former Kawashima Kiko, is a member of the Japanese imperial family. ... His Imperial Highness Prince Hitachi (Masahito) of Japan (jp: 常陸宮 , Hitachi no miya Mashahito Shinnō) (28 November 1935) is a member of the Japanese imperial family and the younger brother of the Emperor Akihito. ... Her Imperial Highness Princess Hitachi (Hanako) of Japan (jp: hitachi no miya Hanako shinnō-hi), was born 19 July 1940. ... His Imperial Highness, Prince Mikasa (Takahito) of Japan (Mikasa no miya Takahito Shinnō; born December 15, 1915) is the fourth and youngest son of the Emperor Taishō and the Empress Teimei. ... Her Imperial Highness Princess Mikasa (Yuriko) of Japan, (jp: Mikasa no miya Yuriko shinnō-hi), née Ms. ... Prince Tomohito of Mikasa (三笠宮寬仁 Mikasa-no-miya Tomohito shinnō), eldest son of the current HIH Prince Mikasa and HIH Princess Mikasa (Yuriko). ... Her Imperial Highness Princess Tomohito of Mikasa was born on the 9th of April, 1955. ... Princess Akiko of Mikasa (born 20 December 1981) is the eldest daughter of HIH Prince Tomohito of Mikasa. ... Princess Yohko of Mikasa (born 25 October 1983) is the second daughter of HIH Prince Tomohito of Mikasa and HIH Princess Tomohito of Mikasa. ... His Imperial Highness Prince Katsura (Yoshihito) of Japan (jp: æ¡‚å®®, Katsura no miya Yoshihito Shinnō) (11 February 1948) is the second son of Prince and Princess Mikasa and a first cousin of Emperor Akihito. ... Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado (Hisako) of Japan, (jp: Takamado no miya Hisako shinnō-hi), née Ms. ... Princess Tsuguko of Takamado (承子女王殿下) is the daughter of the late His Imperial Highness Prince Takamado and Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado (born 6 March 1986). ... October 20 is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 72 days remaining. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... April 10 is the 100th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (101st in leap years). ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 7 is the seventh day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Akihito of Japan Imperial Seal of Japan The Emperor (天皇 tennō, literally heavenly sovereign) is currently a constitutionally-recognized symbol of the Japanese nation and the unity of its people. ... An emperor is a (male) monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. ... Emperor Akihito reads the Speech from the Throne to the Japanese Diet His Imperial Majesty Akihito (明仁) (born December 23, 1933) is the current and 125th Emperor of Japan. ...

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. Tokyo ) , literally eastern capital, is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and includes the highly urbanized central area formerly known as the city of Tokyo which is the heart of the Greater Tokyo Area. ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II...

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.) University of the Sacred Heart (聖心女子大学 Seishin Joshi Daigaku) is a Japanese private female university located in Shibuya, Tokyo. ... Karuizawa (軽井沢町; -machi) is a town located in Kitasaku District, Nagano, Japan. ... The Prime Minister of Japan (内閣総理大臣 Naikaku sōri daijin) is the English political nomenclature of the head of government of Japan, although the literal translation is Prime Minister of the Cabinet. ... This article is about the Japanese legislature. ... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Yukio Mishima (三島由紀夫 Mishima Yukio), was the public name of Kimitake Hiraoka (平岡公威 Hiraoka Kimitake), (January 14, 1925 - November 25, 1970), a Japanese author and considered a right-wing political activist, notable for both his nihilistic post-war writing and the circumstances of his suicide. ...

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. The Imperial Household Agency is a government agency of Japan in charge of the state matters concerning Japans royal family. ... The Imperial Household Agency (jp: 宮内庁, kunaichō) is a government agency of Japan in charge of the state matters concerning Japans royal family. ... The kuge (公家) was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese imperial court in Kyoto until the rise of the Shogunate in the 12th century at which point it was eclipsed by the daimyo. ... Her Imperial Majesty Empress Kojun of Japan was born Princess Kuni Nagako (jp: 久邇宮良子女王 kuni no miya nagako joō) (March 6, 1903 - June 16, 2000). ... Empress Dowager (Chinese and Japanese: 皇太后; Chinese pinyin Húang Tài Hòu, Japanese pronunciation: Kōtaigō) was title given to the mother of a Chinese emperor. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... Reuters Group plc (LSE: RTR and NASDAQ: RTRSY) is best known as a news service that provides reports from around the world to newspapers and broadcasters. ...

HIM Emperor Akihito and HIM Empress Michiko of Japan

Three children were born to the couple: Image File history File links Download high resolution version (978x1760, 256 KB) Emperor Akihito and empress Michiko of Japan http://www. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (978x1760, 256 KB) Emperor Akihito and empress Michiko of Japan http://www. ... An emperor is a (male) monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. ... An emperor is a (male) monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. ...

1. HIH Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan, b. February 23, 1960;
2. HIH Prince Akishino (Fumihito), b. November 30, 1965; and
3. The former HIH Princess Nori (Sayako), b. April 18, 1969.

Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Princess Michiko again broke precedent by preferring to raise their children instead of entrusting them to the care of court chamberlains; the crown princess even breastfed. Her efforts to break free of suffocating court etiquette regarding childrearing may have been even more serious than is popularly known. An article written by Sheila K. Johnson and published in 1997 in the JPRI Critique, the journal of the Japan Policy Research Institute -- "Sad Lives: A Tale of Two Princesses," Vol. 4, No. 9 -- reported that in the 1960s, rumors abounded that Crown Princess Michiko underwent an abortion partly to spite her controlling father-in-law, Emperor Hirohito. HIH can refer to: His/Her Imperial Highness, a title. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... Prince and Princess Akishino after the funeral of Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte of Luxembourg His Imperial Highness Prince Akishino (秋篠宮文仁親王殿下 akishino no miya fumihito denka) also known as Prince Fumihito (文仁親王 fumihito shinnō) (born 30 November 1965) is a member of the Japanese imperial family. ... November 30 is the 334th day (335th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 31 days remaining. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... Her Imperial Highness Princess Sayako, the third child and only daughter of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, was born on 18 April 1969. ... April 18 is the 108th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (109th in leap years). ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... The Japan Policy Research Institute (JPRI) is a non-profit organization organized under §501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code that was founded in 1994 by Chalmers Johnson and Steven C. Clemons in order to promote public education about Japan, its then growing significance in world affairs... Hirohito ) (April 29, 1901 – January 7, 1989) was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 1926 to 1989. ...

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. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... A style of office, or honorific, is a form of address which by tradition or law precedes a reference to a person who holds a title or post, or to the political office itself. ... Imperial Majesty (HIM) is a style used by the Emperors and Empresses. ... Hirohito ) (April 29, 1901 – January 7, 1989) was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 1926 to 1989. ... January 7 is the seventh day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 12 is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 49 days remaining. ... This article is about the year. ...

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