Well, this is very important news. This morning — February 25, 2015 — in amazing Tokyo, Japan, His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan decided to go for a run outside the grounds of the Imperial Palace.
According to the Japanese newspaper, Asahi Shimbun, the 55 year-old heir to ancient Chrysanthemum throne “… usually jogs in the Akasaka Imperial Ground, where the Togu Palace his residence is located, it is the first time in seven years since he last jogs outside the state properties for the royal family.”
On Wednesday, January 21, 2015, His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan arrived at the Gakushuin Women’s College and Graduate School in Tokyo to speak to students about the benefits of studying abroad.
Meanwhile, the Imperial Household Agency announced that His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito of Japan has cancelled all of his engagements on Wednesday due to “…cold-like symptoms…” The IHA also noted that all engagements scheduled for the remaining week are still pending (hence depending on the emperor’s health).
On the morning of Monday, January 19, 2015, Their Imperial Highnesses Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako of Japan arrived at the Yamatane Museum of Art in Tokyo to view the special 15th memorial exhibition, Higashiyama Kaii and Four Seasons in Japan.
The exhibition examines the works of the late Japanese artist, Mr. Higashiyama Kaii. According to the official website for the Yamatane Museum of Art:
“In the late 1940s, Kaii launched himself as a landscape painter. From then on, endeavoring to create Nihonga for a new age, he produced landscapes with unique compositions and remarkable figurative beauty, such as his Tree Roots (Meguro Museum of Art) or White Wall (Yamatane Museum of Art). In the course of that quest, he traveled, and painted, throughout Europe as well as the length and breadth of Japan. In the 1960s, he created two wall panels, for the Imperial Palace and the Crown Prince’s Palace and, at the same time, inspired by the novelist Kawabata Yasunari, began creating hisFour Seasons in Kyoto series. In those works, his approach returned to a traditional expression of Japan’s subtly changing four seasons and the beauties of nature.
Among them, his Dawn Tide (Imperial Household Agency), created for the Imperial Palace, has been highly praised as a work combining the natural and decorative beauty found in Yamato-e, a genre of painting traditional to Japan. Yamazaki Taneji, the first director of our museum, had an opportunity to see that works at the Palace, and was captivated by them. Taneji then directly commissioned the artists whose work adorned the Imperial Palace to create other works of a similar nature so that the public could have an opportunity to appreciate them even outside of the Palace. The resulting paintings are now the heart of the Yamatane collection, including Kaii’s Rising Tide, a painting nine meters long, Hashimoto Meiji’s Cherry Tree in Morning Sun, and Uemura Shōkō’s Flowers and Birds of Japan.
This exhibition presents those paintings associated with works at the Imperial Palace, works from theFour Seasons in Kyoto series, including End of the Year (Yamatane Museum of Art), Early Summer(Ichikawa City Higashiyama Kaii Memorial Hall), and First Snowfall in Kitayama (Kawabata Foundation). It also includes other masterworks in which Kaii depicted many parts of Japan, such asHill Inviting Spring (Hasegawa Machiko Art Museum).
To offer a broader perspective on Kaii’s oeuvre and the path he followed in his life’s work, the exhibition also includes paintings by Kawai Gyokudō and Yūki Somei, the mentors who taught Kaii his approach to the landscape, and Yamada Shingo and Katō Eizō, his classmates at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, with whom he worked to polish his skills.”
Higashiyama Kaii and Four Seasons in Japan will be open to the public until February 1, 2015.
On Sunday, January 18, 2015, Their Imperial Majesties Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan arrived at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo to attend Day Eight of the Grand Sumo New Year Tournament.
On Saturday, Their Imperial Majesties attended a memorial service marking the 20th anniversary of the Great Hanshin Earthquake held at the Hyogo Prefecture Guest House in Kobe, Japan. According to Reuters, hundreds of people “…gathered to pay their respects and light bamboo lanterns in the park for more than 6,400 people who lost their lives in the 7.3 magnitude earthquake.”
On Friday, January 2, 2015, Their Imperial Majesties Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan accompanied by Their Imperial Highnesses Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako of Japan, Their Imperial Highnesses Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko of Japan along with other members of the Imperial family appeared on the balcony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in celebration of the Shogatsu (Japanese New Year).
During his speech to his people beloved emperor noted that “…at the start of this year, I wish for happiness and tranquility of people in the world and our country…” according to Reuters.
On Thursday, January 1, 2015, Their Imperial Majesties Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan accompanied by His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan, Their Imperial Highnesses Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko of Japan, and other members of the imperial family of Japan hosted the 2015 New Year Greeting Ceremony held at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
Here is Emperor Akihito’s 2015 New Year message in full:
“Last year many lives were lost to natural disasters such as heavy snow, torrential rains, and the volcanic eruption of Mt. Ontake, and my thoughts go out to those who lost their loved ones and their homes in those disasters.
This is the fourth winter since the Great East Japan Earthquake, and it pains me to think that there are still so many people who cannot return to the places they used to live because of radioactive contamination and so many who face the prospect of a cold, harsh winter in temporary housing. These conditions have made me reflect on the importance of people becoming concerned about and involved in disaster prevention in their respective regions and being prepared to protect their own localities.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, which cost many people their lives. Those who died on the battlefields, those who died in the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, those who died in the air raids on Tokyo and other cities-so many people lost their lives in this war. I think it is most important for us to take this opportunity to study and learn from the history of this war, starting with the Manchurian Incident of 1931, as we consider the future direction of our country.
It is my sincere hope that the new year will bring happiness to the people of our country and the people around the world.”
On Thursday, December 11, 2014, His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan arrived at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (TMAM) to view the exhibition, Arte a Firenze da Botticelli a Bronzino: Verso una Maniera Moderna.
According to the official website for the TMAM the exhibition:
“…trace[s] the development of Florentine art from the 15th to the 16th century through works from the collection of the world-famed Uffizi Gallery, Florence’s oldest art museum, founded to house the art collections of the Medici family.
The Uffizi Gallery is renowned for its excellent collection of works by Sandro Botticelli, one of the greatest painters of the Italian Renaissance. Through paintings by Botticelli—including his famed Pallas and the Centaur—and works by Andrea del Sarto, Rosso Fiorentino, Agnolo Bronzino, and other leading figures of 16th-century Florentine art, some 80 pieces in all, this exhibition will convey the essence of the astonishingly rich and varied Florentine Renaissance.”
Arte a Firenze da Botticelli a Bronzino: Verso una Maniera Moderna will be open to the public until December 14, 2014.
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The Royal Correspondent 