Emperor Akihito prays at the altar of his late cousin Prince Tomohito, in Tokyo, on Tuesday. Tomohito, who was sixth in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne, died of cancer at age 66 on June 6.
© Japan TodayFinal respects
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Emperor Akihito prays at the altar of his late cousin Prince Tomohito, in Tokyo, on Tuesday. Tomohito, who was sixth in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne, died of cancer at age 66 on June 6.
© Japan Today
14 Comments
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Yubaru
It's a shame that the Emperor couldn't attend the funeral himself. I know rules, rules, rules, and more rules. But it's still a shame. Thankfully he had the chance to pay his respects.
RIP
CrazyJoe
The Emperor couldn't even attend his own mother's funeral when she passed away in 2000.
kaminarioyaji
Surely the Emperor of all people can say "to hell with the rules!"?
DeDe Miura
Does anyone know why those rules are there? I had no idea that His Highness does live with his wife...he lives alone? Gosh.
Cricky
The rules are there to......you should not ask this it's rude. You will never understand because you are a gaijin.
Cricky
That Pawn does not ask the Bishop ..why? It's a game
Cricky
He is a human the family are human but ruled by inhuman rules...it's a reflection of the society.
GenConsensus
Those are some fresh clown-platform-clogs the guys in the white has on.
Cricky
These poor people are trapped in a time warp condemned to a life of solitude and depression, Princess Masako has not been seen of heard from, why...no comment. Unhealthy lives, unnatural lives. Can not attend a relatives funeral? Can not live together see their parents unless it booked in and approved by the household staff. They are prisoners protected by the taboo about discussion of their plight.
loserville
Is there a source where one can see these rules of being the emperor of Japan?
Ronald Lam
It is not true that the Emperor lives separately from the Empress. They live in an annexe to the Main Palace. The entrance is like somone's house. On good weather days, the Emperor may walk to his Palace office. At times, both the Emperor and the Empress gets into a modest car and he drives within the Palace grounds.
The Japanese Emperori is the oldest monarchy, deeply steeped in age-old traditions. It is not that he is a prisoner of procedure. It is part of the Imperial system.
There are TV documentaries that shows the Emperor playing tennis with Palace staff. So, it is not that he is so isolated.
JohnBecker
The man lives in a damn bubble. It would be a wonderful thing if the IHA were abolished, or at least drastically liberalized.
hachikoreloaded
>Princess Masako has not been seen of heard from...That's strange, I saw Masako sama in news reports regarding the funeral.