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Royal wedding

18 Comments

Princess Hisako Takamado of Japan arrives at the Royal Chapel before the wedding of Sweden's Princess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill in Stockholm on Saturday.

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18 Comments
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Aside from looking confident and great in that formal dress, Princess Takamado speaks fluent English, represents Japan internationally without making the blundering cultural gaffs of our politicians, helps many charities, and recently received her PhD in art history. Who else would have the time to curate numerous shows of artifacts collected by the Royal Family, thus bringing Japanese history to light for the rest of us? She does her part, as surely you and I do in the collective known as Japan.

15 ( +20 / -5 )

Who are you all so angry at? Princess Takamado has gone abroad at the invitation of the Swedish Royal Family, to a private wedding.

This out-of-proportion ranting is pointless without you also writing how much of our taxes went on this trip of hers.

4 ( +11 / -7 )

Very cool picture. I'd love a comprehensive guide to what all the medals mean from various countries on dignitaries jackets...it's getting confusing now!

3 ( +4 / -1 )

According to monarchial theory, we're living on their property. Think of ¥250 as rent.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I like her. She doesn't look like a stuffy member of the royal family. The type you'd invite to a party(or a wedding).

2 ( +3 / -1 )

I really wouldn't want to be born into the Imperial Family, for sure. Just look at Masako.

In case you didn't know she wasn't born into the royal family, she married into it!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

You know what I mean.

How so? You thought Masako was born into the Imperial family, and she wasn't. So how is one to expect to understand what you mean when you don't know what you mean yourself?

1 ( +3 / -2 )

The others who are not as visibly crazy as her may be better able to handle it, better able to hide it, got less hazing than her, etc

You know, Masako-sama has had a hard time of it, and thankfully seems to be getting over it, but she is not the first. The current Empress Michiko was the first "commoner" to marry into the royal family and she had a rougher time than Masako has had by far. Times were different back then, and she supposedly had a breakdown as well, but has thankfully recovered too and is a shining example of the royal family here. She is gracious and an outstanding ambassador for Japan.

Oh and I think it's rather crude of you to say or infer that Masako is "crazy". You obviously dont know what crazy is if you think she is.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

The big chips on small shoulders certainly are out in force today.

Echoing what Ranger wrote, she is a fine lady, a wonderful ambassador for Japan and does great charity work. I'm sure gives much more value than the nasty little whiners here.

-1 ( +6 / -7 )

Readers, no more anti-royal family rants please.

I've heard different estimates of the cost of maintaining the Japanese royal family. Around ¥250 per person per year seems to be accepted. Some critics including Herbert Bix, the prize-winning author of 'Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan', see the Japanese royal family as giving legitimacy to the extreme right, perpetuating racist myths of uniqueness and superiority based on blood. Maybe that's a little dramatic. For me the question is pretty simple - should we really be paying for hereditary privilege in the 21st century? ¥250 per year won't bankrupt me, but I've yet to hear a convincing defense of why taxpayers money should be used to pay for those who attained their position and privileged status through nothing more than accident of birth.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

I like her, she looks classy but approachable.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Jimizo-s post makes sense.

The rest of the complainers are just complaining. Jealous?

I really wouldn't want to be born into the Imperial Family, for sure. Just look at Masako.

For 250y /yr what do we get? Is one way to think about it. This woman's trip is a way to keep J membership in a certain club where, like it or not, things happen. Big things. Why not have your own rep going there? Get information, make contacts. Ineffective? Not necessary?

In any case, this gets filed under "things that were decided without my input that I can't change, so might as well not worry about it."

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Madness! Untold millions of dollars spent celebrating winning of a genetic lottery. Who are these people that live of our hard work and generate nothing of value. Stop the media circus around this triviality.

-4 ( +11 / -15 )

Thank those people for bringing a bit more color and diversity into your grey and average lifes!

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

perhaps if we cocooned all children in utter wealth and privilege, letting them pursue the best education under the best educators all on the country's coin, we'd find numerous people able to take advantage just as she has. The point is - if I am to pay for these people's (essentially) idle lives, perhaps some choice in the matter would be nice.

-5 ( +7 / -12 )

Way to keep the details straight.

You know what I mean.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

Whatever, man,

I never thot she was born into the Imperial family. I said I wouldn't want to be born into it, then used her as an example of how hard it is to be a member of it, tho she wasn't born there. My most humble of apologies for not making that sterling clear to you, and further for implying that you had any ability to infer what I might want to say, which is that it is not a fun life in the Chrysanthemum throne room. The others who are not as visibly crazy as her may be better able to handle it, better able to hide it, got less hazing than her, etc. But they do not have a free and easy lives, that is for sure. But hey, some ppl actually like living their life in a military setting, some like living alone in the Alaskan tundra, some like living in big polluted cities. To each his own. And to you too. Goodbye.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

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