Imperial family of Japan attend New Year poetry reading ceremony

byHelen - 29 Comments
Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko and other imperial family members attend the New Year Poetry Reading (Utakai-Hajime-no-Gi) ceremony at Matsunoma main hall of the Imperial Palace on the morning of January 13, 2017 in Tokyo. “Waka” poems penned by imperial family members, as well as 10 works selected from the public by judges, were recited at the annual event in Matsunoma main hall in the Imperial Palace.
Crown Princess Masako, Princess Kako, Princess Kiko, Princess Mako, Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko
Crown Princess Masako, Princess Kako, Princess Kiko, Princess Mako, Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko
Crown Princess Masako, Princess Kako, Princess Kiko, Princess Mako, Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko

29 Comments

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  1. Anonymous13/1/17 15:58

    Are they still alive or that poetry put them all to sleep? LOL

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    1. Diane Brown13/1/17 17:20

      πŸ˜’πŸ€”πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

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    2. Coralie13/1/17 17:45

      Kristina, Japan is a high-tech nation. The imperial family send their lookalike-robots in order to test, if someone notices.

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    3. Anonymous13/1/17 18:01

      Coralie, I know about Japan. I was commenting about the photos only.

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    4. Anonymous13/1/17 18:16

      Coralie, I got it! LOL

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    5. Unknown13/1/17 19:18

      Oh man! Lol. They all look perfect.

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    6. Heather13/1/17 19:42

      The emperor and empress look like they are sitting next to large gift-wrapped packages left over from the holidays. I try to imagine the reaction if a jack-in-the-box popped out.

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    7. lizzie13/1/17 20:27

      Love all the comments - very, very funny. To me they all look like wax figures, and as boring as a snowy day in Canada in the middle of the winter.

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    8. Heather13/1/17 21:32

      Snowy days in Canada are not THAT boring!

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    9. Diane Brown13/1/17 22:07

      I keep re-reading these and giggling bahahaaaaa

      Who says we don't have fun? Hahaa....

      Great now I hear the music to the jack in the box when someone is winding it up Heather πŸ˜‚

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    10. lizzie14/1/17 00:32

      Heather, snowy days in Canada are great if you're a skier, or for kids to make snow angels, or to snuggle under the covers, but not for an 80-year old physically handicapped person, and certainly not where I live.

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    11. Anonymous14/1/17 02:32

      Heather, hopefully they will get strength together to open those boxes by the next Christmas time... only 11 months to go.

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    12. Blair14/1/17 12:59

      Omg I'm dying laughing at your comment Coralie!!

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  2. KH13/1/17 19:23

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. KH13/1/17 19:23

    Such huge differences from Western ways are difficult for most of us to understand. The only poetry from Japan that I have read is Haiku which is so disciplined and distilled, very lovely stuff. You want to show the joy or feeling you get when reading it. But their way is so much quieter.
    Other times they are in a frenzy at some festivals. Hard to figure out. You want to give the women more freedom to show originality in dress and behavior. Will it ever happen?

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    1. lizzie14/1/17 00:34

      The 5 women in the first photo remind me of a very, very old commercial: a woman taking a still uncooked chicken out of the oven and slapping it with MSG (monosodium glutamate) and saying: wake up, wake up.

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    2. Anonymous14/1/17 03:45

      K Hass, I never read Haiku but went to see opera in Osaka and believe me in the middle of it I was thinking about harakiri.

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    3. Coralie14/1/17 16:05

      Because you saw "Madama Butterfly"?

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    4. Diane Brown14/1/17 20:12

      Omg you all are killing me ... πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚ but please no swords πŸ˜‹

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    5. Anonymous15/1/17 07:58

      "Madama Butterfly" it is Puccini's opera.

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  4. Blair14/1/17 12:58

    I would love to take a peek inside these ladies closets and see how many modern pieces of clothing they have. This is like something from the 40's!

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    1. Anonymous14/1/17 14:48

      I think that "ancient" clothing they wear are for special occasions only.

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    2. Blair14/1/17 15:28

      Oh I know Kristina, I'm just curious to see what they're casual clothes look like. I doubt it's anything trendy, probably all very nice, dull boring clothes in bland colors.

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    3. Coralie14/1/17 16:10

      No, Chelsea. I am sure they wear a lot of biker-jackets, leather trousers, heavy boots and so on. Then they turn up the radio and headbang to old AC/DC-Albums.

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    4. Diane Brown14/1/17 20:13

      Oooo I love AC/DC ~ just aged myself LOL Rock 'n Roll forever πŸ‘ŠπŸ™†✌

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    5. Coralie14/1/17 21:35

      Since they are japanese I think they will not listen to "chinese democracy" by Guns'n'roses...

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    6. Diane Brown15/1/17 06:16

      πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜ Coralie omghahaaa

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  5. It's me!15/1/17 03:32

    I find the Imperial Family of Japan to formal and sedate for my taste. Their clothing looks as though it has come direct from the 1960 through some time warp and while I love looking back on 1960's fashion and fashion inspired by the 1960's it is now 2017 and that is where the women of today belong in my opinion.

    When I see these images, I totally understand why the Crown Princess has struggled with Royal life. Crown Princess Masako must be an incredibly strong and resilient woman.

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  6. Blondiini15/1/17 06:34

    I have several books of Japanese poetry (translated though I do not speak Japanese); tankas and haikus, they are lovely poems. Would not make me sleep at all. These ladies in picture really look just frozen.

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