Post

SHŌWA 46 | OCTOBER 1971

両陛下


Their Imperial Majesties

 T E N N O ¹ 

君が代は
千代に八千代に
細石の
巌と為りて
苔の生すまで

May your reign 
Continue for a thousand, 
eight thousand generations, 
Until the tiny pebbles 
Grow into massive boulders 
Lush with moss

ORLY AIRFIELD — NOON
_{PARIS, Metropolitan Francais}

| Their Imperial Majesties, the Emperor and Empress of Japan, arrived in Paris for a “private” visit that was far from private. The chartered Japan Airlines plane landed at Orly Airfield following the Emperor’s visit to Wallonia. The royal couple were welcomed by the Minister of State for Administrative Reform, Roger Frey, who organized the reception. Troops wearing plumed helmets and wielding shining sabers formed a guard of honor. The Emperor and Empress got into a car and were taken to the Hotel de Crillon, where there was a Japanese flag flying on the roof. A lunch was hosted by the President of France, GEORGES POMPIDOU, and his wife, after which the Emperor and Empress went for a walk. For Hirohito, it brought back memories of his youth. Paris is one of his favorite memories from the European trip he took in 1921, when he was still crown prince. As for the Empress, it was her first time abroad. According to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, the Emperor and Empress are resting between the visit to Wallonia and their visit to Britain. The royal couple visited Notre Dame and then Sainte-Chapelle. Afterwards, they took a car tour of Paris. The Emperor and Empress, after visiting the Louvre, will visit a small inn in Barbizon, the art center near Fontainbleau. The royal couple will dine at Tour d’Argent, one of the oldest and most elegant restaurants in Paris. |

PARLIAMENT SQUARE — MORNINGTIME
_{LONDON, Great Britain GB}

| The Emperor and Empress were welcomed by large crowds when they arrived in London for a three-day state visit. But there was little applause and the crowd was silent considering its size. It seemed that many did not know how to respond to a former enemy who was now returning to Europe, after half a century, as a symbol of a peaceful but also enigmatic country. Tens of thousands of people gathered in Parliament Square and lined up in Whitehall and the Mall as the Emperor and Queen ELIZABETH II traveled in a carriage from Victoria Station to Buckingham Palace. At a dinner for 170 guests, the Queen proposed a toast to the Emperor’s health. A report in the Evening Standard caused a diplomatic uproar that pointed to a possible abdication of the Emperor sometime in 1972, after his state visit to Washington. The report states that the Emperor considered his trips to Western countries, especially those that suffered during the wartime occupation of Japan, as a penance, after which the way would be opened for a complete rapprochement under a new Emperor. |

| Japan’s Royal House classified the abdication report as “a triviality and not worth responding to.” However, given the age of the current monarch, there were assumptions in Japan about the Emperor’s abdication in favor of the 37-year-old Crown Prince AKIHITO. The 70-year-old Emperor has been on the imperial throne since 1926. Both the Emperor and Empress looked relaxed as they flew into Gatwick Airport in south London after visiting the French capital. Security precautions have been taken due to protests by militant Japanese students in Europe, some of whom claim the Emperor’s visit represents a resurgence of militarism or British war veterans. There were a number of letters from veterans with painful memories of Japanese militarism. The Emperor and Empress were welcomed at the airport by Princess MARGARET and Lord Snowden, who accompanied the imperial entourage to London on a special train. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh accompanied by members of the royal family, Prime Minister Heath, and other members of the government were at Victoria Station. The Emperor attended a ceremony at Westminster Abbey and then walked through the abbey as the choir sang Mendelsohn’s “Lift Thine Eyes.” Later, the Emperor and Empress went to Clarence House to have tea with Queen Mother ELIZABETH. |

SCHIPHOL AIRPORT — AFTERNOON
_{AMSTERDAM, Hollunde}

| The arrival of the Emperor and Empress in the Netherlands was the target of protests during the most controversial phase of their trip to Europe. A protester threw a stone at the windshield of the Emperor’s limousine. This happened when the Emperor returned to The Hague after a visit to Rotterdam and the Eurdmast observation tower. Some houses along the way flew Dutch flags at half-mast. There were no Japanese flags and there was no crowd either. The Dutch Government made a point of highlighting an unofficial visit and that lunch with Queen BEATRIX is a minimum courtesy. But the reception given to the Emperor and Empress was so meager that it embarrassed the staff of the Japanese Embassy in the Netherlands. The Emperor’s visit to Norden was also unofficial, but when King GUSTAF VI ADOLF arrived at the airport, a royal marquee was erected and there were Japanese flags all over Copenhagen. In Amsterdam, there were no flags, no red carpet, and no royalty as the Emperor’s plane touched down at Schiphol Airport from London shortly after noon. The Emperor was received by the Grand Chamberlain of the Dutch court. A bulletproof limousine was provided to the Emperor, and his motorcade traveled at 75 miles per hour to The Hague, with a police escort, while helicopters monitored the route. The imperial entourage is staying at the Huis ten Bosch palace. The Emperor will visit Amsterdam and then leave for a day visit to Geneva, Alpenland, starting before his state visit to West Germany, the last country of his 16-day trip to Europe. The staff traveling with the Emperor recognizes that the visit to the Netherlands is the most difficult of all. |

BONN AIRPORT — MORNINGTIME
_{BONN, New Provenance}

| The Japanese Emperor began his three-day visit to West Germany amid generally friendly crowds. The chartered Japan Airlines plane flew over Munich on its way to Bonn from Geneva, Alpenland, to give the Emperor a view of the ground being prepared for the 1972 Summer Olympics. Upon leaving the plane, accompanied by the Empress, the Emperor waved happily before going down the stairs. The Emperor and Empress received a 21-gun salute. Followed by an army band that played the Japanese anthem, “Kimigayo,” and the German anthem, “Deutschland über alles.” Some felt this brought a slight echo of the wartime alliance between Germany and Japan. There were some boos and whistles from people gathered in front of Bonn City Hall, who were there to watch the Emperor’s signing of the visitors’ book. But the reception was still friendly. |

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_{¹ A Series: TENNO Covering Emperor Shōwa’s first trip to Europe, which lasted 16 days, where he visited seven European countries.}

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