<figure id="attachment_292151" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-292151" style="width: 4113px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="03cee7c8"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/01/aflo_175982392.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-292151" class="wp-caption-text">Princess Aiko became an adult member of the royal family in December 2021. Now, the people&#8217;s respect for her figure, which has grown after overcoming a difficult period, is spreading. Photo: Representative photo/Reuters/Afro</figcaption></figure>
 The path of the maple leaf is strewn with leaves, and the profile of her face floats along the way home with her friends.
 This poem, composed by Princess Aiko, the eldest daughter of the Emperor, describes the interaction with friends evoked by the scenery of the changing seasons. This year&#8217;s theme was &#8220;friends. At the ceremony, the Emperor, Empress, and other members of the Imperial Family presented tanka poems composed in accordance with the theme. Her skillful poem, which was a testament to her university studies in Japanese literature, was highly praised by the audience.
 Aiko is now a third-year student in the Japanese Language and Literature Department of Gakushuin University&#8217;s Faculty of Letters. She is a member of the so-called &#8220;COVID-19 crisis generation,&#8221; having enrolled in the year 2020.
 She said, &#8220;Those who entered the university that year did not have face-to-face classes and were restricted in club activities, so they could not live as they wished at the university. They have started job hunting, but there is no bright gakuchika.
 The same was true for Princess Aiko, who attended university for the first time in October of the same year, when guidance was given. After that, she continued to attend mostly online classes, finally attending her first &#8220;face-to-face&#8221; class in December of last year. From the time he entered the university to his third year, we did not hear from him about his campus life or club activities.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 On the other hand, at the end of last year, they visited exhibitions and movies. At the end of last year, she visited an exhibition and a movie, and in the New Year, she made her first public visit to the shrine, which became very popular on social networking sites, where people commented on how beautiful she had become.
 Aiko did not attend the New Year&#8217;s poetry reading because she had her schoolwork to attend to first. However, she showed her presence by the quality of her singing,&#8221; said a source close to the Imperial Household.
 In the past, there was a time when it was difficult for her to go to school. Her mother, Masako, helped her get through those difficult years by accompanying her to school. At the time, most of the Japanese people did not understand what was happening to the mother and child. However, she has grown up to be a fine young woman and is now performing her official duties as an adult member of the Imperial Family. At some point, her behavior began to attract compliments from the public, who commented that she had become &#8220;beautiful&#8221; and &#8220;spoke in a wonderful manner that is typical of the royal family. Midori Watanabe, a journalist on the Imperial Family who passed away last year, often said before her death.
 Before her death last year, Midori Watanabe, a journalist on the Imperial Household who passed away last year, often said, &#8220;Princess Aiko has a natural grace and exceptional strength that has enabled her to overcome hardships. I think it would be good to have a female emperor. Aiko has those qualities. As for marriage, it is still a little early, but various preparations are actually underway. The man whose name is on the list now, and who is related to her father, is a very good man, so I think it is time for her to think about it. Above all, I hope that you will be happy as a person.&#8221;
<h2> Inheriting &#8220;love on a grand scale&#8221; from Michiko&#8230;</h2>
 Michiko, the grandmother of Princess Aiko, has been a gifted writer since she was a young girl, and even after joining the Imperial Family, she has continued to compose poems that are overwhelmingly outstanding.
 She wrote, &#8220;Light of ages past is now shining on the earth, and the earth is in its springtime.
 This poem, which Michiko recited at the opening of the poetry festival in 1969, astonished everyone with its grand scale and rich perspective. At the time, she was a young mother still in her thirties. She has composed many poems since then, including this one about her own life.
 She wrote of her own life in these words: &#8220;I lay my green child on the soft grass by the fields, where the spring light overflows.
 When Mako was born into the Akishino family, this song quietly expressed the joy of the birth of their first grandchild. Mako is now living with her beloved husband in New York, the United States. Her second daughter, Kako, who attended the opening of the poetry festival this time, said
 She wrote, &#8220;The memories written on the back of the commemorative photo I took with my friends at the graduation ceremony are still with me today.
 I have a memory of it written on the back of the commemorative photo I took with my friends at my graduation ceremony. She seems to have been expressing her thoughts honestly and directly, perhaps at a high school or college graduation ceremony.
 A source close to the Imperial Household said, &#8220;Although His Imperial Highness Eugene is still a minor and has not yet attended the poetry festival, we hope that in a few years&#8217; time he will join Aiko at this event to perform a large scale poem that will lead to the future.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 What path will Princess Aiko take after graduating from university next spring? It is time for her to decide whether she will go on to higher education or find a job. Princess Eugene is preparing to take the university entrance examination, and his choice of career path will be in full swing. While there is a desire for a female emperor, there are a variety of opinions on how the Imperial Family should be. The words of a late Imperial Household journalist who said, &#8220;I want the members of the Imperial Family to be happy as individuals,&#8221; resonate with me.
<figure id="attachment_292148" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-292148" style="width: 2146px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="58d04745"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/01/aflo_23355222.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-292148" class="wp-caption-text"> Princess Aiko when she entered Gakushuin Girls&#8217; Secondary School in April 2014. She attended the entrance ceremony with her parents.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_292149" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-292149" style="width: 2139px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6e3b77c7"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/01/aflo_51219075.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-292149" class="wp-caption-text"> In April 2017, she entered Gakushuin Girls&#8217; Senior High School. Her slightly slimmer jawline gives her a mature look.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_292150" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-292150" style="width: 2254px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="2d8dee7b"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/01/aflo_102267547.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-292150" class="wp-caption-text"> Aiko, a profile of a third-year high school student, on her way to the celebration of the new emperor&#8217;s accession to the throne in May 2019.</figcaption></figure>

<figure id="attachment_292152" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-292152" style="width: 4495px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a175e16d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/01/aflo_207344530.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-292152" class="wp-caption-text"> January 2023; Princess Aiko attends her first general New Year&#8217;s visit in three years</figcaption></figure>

 Afro

 The poem, composed by the Emperor's eldest daughter, Aiko, depicts the interaction with friends evoked by the changing seasonal scenery.

Amidst a storm of praise for her &#8220;beautiful&#8221; appearance&#8230;Aiko Aiko&#8217;s 21-year-old &#8220;song&#8221; and the longing for a female emperor

Amidst a storm of praise for her “beautiful” appearance…Aiko Aiko’s 21-year-old “song” and the longing for a female emperor

Access Ranking