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On the 2nd of January, I went to see 79 year old Emperor Akihito at his Palace in central Tokyo. It was a huge event – you can go only go into the Palace grounds twice a year, on his birthday and for New Year celebrations.
I was excited about seeing him. As Chief Priest of the nation, son of war-time Emperor Hirohito, and raised in a family claiming a direct ancestral link to God, he should have a few stories.
I felt awkward and unwelcome, an uninvited guest at a Japanese only event.
Groups of suited yakuza were everywhere. Coming out of Tokyo station, right wing activists were distributing leaflets headlined “Protect Japan (from foreigners)…..Japan is the property of the Japanese”. Nice welcome.
Unfortunately, I was not alone on my visit. Thousands of worshippers had come to wave to Japan’s biggest celebrity.
After bag checks and security scans, we were processed into wide queues along the gravel path leading up to the Palace. A 20 minute wait outside was followed by a 15 minute snail march into the palace grounds, then a 30 minute wait for the Emperor to come out on to the balcony. Even after all that waiting, we never got thrown a chocolate.
The bulletproof glass screening the Emperor’s balcony was a clinical protective barrier between us. Without seeing his bare flesh, we could not be sure he was human. God, or even Sony, could have been at the controls. The glass also gave him an easy excuse for not throwing us chocolates.
At last, the short and frail Emperor came out to wish us Happy New Year and wave. There were shouts of “Banzai”, and furious fluttering of the freely distributed Japanese flags in salutation.
It was a fascinating event to participate in, although the whole Emperor system seems pretty unsavoury. As Emperor, he is the symbolic leader of racist right wing hate groups in Japan. His loyalist supporters include some pretty nasty characters. Fortunately the Emperor himself looks as threatening as a soggy digestive, more ready for a fireside nap than a kamikaze charge. Long may he stay that way.