The birth of a princess

内親王ご誕生

Primary among the general feelings of rejoicing is relief. For several years after the Crown Prince and Princess were married in 1993, there was concern that the Crown Princess would be unable to bear a child. This concern was compounded by disappointment when, having at last become pregnant, the Crown Princess suffered a miscarriage in December 1999. That loss was attributed mainly to the media frenzy she was forced to endure during her pregnancy.

This time, following an appeal from the Imperial Household Agency, the media were more restrained. Their discipline and courtesy were greatly appreciated by the anxious parents and the general public, who as much as anyone felt the Crown Princess was entitled to privacy and decorum during this important time.

The only factor that may have contributed to a less animated feeling of happiness is the fact that the child is a girl. This is not to say that the Imperial family or the Japanese people as a whole do not welcome a girl just as warmly as a boy. A healthy child, of either gender, has always been the priority. But for those who must worry about less important matters ﾐ the Imperial succession, for example ﾐ the arrival of a son certainly would make life easier, or at least put off a potential problem until another day.

A baby prince would have been automatically second in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne, after his 41-year-old father. Although there have been eight empresses in the long course of Japanese history, since 1868 the law has decreed that only male offspring may succeed. Since the Crown Princess first became pregnant, if not before, pressure has been building for a revision of the current law to allow a woman to ascend the throne.

In part, this reflected awareness that even if the Crown Prince and Princess produced a son, there would be only three heirs who were not of the aging Emperor's own generation ﾐ the Crown Prince, Prince Akishino and the baby. But it reflected a growing feeling that the monarchy should serve as a model for 21st century views about the importance of equality between the sexes. The monarchy may have been stripped of its political power, but it remains uniquely influential as a social exemplar.

There are other ways in which the new princess reflects changing realities. Her grandmother, the Empress, was the first commoner to marry into the Imperial family, a radical break with tradition at the time. The Crown Princess represents even more strikingly the kind of world she will grow up in. The daughter of a diplomat, Crown Princess Masako is a multilingual Harvard graduate and was a career diplomat before she married. Her education and international outlook are bound to influence her daughter, which could prove valuable to Japan as it seeks a larger place on the world stage.

Although she is just a tiny infant, the new baby has had her first experience of the endless ceremonies she will participate in for the rest of her life. She was presented with a ceremonial sword by the Emperor shortly after her birth. When she was 7 days old, she was given the name Aiko and underwent a formal bathing ceremony. On the 50th day after her birth, her parents will carry her to the three shrines in the Imperial Palace. On all these occasions, she will be exposed to hints and glimpses of the past, the ancient rituals of the oldest monarchy in the world. In some ways, these rituals will define her life and her role, as they do for all her Imperial relatives.

But in many other ways, as we have seen, this baby is the child of a new century and a new millennium. Along with the old, we hope that the institution she may some day represent will see fit to embrace and celebrate the new.

The Japan Times: Dec. 2, 2001
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     ご誕生は国民に安堵をもたらした。1993年のご成婚以来、皇太子さまと雅子さまにはお子さまができないのではという懸念があったが、99年の雅子さまの流産で懸念はさらに強くなった。流産の主な原因はご懐妊中の過熱報道にあるといわれた。今回は宮内庁の要請もあってマスコミの報道は控えめで、節度ある姿勢は皇太子夫妻からも国民からも評価された。

     この喜びに水をさすものがあるとすれば、女のお子さまであったことだろう。性別に関わりなく無事にお生まれになることこそ大切だが、男の子であれば皇太子に次ぐ皇位継承権を有することになり、継承問題が気になる人々はより安心ということらしい。歴史上8人の女帝が存在したが、1868年以来、男子のみが皇位継承権を有すると皇室典範に規定されている。雅子さまのご懐妊以来、女性の皇位継承を認めるための皇室典範改正への機運が高まっていた。この動きは、皇太子ご夫妻に男の子がお生まれになっても、皇位継承の可能性があるのは皇太子とそのお子さま、秋篠宮親王の3人だけという認識を反映しているが、天皇制が男女同権の重要性に関する見解の模範となるべきだという声の高まりの表れでもある。政治権力がなくなった今も、天皇制は社会規範として独自の影響力を持っている。

     内親王は別の面でも、変化し続ける現実を反映している。祖母にあたられる皇后陛下は伝統をくつがえし、平民として初めて皇室に入られた。母親の雅子さまは、外交官を父に持ち、数ヵ国語を操るハーバード大卒の元外務省官僚だ。雅子さまの教育と国際的視野が内親王に影響を及ぼすと思われ、これは国際社会での地位向上を目指す日本には価値ある財産となろう。

     今は小さな存在の内親王だが、生後7日目の命名の儀で名前は「愛子」と決まった。今後、50日目の神社参拝など、数多くの儀式を経験する。世界最古の君主制に残る古式にのっとった儀式は、ある意味で内親王の人生とその役割を定めるものだ。しかし内親王は新たな世紀の申し子である。内親王がいつか代表することになるかもしれない天皇制が、古いものだけでなく新しいものを支持し遂行するのに適した制度になることを願ってやまない。

The Japan Times Weekly
Dec. 15, 2001
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