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When the three concubines of the Japanese imperial family married into the imperial palace, they showed differences in various aspects due to their different periods and status.
Princess Michiko in her youth (current Empress of Japan)
Princess Masako in her youth (current empress of Japan)
Princess Kiko in her youth (Princess Akishomiya of Japan)
Michiko is the eldest daughter of Eizaburo Shoda, former president and chairman of the Nissin Milling Company, a major Japanese company, and graduated from the Catholic-style Sacred Heart Women's University in 1957 from the Department of Foreign Chinese Literature at the Faculty of Literature. Princess Masako, former Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the eldest daughter of Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations, Hisashi Owada, graduated from the Faculty of Economics of Harvard University in 1985. In 1987, the University of Tokyo dropped out of the university and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in October of the same year. From 1988 to 1990, he studied at the University of Oxford, England. Princess Kiko is the eldest daughter of Professor Tatsuhiko Kawashima of Gakushuin University, and graduated from the Department of Psychology of Gakushuin University's Faculty of Literature in 1989. In 1995, he completed the doctoral program in psychology at the Graduate School of Humanities at Gakushuin University. In 2013, she graduated from Chashui Woman's University with a doctorate in humanities.
Engagement confession
The three concubines were initially wary of entering the imperial family and tried to avoid measures, but both Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Prince Naruhito had a "common disease" - infatuation. There were no waves between Prince Fumihito of Akishinomiya and Noriko, but Noriko began to have concerns. At this time, "can break the last layer of window paper" is often the confession that makes the other party move.
Crown Prince Akihito said to Michiko, "Come to me and bring only a wicker bag." ”
Crown Prince Naruhito said to Masako: "There will be all kinds of uneasiness and worries when entering the imperial family, and I will do my best to take care of Masako's affairs for the rest of my life." ”
Prince Fumihito Akishinomiya said to Noriko, "Is it okay to stay with me?" ”
Ceremony of the Settlement
When the imperial family is engaged, the man and the woman exchange a bride price, and the ceremony of sending a bride price from the imperial family is called "natsei の儀" in Japanese.
When Princess Michiko got engaged, the "Natsai no Cei" was delivered five days before the wedding, and there were two pianos, a living room set, two suit wardrobes, three kimono wardrobes, six evening dresses, six daytime dresses, forty kimono sets, sewing machines, bedroom utensils, towels, etc., luxurious and elaborate. At the same time, there are high-quality and exquisite gifts presented by the Imperial Household Agency officials who enter the Shoda house on behalf of the royal family: five rolls of suit fabric, six bottles of imperial sake used by the Imperial Household Agency, and a fold of fresh seabream. The total amount was three million yen (a huge sum at the time), and three new trucks with a capacity of six tons were used. Michiko's family is not poor in money, in order to let her daughter live a good life in the palace, at the same time, it is also a response to the arrogance of the royal family, Michiko's father Eizaburo Shoda said: "I will pay as much as the royal family pays." Therefore, Michiko's parents also prepared a dowry of 30 million yen for her.
When Princess Kiko got engaged, the "Natsai の儀" was also delivered five days before the wedding, and due to the different times and positions, she married Prince Fumihito of the Akishinomiya of the Miyaki family, so the things sent by the Heavenly Emperor, including her favorite rag doll, only three small trucks were used. Princess Kiko's father was a professor at Gakushuin University and did not have a rich background, and it is said that the royal family provided funds for her family to prepare the dowry. The palace was full of people from noble backgrounds, and although some of them declined, they still looked down on Princess Ji because of this.
At the time of Masako's engagement, the "Natsai の儀" was delivered six days before the wedding, and on a rainy day, at 9 a.m. on April 12, 1993, five new trucks loaded with two tons of goods, more than 70 large and small cardboard boxes, were in front of her house. Similarly, Hiro Kanno, the grandfather of Tonomiya, entered the Owada's residence and presented exquisite gifts from the royal family in the living room of about 26 square meters on the side with a gold screen. The gifts are roughly: five rolls of silk, for dresses; Sake Ichiho is a six-liter bottle of Imperial Household Agency imperial sake in a wooden box; Fresh sea bream is a male and female real sea bream that is more than 50 centimeters long and weighs more than 10 kilograms caught off the coast of Japan, and they are arranged in a "figure-eight" shape, and the box is tied with gold and silver rope. After Kanno dictated "Natsai の言" to Masako and her parents, he delivered the catalog of items placed on the wooden platform to Masako.
"Natsai no 儀" Princess Masako wore a kimono on that day, and said that it was her "first time wearing a kimono after coming of age." And Crown Prince Naruhito said to her with great excitement: "Very good, it's better to wear a suit, it's better to wear a kimono!" ”
Masako's kimono strap pattern is the same as on the day of Michiko's wedding, a shippo pattern, which was specially ordered by Michiko at her favorite Nihonbashi Wufu store in Tokyo. And the kimono strap of Princess Kiko on the day of "Natsai の儀" is a chrysanthemum pattern.
After the ceremony, Masako and her parents visit the Imperial Palace to greet the Emperor, Empress, and Crown Prince. On this day, the crown prince wears the pearl ring prepared by the emperor and empress on Masako's ring finger.
Although Masako's father was a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he was only a salaried civil servant. On June 3, Masako transported furniture, clothes, books, and other items from her home to the Tonomiya Imperial Palace. In the rain, forty men put six hundred things wrapped in thick paper into five two-ton trucks, and Masako's car, the gray Corolla II, was brought as a dowry.
Princess Michiko as a girl (now Empress of Japan)
Princess Michiko as a girl (now Empress of Japan)
Middle-aged Princess Masako (now Empress of Japan)
Middle-aged Princess Masako (now Empress of Japan)
Princess Fumihito of Akishomiya - Princess Kiko
Princess Fumihito of Akishomiya - Princess Kiko
Sericulture in the palace
Sericulture technology, which began in China 5,000 or 6,000 years ago, was introduced to Japan in the third century. The Japanese royal family has a long history of sericulture, and the content of the imperial sericulture in 462 AD is recorded in the Nihon Shoki. In 1871, Empress Shōken (wife of the Meiji Emperor) resumed raising silkworms in the palace because sericulture was an important export industry during the Meiji period, and in order to encourage people to raise silkworms, the empress and the crown princess personally raised silkworms, and successive empresses and crown princesses retained this tradition.
There are four varieties of silkworms in Miyanaka: ❶ Japan's domestic "Koishimaru", because of its small size and small production, after the emergence of Sino-Japanese hybrid varieties, almost no one in Japanese farmers raised this silkworm. However, the "Koishimaru" is slender and silky, and can be used to restore the treasures of Shosoin, and Princess Michiko has persevered in order to preserve the Japanese tradition. ❷ "Bailan", a Sino-Japanese hybrid. ❸ "Yellow orchid", a Central European hybrid, golden yellow. ❹ The green "Tenji" is a wild variety native to Japan.
It has become customary for the Japanese imperial family to weave these silkworms into silk fabrics, not only as state gifts to the wives of foreign heads of state, but also as part of the bride price given by the Heavenly Emperor to engaged concubines. Previously, Princess Michiko gave three volumes to Princess Kiko and five volumes to Princess Masako, which they used to make dresses to participate in activities. For example, when attending the wedding banquet "饗banquetの儀", Masako Concubine is six times in three days, this occasion is very particular about etiquette, Masako needs to change her dress frequently.
Of the five rolls of silk fabric that Princess Michiko gave to Princess Masako, except for two of which were traditional patterns, the remaining three were colors named by her herself, of which the "Sea of Four Directions" was handmade by herself from the cocoon she had raised, and carefully kept for several years "for those who will become the crown princess in the future" to pray for the eternal good fortune of the crown prince and the crown princess and the peace of the royal family.
Every year on the morning of New Year's Day, four temporary four-square palaces are set up in the Shirasa South Temple of the Jinkaden Temple in the palace, and after the emperor has completed solemn ceremonies such as changing his robe and washing his hands, he worships to the four shrines of the four gods, Emperor Jinmu (Japan's first emperor), and the shrines of the emperors. This was a routine activity that began in the middle of the Heian period by Emperor Uta (who reigned from 887 to 897 AD), by offering blessings to the gods, praying for the elimination of natural disasters, abundant grains, and eternal throne and national peace. The inspiration for the "Sea of Sifang" carefully prepared by Princess Michiko for Princess Masako came from this "Sifang Worship", although Princess Michiko came from the people, but after marrying into the imperial palace, the focus of her heart was still the eternity of the imperial throne and the peace of the country's citizens.
Feast Ceremony
In general, after "Natsai の儀", the Tenzo will hold a dinner party, which means to marry each other and get along with each other with the Tenzo as the center.
A month after Princess Michiko, Emperor Hirohito and the Empress Dowager invited Michiko and her parents to tea in the temporary palace of the Imperial Palace, but they did not have dinner together.
When it came to Princess Kiko, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko invited her family to dinner together immediately after "Natsai の儀", but Princess Kiko married the Miyaji family after all, and the specific plot was not much disclosed.
The treatment of Princess Masako was different, and before the "Natsai no 偮儀", that is, just after the engagement, the Tenko Imperial Court carefully arranged a dinner party, inviting Masako's parents and twin sisters, as well as the relatives of the Tenko family (the Ikeda family, the Shimadzu family, the Higashihisa family, and the Ren family), as well as Empress Michiko's parents, Shoda and his wife, and Princess Kiko's parents, Kawashima couple, to the imperial palace of the emperor and empress. Previously, there had never been a special case of a dinner party between the royal family and commoners, and according to the old royal reporter: "Such a thing is completely exceptional." ”
After the Crown Prince's wedding ceremony, there is a very important link, which is to hold a wine banquet to welcome all guests, which is called "饗Banquetの儀" in Japanese. The total cost of the marriage between Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako was 286 million yen, of which 178 million yen was spent on the "Raoban" no Princess. When Michiko was concubine, the wine banquet was held five times in three days; When Princess Ji Zifei, it was only twice a day; During the reign of Princess Masako, it was six times in three days and served 2,700 guests.
Concubine education
The three concubines were required to undergo "concubine education" before marrying into the palace, and the courses and times they received were very different. It can be said that Princess Michi is the most unfortunate, Princess Masako is the luckiest, and Princess Ji is the most relaxed.
Because Princess Michiko was the first commoner crown princess married to the Japanese imperial family, the palace paid too much attention to her "concubine education", which made Princess Michiko extremely nervous, and even caused anemia to faint.
Princess Masako's course is relatively simple, and the kind Empress Michiko knows that it is not easy for a commoner woman to enter the palace, and she is probably also a sincere child, and always gives the green light to Princess Masako. Irie's chief attendant, who was in charge of the "palace habits" course in Masako's education, wrote in his diary: "Kazuko Inoue, the female official of the Heavenly Imperial Family, who is good at understanding Empress Michiko's psychological activities, is placed in the camp of lecturers about palace ceremonies, and you can feel that the empress is thinking about Masako in all aspects.
Princess Masako herself asked for more waka to be added to the curriculum, because she was studying abroad in high school; Waka occupies a very important position in the imperial family, not only the beginning of the song party every New Year, but also the monthly "song of the month", plus the birthdays of the emperor and empress, the birth day of the Meiji emperor (cultural festival), etc., there are as many as 16 events in a year that require the singing of waka songs, which is a must-have cultivation for the crown prince.
Relatively speaking, Princess Ji only spent twenty-eight hours learning the etiquette and history necessary in the palace.
Among the three commoner concubines, Princess Michi took the lead in opening a difficult road to the palace, and the royal environment in which the later Princess Masako and Princess Kiko lived was much luckier than in the era of Princess Michi.
Beautiful Michiko in her youth (Empress of the Reiwa era of Japan)
Michiko in her youth (Empress of the Reiwa period of Japan)
Masako in her youth (Empress of the Reiwa period of Japan)
Masako in her youth (Empress of the Reiwa period of Japan)
Noriko in his youth (Princess Fumihito of Akishinomiya)