The Japanese Empress Michiko (born October 20, 1934) is the wife of the current Emperor Akihito. She is the only girl of noble birth who has the strength to break the dynastic stereotypes of the Land of the Rising Sun and enter the ruling family through marriage to the crown prince.
Shoda Family
The Michiko family is still known in Japan and is revered in both industry and academia. The girl’s father, Hidesaburo Shёda, was president of a large flour grinding company in Tokyo. About Fumiko, the mother of the future empress, in RuNet there is very little information, but it can be assumed that she was a housewife and was engaged in raising children, of whom there were four in the family.
The Shod family is quite rich, because Michiko’s early childhood was cloudless, the girl did not need anything.
WWII
The war caught Michiko at a young age when she was still at the Funaba Elementary School in Tokyo. The family decided to send Fumiko with the children away from the city for their safety. So, the future Empress of Japan Michiko moved to the mountains with her younger brother and sister, and her father and older brother remained in Tokyo.
Here, the girl had to find out what hard work and responsibilities are, the fulfillment of which cannot be avoided. Michiko had to work hard: grow silk worms, mow grass for fertilizers and carry 4 kg of leaves daily to school, then to dry them.
The girl also took care of her younger brother, who at that time still needed milk, but Fumiko could no longer feed him. Because of this, the schoolgirl had to get goat milk, but the times were difficult, and she was not always able to do this. However, Fumiko herself solved this problem by buying a goat, removing from her daughter’s shoulders at least a tiny fraction of her duties.
Perhaps it is precisely because of the difficult period that has gone through that Empress Michiko sympathizes so much with the people of Japan, who consider her very empathic and open, devoid of the pathos that is inherent in all representatives of the nobility.
Post-war years
As soon as the war ended, Michiko was able to return to her hometown and continue her studies, first at school, then at Tokyo University, becoming the leader of the student movement. In the issue, the girl was recognized as the best, which cost her considerable work. After all, Tokyo University is still one of the most prestigious educational institutions, gathering under its roof not only the wealthiest, but also the most stubborn, ambitious and talented boys and girls from all over the country.
The stubbornness, willpower and extraordinary abilities shown at this time later helped the graduate. Thanks to them, Empress Michiko, whose photo is presented below, was able to survive other adversities and successfully enter the palace without shaming her family.
Meeting with Akihito and marriage
For the first time, a graduate of the University of Tokyo and the Crown Prince of the ruling dynasty met in 1957 on the tennis court of one of the Japanese resorts. Since then, an affair began between Akihito and Michiko, which lasted about a year and stirred up all the inhabitants of the imperial court.
However, it is not surprising that the young prince liked his future wife, because Empress Michiko in her youth was a very beautiful girl, and her persistent character of a true Japanese woman could not be ignored.
The Akihito family did not approve of his choice, since even before the war, the emperor of Japan was considered a living embodiment of God, and the high-born origin of his wife was not even discussed, being an indispensable and indisputable condition of marriage.
In favor of Michiko, new orders established after 1945 also played out, abolishing the polygamy of the ruler and the institution of concubines. Therefore, after the ultimatum posed by Akihito, who did not want to marry anyone else, except the current darling, everything was resolved by itself, because the imperial family had to continue. Thus, the marriage was approved and a wedding was held on April 10, 1959.
Universal recognition
Oddly enough, but ordinary people supported the conclusion of a marriage for love. Moreover, the future Empress Michiko became the idol of all Japan, although a few critics called not only to break this alliance, but also to ban those like him in law.
The marriage of the favorites of the Land of the Rising Sun caused a kind of "technological boom", which consists in the mass production of televisions. All this was for the sake of the inhabitants of Japan to be able to see this joyful event without leaving home.
But life was so cloudless only outside the imperial palace. Akihito’s choice was extremely upsetting for his mother, because for a very long time Michiko did not hear anything from her except reproaches. This led to severe depression, from which the girl escaped at the imperial cottage in Hayam. However, she managed to overcome herself and, together with her husband, began to regularly visit his parents, who ruled the country at that time.
Then the ex-leader of the student movement began to appear at receptions and simply in crowded places, communicating with the people and gaining his trust with its simplicity and optimism.
