Emperor Naruhito expresses hope for peaceful year in New Year’s poetry

Emperor Naruhito of Japan has expressed his hope for a peaceful year in a New Year’s poem read at the annual New Year’s poetry gathering.

His poem reads:

“Watching the morning star

Shining high in the sky

I pray sincerely for

Peace in the new year”

The theme for this year’s poetry gathering was “明” Mei (Bright).

Poems by Empress Masako and Princess Aiko were also read. The Empress wrote about her experience at the Tokyo Deaflympics. She wrote:

“With medals around their necks

The athletes are beaming with joy

Using sign language I convey to them

“Congratulations””

Princess Aiko wrote about her first foreign solo trip to Laos:

“The bright and lively voices

Of the young Laotian students of Japanese

Fill the classroom cheerfully”

This year’s poetry gathering was also attended for the first time by Prince Hisahito. In another first, the “meshiudo” (servant) who was invited to perform for the Emperor was Peter MacMillan, an Irish-born scholar and translator of Japanese literature. The Imperial Household Agency stated that this is the first time that a foreigner has served as meshiudo.