With so much attention on the Japanese State Visit to the UK, you might not know that Emperor Naruhito studied in the UK and wrote a book about his two years at Oxford.
Emperor Naruhito studied at Merton College, Oxford University in the early 1980s but did not submit his thesis (A Study of Navigation and Traffic on the Upper Thames in the 18th Century) until 1989. He spent much of his time with European royals while studying in the UK.
His Imperial Majesty was not yet Crown Prince of Japan when he studied in Europe, and he explained the simple things he was able to enjoy like drinking beer and trying to enter a disco. The Thames and I provides a unique insight into the Japanese monarch.
The Emperor’s memoir, including personal photos he took, was released in 1992. It was later translated into English and published in 2019.
Ahead of the State Visit, the Emperor told the Japanese media: “I’m truly delighted to be able to make a visit to Britain this time.”
The long-awaited state visit was a chance for the Emperor to walk down memory lane, and you can read what his life was like in his younger years while studying at Oxford through his memoir.
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