Photo: Imago / AFLO
Bypass OP & Throne Anniversary
Artful review of the year. While statesmen in the West initiate the New Year with ordinary speeches, the Japanese Emperor Akihito (79) traditionally publishes a very personal annual conclusion: He writes poetry .
Five of his "Waka Poems 2012" has been published by the Japanese Imperial Court. The poems were written in classical Chinese characters - one of the basic components of the Japanese writing system. Content and form are particularly artistic and difficult to translate appropriately.
In addition to his bypass surgery, Emperor Akihito engaged in the commemoration of the Great Quake of Fukushima, the throne of Queen Elizabeth (86), as well as visits to Okinawa and the ancient Meiji Imperial shrine.
The state of health of Emperor Akihito is known to be the best, so thanked the emperor with his poem equal to the many wishes for recovery:
'Concerned about me, my health, my surgery, so many people came to register in the recovery book, I am grateful for their thoughts.'
In his poem on Fukushima, Emperor Akihito shows his empathy: 'Met by disaster, now in a temporary shelter, live people, and I think how bitterly cold, will be the winter'.
He also lovingly remembers the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, with whom he was present. The pandanus trees on Okinawa and the shrine of the late Meiji emperor also evoke historical memories.
Granted something by the flower are these personal insights of Emperor Akihito, but the Japanese love the traditional arts and such a poem is sometimes more atmospheric than some novel ...
