(Note):
His Majesty the King of Norway, in 1964 when he was still Crown Prince, participated in the yachting competition held at Enoshima, as a member of the Norwegian team to the Tokyo Olympic Games.
(Note):
His Majesty the Emperor spent one year from July 1944 to July 1945 at Tamozawa Imperial Villa, in war-time evacuation.
Background:
With Spring well advanced on the plains of Bamian, the great stone statues are now seen no more. "If I take it that the destruction of the Buddha statues is a manifestation of the hatreds and intolerance lurking in the human heart, must it not be said that I too, all unaware, could have fired a shot?" Struck by such thoughts of awe and sorrow, Her Majesty composed this poem.
Reference:
In 1971 Her Majesty composed the following poem after going to Bamian in the company of His Majesty the Emperor during Their official visit to Afganistan. At that time, already the faces of the stone statues had been split off, but this time, the statues have been shot to pieces by the Taliban and utterly destroyed.
Background:
At the time of the opening of the country in the Meiji Era, His Majesty Emperor Meiji encouraged the people to seek wisdom far and wide and learn from foreign countries, but at the same time, he exhorted them to preserve and foster the thought and principles accumulated since ancient times in Japan. Her Majesty composed this poem in reverent homage to His effective guardianship of the country's foundations.
Reference:
In July 2000, for the occasion of the Eightieth Anniversary of the enshrining of Emperor Meiji at the Meiji Jingu, Their Majesties were requested to compose commemorative poems. But the demise of Empress Kojun occurred in June, and the dedication of the poems was deferred until this year.
Background:
In November this year, on a night when the first Winter stormwinds were blowing fiercely. Her Majesty's thoughts went out to the Crown Princess waiting for the day of giving birth.
Reference:
The Imperial baby arrived on the First of December.