TMCnet News
Emperor reflects on Norway visit in New Year poem+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TOKYO, Jan. 12_(Kyodo) _ Emperor Akihito reflected on his visit to Norway last year, which marked the 100th anniversary of the start of Japan's diplomatic relations with the country, in a poem recited at the annual New Year poetry reading held Thursday at the Imperial Palace. This year's theme for the "waka" poems was "smile." The emperor described in the poem the time he and Empress Michiko spent in Trondheim, the old capital of Norway, in May, where they cruised a canal in a boat with Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit. The emperor's poem is translated as: At Trondheim Cruising along the canal, From the windows Of houses are people Seen smiling and waving hands. The emperor's poem, poems composed by other members of the imperial family and 10 poems chosen from 24,334 entries from the public were recited in the traditional style at the reading. Empress Michiko composed a poem regarding her visit with the emperor to Kobe in January last year, the 10th anniversary of the Great Hanshin Earthquake. The imperial couple observed then how the urban areas were restored after the major earthquake, which took the lives of more than 6,400 people. The empress's poem is translated as: Exchanging smiles But soon the tears are brimming Thinking of the pain Brought to each one I see As I go through the restored city The Imperial Household Agency, which provided the English translation of the two poems, said the empress composed the poem after she was moved to tears thinking about the hardships that the people have had to overcome, while sharing her happiness about the restoration efforts. Crown Princess Masako, who is recuperating from a stress-related illness, was absent from the ceremony but submitted a poem about her 4-year-old daughter Princess Aiko when she was spending time with other children around her age. Waka poetry was developed by the court aristocracy in the sixth century and consists of 31 syllables in a pattern of 5-7-5-7-7. |