Profile of Japan's Empress Emeritus Michiko, who will have surgery for breast cancer

Record ID: 1430347

  • Title: Profile of Japan's Empress Emeritus Michiko, who will have surgery for breast cancer
  • Date: 9th August 2019
  • Summary: The willowy Michiko, who is taller than the emperor and has always stooped slightly beside him, grew thin and pale as she tried to adjust to the rigid life within the palace and what was said to be bullying by courtiers, as well as her mother-in-law. It reportedly brought her close to a nervous breakdown. TOKYO, JAPAN (FILE - 1990) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) CROWD CHEERING MICHIKO AND AKIHITO LOOKING AT CROWD
  • Embargoed: 23rd August 2019 12:03
  • Keywords: file Akihito Japan profile Japanese Empress Michiko Empress Michiko royal Empress breast cancer
  • Location: TOKYO, IWO JIMA AND ISE, JAPAN / HANOI, VIETNAM
  • City: TOKYO, IWO JIMA AND ISE, JAPAN / HANOI, VIETNAM
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Royals
  • Reuters ID: LVA006ARIXA9Z
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Japan's Empress Emeritus Michiko is to have surgery on Sunday (September 8) after being diagnosed with an early-stage breast cancer, the Imperial Household Agency announced.
    Former Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko stepped down in April after three decades in their roles.
    An official of the Imperial Household Agency was not immediately available to comment.
    The most enduring image of the Empress Michiko for many Japanese is of her at her husband's side, whether dressed in slacks and a windbreaker at the ocean, waltzing with him at a party or, in their later years, with a hand at his arm in support.
    But this calm, almost cosy contentment was hard won for Michiko, who met the young Akihito on a tennis court and broke centuries of tradition by being the first commoner to marry into Japan's imperial family, which traditionalists say goes back more than 2,000 years.
    Hailed as a Cinderella figure when news of her engagement broke, the slender daughter of a wealthy industrialist endured reported bullying at the hands of court officials that saw her fade into a silent shadow of her former self several years after her marriage.
    But eventually she played an integral role in crafting the post-World War Two image of a royal family who tried to come as close as they could to ordinary Japanese.
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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