Japan Completes Full Records of Empress Kojun

Tokyo, Sept. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Imperial Household Agency said Friday that it has completed full official records of Empress Kojun, the wife of former Emperor Hirohito, posthumously called Emperor Showa. The agency plans to release all the content of the records Oct. 9. In an unprecedented move for such Imperial records, the agency will disclose the entirety of the content on its website. It took 17 years to complete the full records for the paternal grandmother of Emperor Naruhito. The records detail the life of Empress Kojun, as former Empress Nagako is posthumously known. She went through the turbulent period including World War II with Emperor Showa, whose status changed to a symbol of the country from generalissimo before and during the war. On Thursday evening, a copy of the records was handed to Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako by Yasuhiko Nishimura, grand steward of the agency, at their residence in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Another copy was given to Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko at their residence Friday morning. The Emperor Emeritus is a son of Empress Kojun. According to the agency’s Archives and Mausolea Department, the records show in chronological order events from her birth in 1903 to her death and funeral in 2000. The records consist of 13 B5 size books, including one volume of table of contents and explanatory notes, with a total of 3,828 pages. They are bound in traditional Japanese style. The size is about one-third the length of the records of Emperor Showa, completed in 2014, which have 12,137 pages. Both were written in colloquial style in principle. Work to compile Empress Kojun’s records started in 2008 and was completed in March this year, about five year later than planned. The process was extended because it overlapped the compilation of official full records of Emperor Showa. The agency began the bookbinding work for Empress Kojun’s records in April. For the compilation, the agency utilized some 1,500 sets of materials including the diaries of servants and other staff, official documents preserved in and outside the agency and newspapers. The agency also spoke with 30 staff members including former aides for information. A total of 42 agency officials took part in the production. Related costs, including for printing and the gathering of materials but not personnel expenses, reached 55.9 million yen. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]