Tomoshibi Light Collected Poetry by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko

Japan's Imperial line is thought to be the oldest in the world, & its associations with poetry can be traced back to its most ancient beginnings. For centuries the Japanese court has patronized the poetic art & participated in the composition of the traditional native verse form known as the "waka." Emperor Akihito & Empress Michiko inherit this remarkable legacy & have preserved it with personal enthusiasm & literary mastery. Many of the Emperor's 166 poems & the Empress's 140 poems collected here were composed during their travels as good-will ambassadors for the Japanese people, while they were Crown Prince & Princess, before their enthronement in 1990. Other poems were written for the annual New Year's Poetry Reading, & still others were composed to mark special events in the Japanese calendar or to record recollections of remarkable people. Painstakingly translated & annotated, the poems in "Tomoshibi" are indeed illuminating, revealing not only the depth & resonance of the Japanese poetic tradition but also of the characters & sensibilities of the Emperor & Empress with the immediacy that is poetry's special gift.Emperor Akihito is the author of 'Tomoshibi Light Collected Poetry by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko', published 1991 under ISBN 9780834802377 and ISBN 0834802376.