Empress Emerita Michiko, wife of Emperor Emeritus Akihito, celebrated her 90th birthday on Sunday while undergoing rehabilitation following a recent leg injury. A simplified celebration was to take place at the Sento Imperial Palace in Tokyo to mark the occasion.
The former empress sustained a fractured right femur after a fall at the palace on Oct. 6 and later underwent surgery at the University of Tokyo Hospital.
After a successful procedure, she was discharged on Oct. 13 and has since been focusing on rehabilitation, spending over an hour each day working toward regaining independent mobility. She is making steady progress and could eventually walk with the help of a cane, according to an aide.
The empress emerita is currently using a wheelchair and has paused her usual morning and evening walks. However, she has resumed her routine of reading books aloud with her husband each morning, a practice the couple restarted after her surgery. Together, they are now reading a book on the war in Okinawa by Shui Ikemiyagushiku.
She remains attentive to current events and has been especially disheartened by the struggles of those affected by the New Year’s Day earthquake that rocked the Noto Peninsula and the heavy rains that hit the region last month.
In early June, the empress emerita recovered from a mild case of COVID-19. After testing positive on June 3, she experienced symptoms such as coughing and throat discomfort but was able to remain at her residence in Tokyo’s Minato Ward rather than being hospitalized. She tested negative on June 10.
In April, she made her first public outing of the year, offering prayers at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo for the 110th anniversary of Empress Dowager Shoken’s passing.
The former empress also closely follows the lives of her imperial family members such as Princess Aiko, 22, the daughter and only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, as well as Prince Hisahito, 18, the son of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko. Additionally, she is particularly concerned about Princess Yuriko, 101, who has been hospitalized since March.
Michiko became the first commoner to marry into the imperial household in 1959 after meeting the then-crown prince at a tennis tournament around two years earlier in what has been dubbed the famous “love match” in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture.
Their wedding, viewed by millions on newly purchased televisions, helped bridge the gap between the imperial family and the public. This shift followed late Emperor Hirohito's post-World War II renunciation of the imperial family's divine status.
Born Michiko Shoda in Tokyo on October 20, 1934, the empress emerita is the eldest daughter of Hidesaburo and Fumiko Shoda. The Shoda family, distinguished in industrial and academic circles, includes two recipients of the prestigious Order of Culture.
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