When Crown Prince Akishino was young, he said, "I hope my position in the Imperial line of succession will fall," according to a former classmate.
The classmate said the crown prince thought his brother's family would continue the Imperial line and that he would become a bridge between the Imperial family and the people.
However, no boy with the right of succession to the Imperial throne was born to the family of then-Crown Prince Naruhito in the Heisei era (1989-2019). In September 2006, Prince Hisahito was born to the Akishino house, the first Imperial prince in 41 years.
Around that time, Crown Prince Akishino reportedly said, "I have to maintain Japanese tradition."
"Hearing him say this, I felt that he was prepared to shoulder the future of the Imperial family," the former classmate said.
Crown Prince Akishino once said, "The education I received is totally different from my brother's."
In the Imperial household, children and grandchildren who will one day succeed to the throne are carefully educated. Emperor Showa was taught by the greatest scholars of the day at the Togu Gogakumon Sho special school when he was crown prince.
Since the end of World War II, Imperial princes have been taught at schools, in principle. However, Shinzo Koizumi, the former head of Keio University, served as a tutor for the Emperor Emeritus, and there were chamberlains to take care of the Emperor and Crown Prince Akishino when they were children.
In particular, the Emperor learned from scholars about the achievements of past emperors, the Constitution, the war history in the Showa era (1926-1989) and other subjects. Kazuo Oda, 85, who maintains close relations with the Emperor Emeritus, said, "The Emperor Emeritus treated his eldest son, now the Emperor, as a future emperor, while he showed his honest affection to his second son Crown Prince Akishino."
Prince Hisahito, now in the second year of junior high school, does not have a special tutor. Several years ago, an official close to the Imperial Household Agency proposed providing Prince Hisahito with teaching related to becoming emperor. However, Crown Prince Akishino reportedly expressed skepticism, saying, "I'm not sure whether special teaching is really beneficial."
Ochanomizu University Elementary School and Junior High School were chosen for Prince Hisahito, not Gakushuin University where past Imperial family members learned. One of Crown Prince Akishino's close aides said, "I think Crown Prince Akishino hoped his son would become able to see things from the people's perspective, while avoiding special treatment."
Regarding the education of Prince Hisahito, Crown Prince Akishino prioritizes hands-on experience.
During summer holidays, Crown Prince Akishino travels around regional cities with Prince Hisahito to experience the nature and culture of each region. In August last year, they visited Bhutan and rode mules in highlands at an elevation of 3,500 meters.
During the trip, they met with a prince of Bhutan's royal family. Kazunobu Ikeya, a professor at the National Museum of Ethnology who accompanied them, said, "Crown Prince Akishino appears to try to demonstrate the way he lives not through words, but by experiencing things together with his son."
Crown Prince Akishino also passes on memories of the war. He and his wife Princess Kiko have visited Okinawa, Nagasaki, Hiroshima and Tokyo's Ogasawara Islands with their son. They invited a specialist in the history of the Showa era to their home and heard a lecture.
There is another kind of "education" that has been passed down within the Imperial family, which is to do academic research. Emperor Showa studied hydrozoans, a marine creature, the Emperor Emeritus has studied gobioid fishes and Crown Prince Akishino catfish and chickens.
When the Emperor Emeritus was crown prince, he talked about the importance of continuing to pursue research, saying, "It helps me enrich my inner world and improve myself."
Prince Hisahito also is interested in living things and has been doing research for a few years on dragonflies at the Akasaka Estate where he lives.
Hideya Kawanishi, an associate professor at Nagoya University on Japanese modern history, said: "Prince Hisahito is acquiring the education necessary for acting as a symbolic emperor who stands with the people. However, having a perspective based on an understanding of Japan's long history and culture is also important for an emperor, and such things need to be learned from experts as [the prince] matures."
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