Chapter 36

36

Tōgū Palace is exactly as it was before. Mariko is reinstalled, and it’s as if I never left. God, I am blessed to have two places to call home. Mount Shasta, Tokyo—both are a part of me and not just separate pieces anymore. They’re braided together, tangled up, inseparable.

Forty-eight hours after our arrival, I’m sitting in the living room. Dad is present, but Mom is on a walk. Don’t want our visitors to see her. The room is abuzz. Chamberlains in their best suits are in varying states of worry. Imperial staff dart in and out, offering refreshments. My new guard is also present—a man with a wide jaw and a predilection for wearing sunglasses indoors, who looks as if he’s chewing wasps. Then, there is the press—Yui Sato and her photographer. Yui is the executive editor of Women Now!, a small boutique magazine with a good circulation and known for being progressive on women’s issues. This is my idea. There’s a saying: if you can’t beat them, join them. It’s unprecedented. An exclusive interview with a member of the imperial family, by a reporter outside of the elite Imperial Press Club. Mr. Fuchigami came through with a selection of women’s magazines for me to choose from, fanning them out on the dining table.

Mariko dusts a final coating of blush on my cheeks. The interview will appear in print, and pictures will accompany it. The photographer snaps a couple of warm-up shots. It’s been agreed all pictures will be approved by the Imperial Household Agency. We’ll have a chance to preview the article, but not for approval—whatever Women Now! says, goes. “Are you sure this is what you want to wear?” Mariko bites her lower lip. This is the fourth time she’s checked my wardrobe choice.

I smooth a hand down my navy skirt and check the pearl buttons on my cardigan. Underneath, I’m sporting my Riots, Not Diets T-shirt, though it’s hard to see the writing. That’s okay. I know it’s there.

Yui bows low. “Thank you for this honor, Your Highness.”

I incline my head, then stick out a hand for her to shake. A beat passes before she takes it. Her grip is strong and self-assured. Self-doubt kicks in. I question my choices here. My sanity. What am I doing? What have I gotten myself into? Instead of pushing my fear away, I allow it in to roam free, sniff around, see there is no danger as long as I tell the truth.

Yui settles onto the couch. An assistant hands her notes. I haven’t seen any of the questions ahead of time, and neither has Mr. Fuchigami. Mariko steps away. When we start, there won’t be any interruptions—also agreed upon. The first half will be just me. In the next half, my father will join us.

The photographer raises his camera. I paste on a smile. My posture is strong. God grant me the confidence of someone having an entire conversation on speakerphone in public.

“Ready?” Yui asks, eyes shrewd. She won’t go easy on me. I don’t want her to. I’m up for it. I’ve stepped out of the Mount Shasta lane, skipped over the princess road, and on to a path of my own making. From here on out, I’ll blaze my own trail. It won’t be easy to balance imperial responsibilities, uphold traditions, and stay true to myself. But it can be done. I will it to be so.

I nod. “Let’s begin.”

---

The interview took most of the morning. Yui asked some hard questions. I think I answered well. We’ll see when the magazine hits the stands in a few days. Summer has descended on Tokyo, sticky and sweet. Despite the afternoon heat, I decide to take a walk. Guess I’m not so adverse to using my two feet after all. A girl has a right to change her mind. Don’t try to paint me into a corner. Evolving is part of life.

Mom and Dad are having lunch in the city. A restaurant has been shut down for them. NDAs were signed, it was a whole thing. I was invited to join them, but I declined.

Instead, I trudge through the property, new imperial guard behind me. I’m deep in exploration when footsteps pound behind me. The Shining Twins approach. They wear coordinated running gear. Their hair is slicked back into sleek ponytails. They glisten with sweat, and their cheeks are an appealing shade of pink. They brake in unison. Still so creepy. I’ll never get used to it.

“Cousin,” Noriko says.

“Heard you gave an interview this morning,” Akiko says.

I know what’s around the corner. A threat. Noriko runs a tongue over her teeth. “If you said anything about our mother…”

I’m kind of over the whole family feud thing. “Yeah, yeah, you’ll destroy me. Seems to me you’ve already done your worst, though.”

They look at each other, then focus back on me. “What do you mean?” asks Noriko.

She must think I’m totally clueless. “I mean, snapping pictures of me and Akio. Giving them to the Tattler has got to be a new low for you.”

Akiko’s face screws up. “We didn’t give pictures to the tabloids.”

“Right.” My voice is loaded with sarcasm. I cross my arms. My imperial guard stands by, hands folded in front of him. The Shining Twins also have a pair of guards close. Wonder what they would do if we threw down.

“Seriously,” Noriko says.

“I totally believe you.” I totally don’t, and it’s clear by my tone.

Akiko says. “Ugh. You think we’d actually talk to the tabloids? They’ve been horrible to our mother. To us. We’d never subject someone to the same treatment.”

I cast an eye at both of them. Their posture is relaxed. They’re certainly not acting shifty. Either they have a sociopathic level of dishonesty, or they’re telling the truth. It does make sense.… I remember how protective they were of their mother on the emperor’s birthday. Maybe they really do hate the tabloids.

After a while, Noriko speaks. “We almost felt sorry for you.” She says it like she finds it very annoying. You know, being a human and all.

“Believe us or not, we didn’t rat you out,” Akiko says.

They trot off, bony shoulders bumping into me as they go. Their imperial guards follow.

“If you didn’t do it, then who did?” I holler after them, rubbing my shoulders.

Noriko turns, jogging backward. “No idea.”

It’s all the help I get from them. I watch until they disappear. I pop out my phone and text the AGG right away.

Me

Just ran into the Shining Twins. They say they didn’t sell me out.

Hansani

What?

Noora

You believe them?

Me

Yeah, they were all like, we’d never do that. Have you seen what the tabloids have done to our mother?

Glory

Plot twist!

Noora

If they didn’t do it, who did?

I think it over. The articles cited a palace insider. I’d naturally assumed it was the Shining Twins. But it could have been someone else in the family.… I flinch at the thought of a certain person. The only other person who had such unfettered access to me. It’s as if I’ve been punched in the gut.

---

Twenty minutes later, I’m at my Auntie and Uncle’s house. I circle around and, lo and behold, Yoshi is in the front yard sunning himself, ridiculous drink with an umbrella on a nearby table.

“Stay here,” I tell my guard. “You’re not going to want to see this.” Reina is also on hand. I give her a jerky wave. As I approach, Yoshi smiles. I see through it.

“I heard you were back. Come, sit. Have a drink.” He gestures to the chair beside him. His chest is covered in some type of oil and completely hairless.

“No, thanks. It’s not even noon.” At my harsh voice, his smile fades.

“You’re in a mood,” he says.

“Why’d you do it?” I ask, hands balling into fists.

“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.” He settles back on the lounger, tipping his chin to the sun.

“Why did you sell those photos to the tabloids?” I was supposed to be safe with him.

“Oh. That,” he says softly. A long time passes. The sun heats my head. The air smells of pine and suntan oil. “Why does anybody do anything? Money.” He shrugs. “I needed income besides that provided by the imperial family. Do you know that, as a prince, I really don’t have any marketable skills?”

I release a long breath. It helps that he doesn’t deny it. That I won’t have to strangle the truth out of him. “I thought you were my friend.” The hurt is evident in my slouching shoulders, in my wavering voice, in my watering eyes.

Yoshi sits up, takes off his sunglasses. He hangs his head. “I am your friend. Or at least, I was your friend. I didn’t plan to like you as much as I did. I wish things were different. But…” He shakes his head. “You don’t know what it’s like growing up here. What a burden it is—someone always telling you what to do, where to go. It’s no life at all.” He slips on the sunglasses again, shutting me out. Polished, carefree Yoshi is back. It’s a neat trick, this mask he wears. I thought it was a cover for a soft inside. But now I see. He’s just a sad, lost boy who will do anything to get what he wants. “Besides, I did you a favor. You said you wanted to go home.”

My stomach turns with nausea. Absolutely sick. He hurt me. He hurt Akio. Lives were ruined in his quest for a payday. So he could afford—what, an apartment? A private chef? “That was my decision to make.”

“Izumi.” He tsks. “What’s done is done. My valet is packing as we speak. I’ll be moving out as soon as my new apartment can be cleaned and furnished.” His eyebrows draw in. “For what it’s worth, I am sorry. If the circumstances had been different…”

“Yeah, I’m sorry, too.” It’s for different reasons. I’m sorry I trusted him. I’m sorry he’s such a spoiled brat. I start to walk away. I’m not letting him off the hook. I’m letting myself off the hook. He’s the one who has to live with himself. My conscience is clear. I don’t really want to be anywhere near him right now. Only … A question bubbles up. “The letter. Did you deliver it?”

I know the answer before he says anything. Yoshi shakes his head once. “But I didn’t sell it to the tabloids either. I could’ve gotten a lot for it. You want it back?”

I swallow, feeling the empty space in my heart where I kept Yoshi. “Throw it away,” I say. Delivered or undelivered, it doesn’t matter. What would have changed if Akio had gotten my letter? Nothing. He lost his job, his legacy, and the pride of his family. I hurt him. Badly. I still have everything, and he has nothing.

Yoshi’s jaw clenches. “Reina!” he yells. “I need you. Come lotion my back.”

Reina’s scowl is ferocious as she walks toward us. She’s seen everything. Probably already knew all her boss’s dirty little secrets, all the games he’s played. I wonder if she’s as disgusted by him as I am. I think she is. I think I know a way to punish Yoshi.

“Reina,” I say loud and clear. She peers at me. “Have you ever thought of working for an aspiring self-actualized princess who makes lots of mistakes but keeps life interesting and would never sexually harass you?”

Reina swallows. Ever so carefully, she places the tube of lotion down. “Your Highness, are you offering me a job?”

I jut my chin out. “Think about it.”

WOMEN NOW!

Her Imperial Highness Princess Izumi, The Iron Butterfly

June 21, 2021

Hounded by the tabloids until they exposed her alleged affair, HIH Princess Izumi fled Tokyo. Now, she’s back, and she has something to say. In an unprecedented interview, HIH Princess Izumi sits down with executive editor Yui Sato to discuss her childhood, finding out she’s a princess, discovering her culture, learning a second language, falling in love, and a future full of possibilities.

It began with a book about rare orchids, Her Imperial Highness Princess Izumi says. She sits straight, legs crossed at the ankles, hands folded in her lap. She cuts a regal profile, even though her upbringing was not. There are hints to her sun-drenched California roots—a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose, a reddish highlight in her hair, a genuine warmth radiating from within. She is grounded yet bubbly, almost effervescent, especially when describing her mother and friends back home. “My friend was the one who found the inscription in the book.” It was a poem from her father, The Crown Prince of Japan. He penned it eighteen years ago to Princess Izumi’s mother, Hanako Tanaka.

For over two decades, rumors have swirled about the Crown Prince’s love life. An avid outdoorsman who enjoys skiing and mountaineering, he has had his fair share of high-profile romances, the most recent with Japanese British-born Hina Hirotomo, whose family can trace their lineage back to powerful daimyos and viscounts before the banishment of nobles in Japan. His love life is, and continues to be, of great concern to the Imperial Household Agency. There is pressure for Crown Prince Toshihito to provide a legitimate male heir. Though the imperial family recognizes Princess Izumi as a member, she is neither legitimate nor a male. Questions have arisen about the line of succession and altering the law to include women. Princess Izumi has a response to this, but more on that later.

At this point in the story, she’s found her father, or who she believes to be her father. “My friend is an excellent detective, and through her skills, she was able to track him down. She started with the Harvard registrar, but a regular old Google search ended up being how she found him.” Princess Izumi’s mother is a Harvard alumni and distinguished college professor of biology, but the princess doesn’t share her mother’s passion for science. “I am afraid I am aggressively average,” she shares enthusiastically.

“It was pretty obvious as soon as we saw the Crown Prince and my father’s photos. I have been told I resemble him.” She does. It’s in her nose and her high cheekbones. “My mother gave me the email of a mutual friend they shared in college. I drafted a short letter…” She shrugs. The rest is history. A week later, press had gotten hold of the story, and Princess Izumi was on her way to Japan. What happened next was a series of follies.

“My transition to Japan wasn’t seamless,” the Princess says unabashedly. “Far from it, actually.” Though she looked forward to reconnecting to Japan—she has a special fondness of dorayaki—the princess faced many hurdles. Chief among them was her decidedly American upbringing. “It felt like coming home but not at the same time. Growing up Japanese in the States wasn’t easy. I struggled with my identity living in a mostly white town. So when I came to Japan, my expectations were high and not exactly reasonable. I may never achieve the knowledge and cultural awareness as someone born here [Japan]. I am a foreigner, but also not a foreigner. It’s a bit of a paradox.” Adding to her difficulties is a distinct language barrier. Princess Izumi’s Japanese is improving, but when she first arrived, she had no grasp on the language at all. “After World War II [The Pacific War], my grandparents stopped speaking Japanese. They wanted to fully assimilate into America. They died before I was born. So much of my history was lost.”

Tabloids were merciless in exposing the Princess’s cultural faux pas. “It was hurtful to hear, but also useful. I am constantly learning, which means I will make more mistakes. All I ask is for people to be patient with me. I am working hard to be worthy of this institution and at the same time remain true to myself. It’s a delicate balance,” she says. “I am my mother and father’s daughter.”

Her biggest transgression was her relationship with imperial guard Akio Kobayashi. Leaked photos of them embracing and caught in a torrid kiss violated two norms—affection in public and a member of the imperial family dating far below her station. “Technically, the photographs were of private moments. I won’t deny they happened. But I also won’t go into any detail.” So, are the guard and the princess still an item? “While I agree most of my life is public and will play out in the media, I am committed to keeping some moments to myself, in particular those regarding my love life, at least until I am ready to share. But I would like to apologize to Mr. Kobayashi and his family. It was never my intention for the press to find out, and I am sorry for any harm it caused. In addition, I’d like to set the record straight. The tabloids painted Mr. Kobayashi in a very bad light. The relationship progressed evenly on both sides. I was not taken advantage of. For a while, we made each other very happy.” Her voice is wistful—the tone of someone who has loved and lost.

One person the princess doesn’t speak much about is her mother, Hanako Tanaka. “My mother is very private,” she says. “But I will tell you she is a wonderful parent—compassionate, kind, and giving.” On a possible reconciliation between the Crown Prince and her mother, the princess stays silent, directing the conversation to the topic of her first meeting with the emperor and empress. “I was very nervous,” she admits. “But honored at the same time. We made small talk at first and I think that was their way of putting me at ease.”

When asked if the emperor and empress disapproved of their son’s affair and child, imperial royal biographer and winner of the Osaragi Jiro Prize for his book, Emperor Takehito: The Man and His People, Terry Newman, said, “The empress is known for a desire to be progressive on women’s issues, including children born out of wedlock, something frowned upon until the last three decades. She is also open-minded, having grown up in a similar situation to her new granddaughter. The empress was born in a poor village and didn’t know a thing about court life until she accidentally met the then–Crown Prince at university. She was there on a scholarship. More than anything, the emperor and empress are extremely family-oriented. They made headlines when they decided to break tradition and raise their children in their own home. Admittedly, the stakes are a bit lower for the princess. If she’d been male, then there would be more concern on whether he could inherit the throne as an illegitimate child.”

What about Princess Izumi? There have been discussions in the past about a female inheriting the Chrysanthemum throne. Could she picture herself as empress? “I don’t know,” she says, completely forthright. “I’m just trying to get a hang of being a princess for now.”

Whatever the future holds for HIH Princess Izumi, one thing is sure: her father approves. But more importantly, it seems this Princess approves of herself. That’s something we can all applaud.

Read next week for part two of the article, where HIH Crown Prince Toshihito joins the conversation.