Princess Aiko, the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, graduated from the Department of Japanese Language and Literature, Faculty of Letters, Gakushuin University on March 20. Nippon TV reporter interviewed her supervising professor.

Prior to the graduation, professor Nakano Takafumi who has overseen supervising her graduation thesis for about nine months talked about Princess Aiko’s perseverance shown in her thesis writing and her bright smile that livened up the atmosphere.

Professor Nakano Takafumi, who specializes in medieval Japanese literature, revealed that he called Princess Aiko “Toshinomiya-san” during classes and guidance, and repeatedly used the word “bright” to describe his impression of her.

He said he felt this way not only during the supervision of her graduation thesis, but also when she listened to other student’s presentations and made questions and comments during seminar exercises.

He also said Princess Aiko’s expression in such situations were often “smile,” and that “the image of Princess Aiko with a gentle smile is the most memorable.”

What was the “gentle Princess Aiko” like in her classes?

At Gakushuin University, it is said that after most classes, students are required to submit their impressions of the class they attended.

According to Prof. Nakano, Princess Aiko “almost always wrote her answers and impressions after thinking hard until just before the submission deadline.” 

He was impressed not only by the novelty of her viewpoints and the soundness of her arguments, but also by “her sincere attitude in trying to write thoughtful sentences with her own words, while keeping an eye on many things until the very end.

As an example of such “perseverance,” Prof. Nakano revealed that when he set the deadline for her class’s impression responses to 11:59 p.m., two days later, Princess Aiko submitted her response just before 11:00 p.m.

And “the content was wonderful,” the professor said with a smile.

“The same could be said for her graduation thesis and term papers,” Prof. Nakano said.

“In terms of what Princess Aiko was particular about, I think it was the fact that she took the time to write in her own words until the very end, in order to make it even better.”

He then re-emphasized, “What I remember most is her determination and perseverance in trying to make her thesis better, even at the very end, just before the deadline.”

Prof. Nakano’s first impression of Princess Aiko, who was so “persistent,” was that she was “a bright person, a bright student.” 

Prof. Nakano said he was initially nervous about supervising Princess Aiko’s graduation thesis, but there was a time when he felt that she was deliberately trying to lighten the mood.

Princess Aiko herself brought up the fact that she tends to submit her assignments, such as her impression of classes, just before the deadline, and said, “I’m a slow responder. I wonder if all the teachers think I’m a slow responder” which made Prof. Nakano laugh involuntarily, and Princess Aiko laughed along with him.

Prof. Nakano said that this helped him relax and that his subsequent guidance sessions with her became more relaxed and interactive.

Prof. Nakano also said that he tried not to treat Princess Aiko any differently from other students, and that he rarely thought of her as someone special.

He explained that this was because “she is a very bright and cheerful person, and I think she herself created such an atmosphere.”

The trigger for Princess Aiko to choose “Medieval Waka” as the theme of her graduation thesis was that she learned about medieval anthologies and uta-awase in her classes, and it is said that the subjects of her research included internal princesses and emperors who were directly related to Princess Aiko herself.

In writing her graduation thesis, Princess Aiko had individual interviews with her professor in his research room for about 30 minutes to 1 hour each time, once every two weeks from March to December last year, and in these interviews, she worked out the direction and schedule of her thesis.

Princess Aiko was one of the students who had the most interviews with her thesis advisor, and Prof. Nakano said that it showed her “sincere attitude toward learning.”

He also praised Princess Aiko’s completed graduation thesis as “a wonderful work that demonstrates a good understanding of the current issues in waka literature studies and adds her own original insights.”

Princess Aiko joined the Japanese Red Cross Society in April.

Regarding her career after graduating from university, Prof. Nakano revealed, “There have been various reports, so I thought it would be inappropriate for me to ask, so I only asked her once.” It was before the deadline for graduate school entrance exams.

When Prof. Nakano, as her academic advisor, asked her if she intends to go to graduate school, Princess Aiko replied, “I don’t plan to go to graduate school at the moment.”

Prof. Nakano said that during his classes and thesis supervision, he had many discussions with Princess Aiko about “what it means to inherit classical literature.”

He recalled that the topic of “inheriting classical literature does not mean simply preserving it, but rather making use of it in our current expressions and so on” came up many times.

“I think she has learned about literature, customs, and the imperial family itself, and how they have been passed down over a long period of time, so I hope that she will make use of this knowledge,” he said, expressing his thoughts as a professor of classical literature on Princess Aiko’s future activities as a member of the imperial family.

Finally, Prof. Nakano said, “I have enjoyed learning and deepening my research with Princess Aiko for the past year, and I would like to express my deepest gratitude for that.”  He also said, “I mentioned that her smile is impressive, and I hope to see her continue to show such a smile in the future,” sending his encouragement to Princess Aiko for her future.