Photo/Illutration Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako meet with shogi player Hifumi Kato, far right, and singer Yumi Matsutoya, second from right, at the autumn garden party held in Tokyo on Nov. 2. (Tatsuya Shimada)

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako on Nov. 2 attended the first autumn party held at the Akasaka Imperial Garden in Tokyo since the Reiwa Era started in 2019.

On an unusually warm November day, the imperial couple mingled with some of the 1,000 guests, including singer-songwriter Yumi Matsutoya, at the garden in the Moto-Akasaka district of Minato Ward.

Naruhito brought up the name of a song Matsutoya wrote and sang, which surprised the artist because it was from 1976.

“I was extremely happy that he mentioned my song,” Matsutoya told reporters after the event. “I was overcome by emotion just by being able to converse so closely with them.”

Matsutoya added that she was also amazed that Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko remembered her songs they listened to when they were college students.

Veteran shogi player Hifumi Kato talked to the imperial couple not about himself but Sota Fujii, the young prodigy who recently became the first player to monopolize all eight major shogi titles.

Kato said Fujii’s achievements had created greater public interest in the traditional Japanese board game.

Naruhito praised Fujii for his efforts.

Both Matsutoya and Kato were named Persons of Cultural Merit last year.

(This article was written by Ryota Goto, Ariha Noma and Akiko Tada.)

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