Photo/Illutration Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako attend the New Year Poetry Reading held in the Matsu-no-Ma state room of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Jan. 19. (Pool)

Emperor Naruhito composed a poem unrelated to COVID-19 for the first time since the pandemic began at the New Year Poetry Reading at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Jan. 19.

Naruhito has visited all of Japan’s 47 prefectures, including when he was the crown prince. After ascending the throne, he and Empress Masako have visited 28 prefectures, including through online visits.

In his piece, he expressed the joy he felt from the warm reception he received from locals during each visit with Masako, along with his feelings of peace when he saw their smiles.

The poem read: “Wochikochi no/ Tabiji ni Aeru/ Hitobito no/ Egao wo Mireba/ Kokoro Nagominu” (Seeing the smiles of the people/ I meet during my many journeys/ Throughout the country/ Fills my heart with peace).

The annual ceremony was held in the Matsu-no-Ma state room of the palace.

For the past three years, attendees were asked to wear masks to protect against the novel coronavirus, but this year, the decision was left to the individuals.

The number of attendees, which had been limited during the pandemic, was increased to about one-third the number before the pandemic.

The event features reading of traditional “waka” poems written by imperial family members and guest poets, including 10 participants selected from 15,270 poems from Japan and abroad.

This year, all the pieces were written under the theme of “wa,” or harmony.

In her poem, Masako reflected on her daughter Princess Aiko’s school trip to Hiroshima Prefecture, a place she visited for the first time in her third year of junior high school.

Visiting the Atomic Bomb Dome and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum made Aiko realize the importance of peace, and her wish for it grew deeper. She expressed such deep feelings in her composition upon graduating from Gakushuin Girl’s Junior High School.

Always hoping for peace, Masako and Naruhito were deeply moved by Aiko’s graduation composition.

Masako expressed her hopes for the importance of peace to be passed down to the next generation and carried into the future.

Her poem read: “Hiroshima wo/ Hajimete toite/ Heiwa eno/ Fukaki Omoi wo/ Ako ha tsudureri” (How moved I was to read/ My daughter’s deep feelings for peace/ After her first visit/ To Hiroshima).

Aiko did not attend the poetry reading for the third consecutive year to study for her university classes, but she submitted a poem again this year.

She is a senior at the Faculty of Letters at Gakushuin University, majoring in Japanese language and literature.

She expressed how she was impressed to learn in her studies that waka poems composed between the 10th and 13th centuries have been passed on to people today, surviving nearly a millennium even through turbulent times.

The poem read: “Ikutose no/ Kataki Jidai wo/ Norikoete/ Waka no Kotoba ha/ Ware ni Hibikinu” (Surviving centuries of hardship/ The words of waka poems/ Touch my heart today).

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