本の紹介

未読だが、一読の価値のありそうな本の紹介を。皇室のバカらしさってのがよく分かりそうなので。いつか、天皇制についてはじっくり書かないといけないと思っていた。ヒルズ記者ははっきり、雅子は鬱病＝depression だって書いている。しかもdeepだと。これが、外国人記者の客観的な観察なんだろう。皇室が、日本の家族のモデルなら、全国の女性は鬱病になってしまうわけか。馬鹿馬鹿しい！


題名　雅子王妃　菊の棘の牢獄　日本皇后の悲劇の真実　ベン・ヒルズ

Princess Masako
Prisoner of the Chrysanthemum Throne
The Tragic True Story of Japan’s Crown Princess
By Ben Hills

A brilliant woman sacrifices her career to marry a love-struck prince. Inevitably, the fairy-story turns to tragedy when Masako Owada is unable to adjust to the pressures of living in Japan's ancient imperial court. It was feared that the royal dynasty, the world's oldest with a 2600-year-history, would die out if Masako and Crown Prince Naruhito could not bear a boy - but after 13 years of marriage, both are now in their 40s and have only a daughter, little Aiko, born with the help of IVF. Even the birth this year of a new son and heir to her sister-in-law Princess Kiko has done little to relieve Masako's stress - and has only postponed for a generation the vexed issue of changing the law to allow a woman to inherit the throne.
Inevitably, the strain of it all has had a terrible impact on Masako. She has been afflicted with painful shingles, and is suffering from deep depression - although the palace will not admit it. There has been talk of divorce, though no royal has ever divorced in Japan's history. Some say the prince is considering renouncing the throne for his love - leaving the crown to his brother. The Emperor is ailing with cancer, and the imperial system is in crisis.
This book draws on more than a year of research in Tokyo and rural Japan, Oxford, Harvard, Sydney and Melbourne. It involved more than 60 interviews with Australian, Japanese, American and English sources - Masako's and Naruhito's friends, teachers and former colleagues - many of whom have never spoken publicly before. It explores, for the first time, the 'Australian connection' with the royal couple. It includes intimate portraits of Masako and Naruhito from childhood to marriage and beyond; a look behind the 'Chrysanthemum Curtain' to the arcane world of the Japanese royal family, where vestal virgins still preside at Shinto rites and the position of royal stool inspector was only recently abolished. Through their love affair it opens a window on Japanese attitudes towards parenting, mental illness, the role of women, and the place of the monarchy.
Princess Masako asks and answers many questions which can never be raised in Japan because of the reverence in which the Emperor and his family are held. What is the real reason Masako had to abandon her studies at Oxford ? Why did Kunaicho, the powerful bureaucrats of the Imperial Household Agency, oppose the marriage ? Who are the shadowy figures who persuaded Masako to give up her career and marry the prince ? Why is there such secrecy over the couple's use of IVF, and Masako's mental illness ? What does the future hold for the star-crossed couple - and for the survival of the monarchy.
But above all it is the story of a romance gone wrong, an Oriental Charles and Diana story which neither will survive undamaged, but from which neither seems capable of escaping.
Princess Masako was published in Australia by Random House on November 1 2006. It will be published in January 2007 in the US by Penguin, and a Japanese language edition is to be published shortly in Tokyo by Kodansha. Other European rights are being negotiated. If you have any difficulty obtaining a copy, contact Ben at info@benhills.com