Princess Aiko Visits Exhibition as Her 1st Solo Official Duty; Observes Ancient Literary Manuscripts

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:00 JST, May 12, 2024

Princess Aiko, the only child of the Emperor and Empress, visited the National Archives of Japan in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on Saturday to observe the special exhibition of ancient literary manuscripts themed around dreams. This is the princess’s first time attending official duties alone.

Princess Aiko studied classical literature at university. The current exhibition has 39 items on display, including literary manuscripts from about 1,000 years ago.

While looking at a rare commentary of The Tale of Genji, believed to be the world’s oldest full-length novel, she asked the guiding staffer, “How many years did it take for this to be written?”