Poems on Brightness Recited at Imperial New Year’s Reading; Prince Hisahito Makes His Debut at Annual Event

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:10 JST, January 14, 2026

The annual Imperial ceremony of Utakai Hajime, or the New Year’s Poetry Reading, was held at the Imperial Palace in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on Wednesday morning.

The theme for the tanka poems this year was “mei,” meaning “bright.”

Poems by the Emperor, the Empress and other members of the Imperial family were recited in the Matsu-no-Ma room in the palace, along with 10 poems by members of the public selected from 14,600 submissions from Japan and abroad.

Also read aloud were poems written by members of the selection committee and by translator Peter MacMillan, 66, who was invited to the ceremony by the Emperor.

All the poems were recited in a traditional style of poetry chanting.

Prince Hisahito, 19, the son of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, participated in the ceremony for the first time, having completed his coming-of-age ceremonies in September last year.

According to the Imperial Household Agency, the Emperor was deeply moved by the sight of the morning star (Venus) shining brightly in the sky before dawn while taking part in an Imperial ritual ceremony for the New Year on Jan. 1. He composed this poem about his feelings while praying for peace in the New Year during the ceremony.

Watching the morning star

Shining high in the sky

I pray sincerely for

Peace in the new year

The Empress was deeply impressed by the bright smiles on the faces of medalists at the Deaflympics in Tokyo last November and composed a poem about her wish for a truly inclusive society to be formed.

With medals around their necks

The athletes are beaming with joy

Using sign language

I convey to them

“Congratulations”

Princess Aiko, the daughter of the Emperor and the Empress, expressed her delight in a poem at seeing children studying Japanese at school in Laos during her visit to that country last year.

The bright and lively voices

Of the young Laotian students of Japanese

Fill the classroom cheerfully

Prince Hisahito wrote a poem in which he expressed happiness at observing a dragonfly that he has been researching for a long time.

The poetry recitations were heard by an audience of about 40 people representing various fields.