As of today, the Heisei era ends in Japan. Recently, visiting Japan in person, I found that Japan is very excited to welcome the new Emperor and the new era. Right before he retired, Emperor Akihito came out of the imperial palace in a simple jacket, his arm linked with the Empress’s. He rarely used to do this and people walking by cheered. I could feel the Japanese people supporting and respecting him so much. Emperor Akihito was born in 1933, he was 12 when the war ended for Japan and Korea was emancipated. Perhaps the memories from then were deeply engrained in him, whenever he had a chance he would say the tragedy of war should never happen again and that the only path forward was peace. In his interview commemorating his 68th birthday, he said, “I, on my part feel a certain kinship with Korea given the fact that it is recorded in the Chronicles of Japan 続日本紀 that the mother of Emperor Kammu 桓武天皇 was of the line of King Muryong 武寧王 of Baekje 百済.” People interpreted this remark as his wish to visit Korea. In fact he planned to come to Korea in 1998 but that plan was never realized due to certain circumstances. In 1992 Emperor Akihito went to China, a first for a Japanese Emperor. Chinese people welcomed him despite the memory of the Nanjing Massacre. He said at the state banquet that “I read Chinese literature when I was young. In the long history of relations between our two countries, there was an unfortunate period in which my country inflicted great sufferings on the people of China. I deeply deplore this and hope that there will be peace in the future.” It was what he would have said if he had come to Korea as he feels deeply about the kinship with us. In 2005, 60 years after the termination of war, he visited Saipan and paid a silent tribute for the dead in front of a memorial and the Pacific Ocean. And he surprised his executive assistants when he approached the Korean Peace Memorial, offered flowers and bowed with his head low. This surprise visit was not on his official schedule. Facing the great Hanshin earthquake in 1995 the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011 and the Osaka earthquake in 2018, he showed his humble attitude by kneeling down and condoling those inflicted by the disasters which was a first for a Japan’s Emperor impressing the Japanese people who still regarded the Emperor as God. The Japanese Emperor is a symbolic figure but I always feel in Japan that he is deeply ingrained in Japanese’ hearts. Many people are worried about the worsening relations of Japan and Korea these days. The relationship of Japan and Korea had taken a turn for the worse when president Lee Myungbak mentioned in Dokdo in 2012 that the Japanese Emperor should apologize. Japanese people tell me that they can take insults to themselves but they cannot forgive those who insult their father. Emperor Akihito is respected by the Japanese people as he has consistently proven his sincerity and conveyed messages for peace. I was surprised by something on TV in Tokyo recently. Emperors are supposed to study things unrelated to politics as they are not supposed to meddle in politics; Emperor Akihito presented in English at an international symposium about his research on the goby fish. When scholars from the West asked him questions, he articulated answers in clear English. He is also a composer of Tanka which Koreans introduced to Japan 1300 years ago. A few years ago, I gave a tour around Gyeongbokgung Palace and the Cheonggyecheon Stream to John Saul, President of PEN International for a day. He said that the only king alive to write a poem and read books was the Japanese Emperor. “Queen Elizabeth II gives speeches all the time; surely she must read?” I said. He answered that he knew very well that the British royal family didn’t read at all as he met Queen Elizabeth II dozens of times, this is true for the royal families of other countries as well. I was interviewed with Nakanishi Susumu who proposed the new era name ‘Reiwa’, a few years ago in Seoul. The first question asked by Korean reporters was what kind of person the Japanese Emperor was. He immediately answered. “The Japanese Emperor, in short is a person who composes Tanka.” At that moment, I realized that the Japanese Emperor was indeed a descendent of Baekje like He claimed himself, Baekje lost the war, moved to Japan, and continued to compose the poems they used to write on the Korean Peninsula and they kept writing Tanka generation after generation. When my mother who wrote Tanka poems in Seoul, was invited by the Japanese Emperor to the palace in January 1998, it was so that she could attend the reading of the Emperor, Empress and the Crown Prince’s own Tanka. I accompanied my mom and waited in the waiting roomof the Palace for the whole day but I knew nothing about the event then. Yet, that small experience of waiting made me realize how little I knew which encouraged me to study Manyoshu later on in Kyoto. They say that the Japanese Emperor always buys books himself, refusing to be given books as a present. My two collections of poetry published in 2011 and 2012 containing Japanese were handed to him through various channels. Japan is going through a historical turning point – jumping from one era to the next. The turning point is not due to anyone’s death and Japan is now doing well both in economy and diplomacy, the whole country is in a festive mood. Emperor Akihito has always put effort into Korea with Korea in his mind all the time, I feel sorry because I feel like there won’t be an Emperor like Akihito in Japan ever again. Yet, our neighboring country with close ties of more than 1,000 years is opening a new era, it is only right for us to celebrate with them. I hope this will also work as a chance for us to build a good relationship. | 
