Setsuko, Princess Chichibu – “An undeserved honour” (Part five)

Read part four here.

Despite his illness, Prince Chichibu travelled to Tokyo with Setsuko to attend as many of his mother’s funeral rites as possible. They were also accompanied by two doctors, and he underwent several examinations while in Tokyo. Setsuko later wrote, “I went back to Tokyo alone for the final 50th day rite, and that night I let myself go and had my first really good cry at the loss of my beloved mentor, guide and friend.”¹

In January 1952, Setukso and her husband moved into a house in Kugenuma due to the harsh winters in Gotemba. The milder climate did wonders for Prince Chichibu. The death of King George VI in February saddened them both, as they had attended his coronation. In September, they were able to attend matches of the Oxford University Rugby Team, which had come to Japan. The Prince was a great rugby fan. He would not live to see the completion of the Prince Chichibu Rugby Stadium, which, according to Setsuko, “commemorates for posterity his love for the game and his services to it in Japan.”² In November, they attended the investiture of Crown Prince Akihito.

In the early hours of 4 January 1953, Prince Chichibu died at the age of 50. In his will, he wrote, “Looking back on the fifty years of my life, I feel nothing but gratefulness. I can only say that the life has ended of a very, very, ordinary human being who just happened to be born into a position of special privilege with unlimited benefits.”³ At his request, an autopsy was performed, and the funeral rites were kept simple. He became the first member of the Imperial family to be cremated.⁴ Setsuko later wrote, “There were times when I wondered if there was not some way to join him without causing too much trouble for those around me.”⁵ Setsuko turned to writing poetry.

A year after her husband’s death, Setsuko moved back to Tokyo into the parts of their house that hadn’t been bombed. She returned to taking on royal duties. In November 1961, she officially welcomed Princess Alexandra of Kent, who was on a goodwill mission with a message from Queen Elizabeth II. According to Setsuko, Princess Alexandra was “a perfect goodwill ambassador.”⁶ Setsuko had taken over her husband’s position as Honorary Patron of the Japan-British Society, and she also took on the position for the Japan-Sweden Society. In 1962, she visited both the United Kingdom and Sweden in that capacity. While in London, she was made a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire.⁷

Setsuko also made a visit to see Oxford, a place her husband had loved. She wrote, “To see the same great elms in the grounds, beneath which deer still roamed, and the minnows swimming in the same little River Cherwell. His old Magdalene College rooms were exactly the same as he had described them to me in detail so many times. As I touched the desk and the chair, it seemed as if he had only just left there. What moved me most deeply was to discover that he had replicated the arrangement of the furniture exactly in his study in both our Tokyo residence and in Gotemba.”⁸

Five years later, she returned to England to take part in the 75th anniversary celebrations of the Japan Society. At the anniversary dinner with lots of familiar faces, she said, “To see me here, looking so happy, surrounded by all of you, must be making the Prince jealous!”⁹ In April 1969, Setsuko received the Order of the Seraphim from the King of Sweden, and she became the Honorary Patron of the Traffic Accident Orphans Scholarship Society.¹⁰  Setsuko was a busy woman, and she liked it that way.

In 1972, Setsuko moved into a newly built bungalow. In November of that year, “The Life of Prince Yasuhito” was published. Setsuko wrote, “It was something that I had wanted as a memorial to him, and the completion of the book filled me with great emotion.”¹¹ She returned to England in 1974, but the visit coincided with the death of the Duke of Gloucester. Setsuko wrote, “The kindness and consideration of the Royal Family and the warmth of their hospitality in spite of being in mourning, touched me deeply, and was a revelation to me. Even Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, the day before the Duke’s funeral, sent a message to say she would like to see me.”¹² Setsuko attended the Duke’s funeral in St George’s Chapel.

In 1978, Setsuko was made an Honorary Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George and received the insignia from Princess Margaret. Setsuko wrote, “It was an undeserved honour, which I consider was really bestowed on the late Prince Chichibu and the Japan-British Society he had represented, rather than on me, and symbolised the close ties between our two countries that began half a century ago.”¹³

Part six coming soon.

1. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.180
2. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.183
3. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.185
4. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.186
5. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.187
6. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.191
7. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.192
8. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.192-193
9. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.193
10. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.194
11. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.195
12. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.196
13. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.198