The Japanese imperial family joined Instagram a few hours ago. The photo in the first post shows Emperor Naruhito (64) with his wife, Empress Masako (60), and their only child, Princess Aiko (22). The three sit next to each other on a sofa and smile at the camera. The two women have their hands placed on top of each other on their laps.
The palace provides details of this and other recordings that were apparently taken on New Year’s Day: “On Monday, January 1st, Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress welcomed the New Year,” the opening post begins.
The other pictures, which show the imperial couple at a reception, say: “In the morning, a New Year’s celebration took place in the Imperial Palace, at which their Imperial Highnesses, the Princess and other members of the imperial family received congratulations. This was followed by a New Year’s celebration, which was attended by dignitaries of the executive, legislative and judicial branches as well as heads of diplomatic missions from various countries.”
The account feed now contains 18 more posts with photos and videos. All of them show the imperial couple at public events, sometimes with mouth and nose protection. Without the masks, you can always see their friendly smile. The women’s clasped hands also remain an integral part of the gestures in the subsequent shots.
The latest post shows scenes from an awards ceremony. “On Friday, March 15, Their Majesties the Emperor and the Empress received the winners of the Imperial Cup of the Festival of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and their wives at an audience in the Imperial Palace. They also viewed the achievements of the winners “, says the explanation.
The same previously published photos can be seen as a video collage on the Reels. The comment function is switched off under every post. And while the imperial family does not yet follow a single other account, kunaicho_jp – the Instagram name of the Japanese imperial family – can already look forward to over 307,000 followers just under 24 hours after the launch.
