Your Japanese Imperial Family Smile-of-the-Day

Saw this in the news today and it made me chuckle:

[photo from: REUTERS/Shuji Kajiyama]

If you are wondering (like I was at first glance) why the whole Imperial Family is crammed into a tiny, red, train, it happens to be a solar-powered train at a children’s park called Kodomo no Kuni (こどもの国).

The park was actually founded in 1959 to commemorate the marriage of Akihito and Michiko, who would become Emperor and Empress 30 years later (in 1989); and they have crammed themselves into the little red choo choo because it is the 50th anniversary of their marriage (and, by extension, the 50th anniversary of Kodomo no Kuni).

Here’s a bit of Emperor trivia from Wikipedia: he’s an ichthyologist!

In extension of his father’s interest in marine biology, the Emperor is a published ichthyological researcher, and has specialized studies within the taxonomy of the family Gobiidae. He has written papers for publication in Japanese and English scholarly journals, namely Gene and the Japanese Journal of Ichthyology.

He has also written papers about Scientific History in Japan during the Edo and Meiji Eras, which were published in Science and Nature. In 2005 a newly described goby was named Exyrias akihito in his honour.