The only son of Japan’s Crown Prince Fumihito – and the second in line to the throne after his father – held his first press conference recently, a right of passage for members of the royal family. But another tidbit’s come out about the young prince that’s sure to endear him to geeks around the world.
A tough act to follow
Prince Hisahito of Akishino, who will turn 19 later this year, is slated to further his education at Tsukuba University after graduating from the institution’s senior high school. He’s been the subject of a lot of attention, as the imperial line of Japan has had a paucity of male heirs – sparking discussions of ending the tradition of patrilineal primogeniture.
Hisahito has found himself in the news numerous times well shy of his 18th birthday. In 2019, a man made headlines after he targeted the young prince for assassination. Hisahito also found himself embroiled in a plagiarism controversy for a prize-winning essay he wrote in March 2021.
The prince acknowledged being nervous at his March 3rd press conference – and with reason. According to Shukan Josei Prime, the last big reveal for a member of the imperial family was in 2022, when Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako’s only child, Aiko, held a presser that deeply impressed the Japanese public. (Aiko would be next in line to be Empress if not for the system of patrilineal primogeniture.)
He needn’t have worried. Despite his nervousness, according to Josei Jishin, Hisahito’s first appearance was also well-received.
The presser focused mainly on matters such as the prince’s dedication to his upcoming duties and his lifelong love of dragonflies. However, royal family insiders spilled another tidbit to Shukan Josei reporters: the prince is apparently a big lover of light novels.
Emperor of Ranobe
Light novels (ライトノベル, or ラノベ, ranobe, for short) are a form of popular fiction mainly seen as targeted toward teens and young adults. The genre, which came into being around 1975, isn’t a well-defined category and has many definitions, with my personal favorite being that they feel like “a novelized manga” and just generally more relaxed and less “literary” than mainstream novels. Stories often center on themes such as fantasy, sci-fi, horror, or romance, with stories focusing on the protagonist being transported to another world (異世界, isekai) being especially popular.
Light novels have become increasingly popular outside of Japan thanks to the international popularity of anime. The books are a source of amusement even among non-fans thanks to their absurdly long titles.
According to the insider, Hisahito has been a light novel fan since his middle school days. He doesn’t just like to read them – he’s also taken a crack at writing his own.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t always gone so well for the overprivileged lad. The source says that, on at least one occasion, middle school classmates took his work from his notebook and read it out loud – much to his embarrassment.
The good news for young Hisahito is that Tsukuba University apparently has a strong subculture community. If his light novel obsession is still strong, he can likely find more people on his wavelength.
If Hisahito ends up getting his work published some day, he wouldn’t be the only successful author in the royal family. His uncle Naruhito’s book The Thames and I: A Memoir of Two Years at Oxford, has sold over 100,000 copies.
One thing’s for certain, though: If the prince does publish, he’ll hold the royal family record for book with the longest title.
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