Windows For The Crown Prince

“We want you to open windows on to a wider world for our Crown Prince.”—VISCOUNT MATSUDAIRA

In the ruins of Japan after World War II, the US forces engaged in the physical reconstruction of the country, but they and the Japanese hierarchy knew that the spiritual reconstruction of the country would also be of paramount importance. With the rejection by Emperor Hirohito of his divinity, the Crown Prince Akihito was the focus of the nation’s hopes of renewal, however, he was a child in 1945. In order to combat insularism and xenophobia, a foreign tutor was decided upon. Mrs. Elizabeth Gray Vining, a noted children’s author and Quaker was decided upon. In this book Mrs. Vining provides a fascinating look at the Imperial Court and her guidance of the future Emperor from a chubby child to a poised, attractive youth with a high sense of responsibility.