I recently received a copy of the 154th edition of Taiwan Kadan (“The World of ‘Tanka’ inTaiwan”), a bi-annual compilation of traditional 31-syllable Japanese “tanka” poems composed by aficionados in Taiwan. The journal traces its origin to 1968, when Wu Jiang-tang, a poet representative of the country’s Japanese-speaking generation, founded its predecessor entitled Taipei Kadan (“The World of Tanka in Taipei”).
　　　Born in 1926, Dr. Wu graduated from Taipei High School at a time when Taiwan was under Japanese rule (1895-1945) and all education was in the Japanese language. He went on to study at the Medical School of the prestigious Taipei University and later, in 1971, was also awarded a degree in medicine from Kumamoto University. Serving as director of a number of hospitals across Taiwan, Wu excelled in scholarship and the martial arts. An eighth degree master “kendo” (Japanese fencing) instructor, he left a remarkable record as a highly skilled swordsman, finishing third at the 1976 World Kendo Championships held in Britain among other accomplishments.
　　　Cai Ti-can succeeded Wu as editor of the journal and “gave it a new title.” In the foreword of Taiwan Kadan Cai notes:
　　　“I was initially worried that we would likely be destined to fizzle out if our journal represented a literary circle made up solely of the so-called Japanese-speaking generation in our country, which was dwindling rather rapidly. However, I am relieved to find that a growing number of young Taiwanese, who have found out about our activities, love Japan, and are studying Japanese, have voluntarily been joining our circle, while a number of Japanese are joining us from Japan. It has been a truly exciting development for which I am most grateful.”
　　　Cai is the very person whom the late novelist Ryotaro Shiba affectionately referred to as “lao Taipei” (“my dear old Taipei friend”) in his well-known travelogue entitled Taiwan Kiko (“My Travels in Taiwan”) (Asashi Shimbun Co., Tokyo; 1994), valuing the great role he had played as a bridge between the two countries.
　　　Hearing the word “Taiwan” today, many Japanese are instantly reminded with a deep sense of gratitude of the generous and humanitarian relief assistance extended by the country and its people when the Pacific coast of eastern Japan was devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake and ensuing tsunami on March 11, 2011. The edition of Taiwan Kadan I have contains a selection of poems composed in Japanese by members of the tanka group eager to have the Japanese hear their messages of encouragement, hope, and prayers as soon as possible.
　　　One of the poems, this one by Cai himself, reads:
　　　Struck by earthquake and tsunami:
　　　A national calamity.
　　　Save the beloved mother country,
　　　We exhort the young people.
　　　As if to respond to Cai’s appeal, tens of thousands of Taiwanese contributed money and scores actually flew to Japan and visited the affected areas, braving the cold as they selflessly engaged in various relief activities night and day.
　　　Another poem, written by Lin Yu-xiu:
　　　May the cherry blossoms bloom early,
　　　Bringing good luck
　　　To the disaster-struck regions
　　　Of what was my mother country long ago.
　　　Lin’s wish for “cherry blossoms (to) bloom early ” exactly reflected the hope of virtually every single Japanese at the time. At such a time of great devastation, Lin’s heart went out to all of the Japanese badly shaken by the untimely disaster.
　　　Immensely touched and encouraged by the passion of the Taiwanese for brotherly assistance, the Japanese expressed their heartfelt gratitude, which drew this entry in another poem written by Liu Xin-xin:
　　　“Thank you, Taiwan”:
　　　This precious message from Japan
　　　We will be sure to hand down
　　　To our children, and our children’s children.

What True Imperial Household Diplomacy Is About

　　　Despite receiving Taiwan’s vigorous support to help Japan back on its feet again, the Foreign Ministry did the country an incredible injustice at the first-year memorial service held in Tokyo last March 11, treating the representative of the Taiwanese government on a par with civilian mourners by not officially announcing his name for flower offering at the altar like the other representatives of foreign governments. The government’s rudeness left thoughtful Japanese upset and the people in Taiwan deeply hurt. Taiwan Kadan carried an article revealing that it was Empress Michiko who fixed the hurt feelings of the Taiwanese.
　　　Last April 19, Feng Ji-tai, Director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in Tokyo, was officially invited to an annual spring garden party at the Akasaka Palace. It was the first such invitation extended to TECRO since Tokyo arbitrarily severed its diplomatic ties with Taipei following “normalization” of relations with Beijing in 1972. During the party, Emperor Akihito and the Empress spoke directly to Feng, and all the details of how Feng was treated during the party were prominently reported in Taiwan, touching the hearts of many Taiwanese.
　　　But why were the Taiwanese moved so readily by what happened at the garden party? Why does Taiwan not appear to hold a grudge against Japan for having its diplomatic relations with Japan severed so unilaterally in 1972? In answer to this question, Taiwan Kadan cites the evolution of long and intimate interchanges between the two countries, introducing Taiwan-related anecdotes pertaining to Emperors Meiji and Showa, alongside those involving Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. Here is the gist of what the journal has to say:
　　　Wu, the master kendo swordsman, was in Tokyo in 1967 participating in an international exhibition tournament and had a rare chance of meeting the then Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Princess Michiko. He subsequently stayed in touch with the royal couple, and in 1993 presented a copy of Taiwan Manyo-shu to the former crown princess, who now was Empress Michiko. It was a compilation of tanka composed by his coterie, which he himself had edited and published.
　　　Soon after he presented the journal, Wu received a cordial letter from Shoichi Fujimori, then serving as Grand Steward of the Imperial Household, who wrote he was under instructions from Empress Michiko to “send a note of appreciation to Mr. Wu.” Sometime later, a second letter was sent from the Imperial Household, which said:
　　　“Last May 10, I was summoned by Her Majesty the Empress, who asked me to let you know that she had seen one of your poems from Taiwan Manyo-shu carried in the ‘Occasional Poems’ column of the daily Asahi Shimbun. Her majesty also mentioned that up to 19 of the original poems in the journal have since been introduced in the same popular column in the Asashi and wanted me to ‘send the copies of the newspaper columns to Mr. Wu.’ Please find those copies enclosed. ”
　　　It is simply amazing how closely the Empress looks after people, both at home and abroad. Many people talk about how attentively Empress Michiko gives her attention to -€ and closely remembers -€ every single person she meets. I find her meticulous attention to detail truly touching, as is manifested by the fact that she even bothers to read one of the major dailies so attentively and regularly.

Overlapping National Interests of Taiwan and Japan

　　　The important thing to note is that these precious private interchanges have actually been maintained between the two countries over the years despite the political void created by the sudden severance of bilateral diplomatic relations. Even as politics has created distance between the two governments and the two peoples, the presence of the Imperial Household has ensured continued strong bonds between the two countries. It was on the basis of this record of imperial support that the people of Taiwan welcomed the invitation of Feng to the Akasaka garden party as a pleasant and important gesture. Some people may consider well-publicized trips abroad to be the primary diplomatic function of the imperial family, but often it is the seemingly obscure yet considerate and thoughtful actions taken behind the scenes that produce the most meaningful results.
　　　About the same time as I got hold of the latest issue of Taiwan Kadan, I had a chance to renew an old acquaintance with Mr. and Mrs. Xu Shi-jie, former Director of TECRO in Tokyo. In last January’s presidential election, Ma Ying-jeou of the incumbent Nationalist Party was re-elected, winning 52% of the votes, but by the time of his inauguration on May 20 his approval rating had declined drastically. Support for Ma has continued to fall since then, registering only 15% in a July survey.
　　　The main reason for the decline of Ma’s popularity reportedly is conspicuous changes in his diplomacy vis-a-vis China. During election campaigns, he had pledged to not pursue political negotiations with China in the name of peace consultations. After winning the election, however, Ma began to state that he saw some room for consultations, which many observers recognize as actually bordering on political negotiations. China’s ambition to annex Taiwan is obvious. If Taiwan reveals even the slightest intention to pursue a policy of appeasement with China, we can expect the latter to quickly start moving to take advantage of the situation.
　　　I believe it was only natural that Mr. Xu aked me during our latest meeting about the extent to which Japan would act on behalf of Taiwan if the status quo were endangered.
　　　With the national interests of Taiwan and Japan overlapping each other significantly, I believe Japan should do everything it can on behalf of Taiwan, if push comes to shove. That ought to be completely in line with the major changes in world strategy currently pursued by Asia-Pacific nations, including the US.
　　　The purpose of the grand new strategy pursued by the Asia-Pacific powers in the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans is self-explanatory if one draws a line linking Darwin in northern Australia, Perth in western Australia, the Australian Territory of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean, and India. In this grand strategy, Japan and Southeast Asian nations are naturally in the same boat. The answer to Xu’s question is obvious if one recognizes this fact. My conversation with him reminded me afresh of the inextricable bond tying Taiwan and Japan firmly together.

(Translated from “Renaissance Japan” column no. 521 in the August 9, 2012 issue of The Weekly Shincho.)