Figure 1.--This is Prince Akishino in a set of potraits, we think as he began Kindergarten probably in 1970. These rounded crown hats were worn at many kindegartens and primary schools. Other styles were also populr, bu headwear was very common. Note that even the back pack is color coordinated.

Like other Japanese princes, Akishino attended the Gakushūin School. This was the Tokyo private school school used by Japanese imperial families beginning with Meiji Restoration (1870s) .Gakushuin was known in English as Peers' School and the school to which the Imperial Family and the descendants of the pre-war nobility typically send their sons (the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and the late Emperor Showa are all graduates).t Private schools are not as common in Japan as in Britain and Ammerica, in part because the public schools are of such high quality. The Prince attended regular Japanese schools like his big brother and earlier princes. We note him wearing his school uniforms. His son, Prince Hisahito, will be the first future emperor not to attend the Gakushūin School. (He objected because his Kindergarten friends were not going there.) And like his fatger, Prince Akishino attended universities in Japan and England. He stuudied political science and biology at Gakushuin University, graduating with a B.A. degree (1988). +He then started graduate studies on both fish and birds. He then studied fish taxonomy at St. John's College, Oxford University (1988-90). He conducted field research in Indonesia (1993-94) and in Yunnan Province, China. He earned PhD degree in ornithology from the Graduate University for Advanced Studies (1996). His doctoral dissertation was, "Molecular Phylogeny of Jungle Fowls, genus Gallus and Monophyletic Origin of Domestic Fowls".

Created: 6:18 PM 3/9/2021
Last updated: 6:19 PM 3/9/2021