Meet Fumiko Shirataki, the ‘superfan’ who has followed Japan’s royals for decades
- The 78-year-old has spent the last 26 years following and photographing Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko
- She and her fellow chasers say their main focus is the royal women and their clothes
Except when it snows or rains too hard.
“As soon as I know their plans I’ll be there – though it’s hard if I only find out the night before.” she added.
Japanese heading overseas for imperial succession holiday
“I wasn’t used to carrying such a heavy camera, so I’d shoot the tyres, or the back seat, or the driver,” Shirataki said in the kitchen of her home in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, decorated with a photo of Masako and an Imperial Family calendar.
But now she has honed her skills, and her house is filled with a huge number of photos.
“Uncountable,” she said. “After all, it’s been 26 years.”
Shirataki won’t reveal how she and her fan friends figure out the royal schedules. But once she has the details, she loads a backpack, takes a collapsible chair and a rice ball to eat, and heads out.
“They know our faces by now, so when we raise the cameras I guess they think ‘here they are’ and they face towards us and wave,” said Shirataki.
Shirataki and her fellow chasers, nearly all of whom are female, say their main focus is the royal women and their clothes. Because of time constraints – she works part-time at a car showroom – she concentrates on the empress and empress-to-be.
Though she’s cagey about how much her hobby costs, she spends at least 50,000 yen (US$447) annually just on photos.
Shirataki says Masako is her favourite and has even appeared in her dreams. But Shirataki worries how she will fare as empress after the stress-related illness that kept her out of the public eye for many years.
“There could be a lot of times where Masako won’t go with the emperor,” she said. “If it’s just him, we won’t go. Her alone? Yes.”
Shirataki may already have reached the pinnacle of okkake success: this year, she shook hands with the empress.
“I’ve talked with them briefly before but that’s the only time I’d ever been able to put out my hand … I didn’t realise I would do it,” Shirataki said.
“When I asked, she just said, in a small voice, ‘If my hand is OK,’” she added. “And then I did.”