Evening star., 1960-09-30

ONCLpOWCI AAS'
Western women who have
met her almost invariably
comment along these lines.
Then they add afterwards,
mo wonder our men are at
tracted by Japanese women!"
Her Royal HighnesS held a
press conference for women
reporters yesterday after
noon in Blair House, and her
feminine audience was so
impressed by her eXquisitely
soft and elegant manner
they couldn't bring them
selves to ask a single shatter-
ing question.
c.TiS true they were some
what limited having been
notified in advance that they
should restrict their questions
to feminine topics rather
than anything political. But
they even broached feminine
topics with considerable
hesitancy in the presence Of
such sweet dignity.
BEFORE THE PRINCESS
ENTERED the room, a jap
anese aide checked of the
name of each reporter as she
arrived and took a place in
a Semi-circle of chairs in the
drawing room of adjoining
Lee House. When the Prin-
cess walked in with Nine.
Asakai, wife of the Ambas-
sador, and Nine. Tatsuo
Takaki, English speaking
lady-in-waiting. it was ap-
parent why he had asked the
reporters not to swap chairs.
He had each strange face
clearly in place and was able
to announce us in order to
the seated princess. When
our names were called we
simply stood and bowed.
Princess Michiko, in a be-
coming hair style that the
girls of Japan have copied,
and wearing a lavender silk
crepe kimono printed with
white chrysanthemums etched
with gold embroidery, sat up
right, her small sandaled
feet together and smilingly
answered questions in her
deliberate, very good English.
She started studying English
in high school and majored
in English in college.
Asked if she had heard any
expressions of regret among
women over the cancellation
of President Eisenhower's
trip to Tokyo, she replied in
her lovely soft voice:
"WE REGRETTED 1T very
much, We were looking for
ward to seeing Mrs. Barbara
Eisenhower" She wanted to
show her the things that
another young mother would
be interested in.
The Princess baby came
often into the conversation.
How much does he weigh?
Eight kilos. 300." replied his
mother but nobody could
translate that into pounds.
That's about average" ex-
claimed Nine. Asakai.
Does he sit up? "Oh, yes"
his mother answered proudly.
HE can stand up if he has
help"
What about the lullabies
she sings to him and left be-
hind on tape to be played
during her absence?
1T was my idea to tape the
lullabies," she said with a
little smile, "but as I think
back now it was rather to
comfort myself than to COM
fort my baby"
Asked to describe the nur-
sery, she said the walls were
gray green and made of plas-
tic so they could be wiped off.
Did she want a large
family? "I became a mother,
but I have not been a mother
for a long time so I still do
not know how difficult it is"
replied Her Royal Highness,
choosing her words carefully.
You know, I have to be
responsible for those chill
dren," she explained, lest
someone think she believed
in turning children over to
nurses.
Was she taking a gift back
to her son? IT would like to
have nice toys for my baby"
she replied. Most of our
toys are made in Japan"
chuckled a press woman in
an aside.
She would only have two
free hours in which to shop
in New York, she observed,
indicating it would hardly
be worthwhile starting. What
kind of thing would Japa-
nese be interested in pur-
chasing in America? "Steu-
ben glass;" she said.
DID AMERICA COME UP
to her expectations? "It is
almost as I expected it but it
is more than I expected. I
was so deeply impressed by
the warmth of the welcome
they extended to U.S."
Was the pace here too
fatiguing? "It is rather
heavy for me-" she said, "but
it is we who wanted to see
so many things"
1t was learned later that
the flight here had upset
her quite a bit and the loss
Of sleeping time coming east
ward had fatigued her be-
fore she arrived. Hence the
necessity to curtail her
Washington activities. II
there was another reason for
her indisposition, there was
no Indication 0f IL