President Obama’s decision to bow and scrape before Emperor Akihito during a recent state visit has angered many in the US even as it has pleased many in Japan, with critics saying the American president should not be going with crooked knee before the world’s kings.
He bowed low and deep – only by actually kneeling at the Akihito’s feet could he have expressed greater “respect.” The bow was of course not returned by the emperor.
Previous American leaders have taken care to treat Japan’s ruined monarchs as equals or mild inferiors – MacArthur famously had Hirohito come to him to take his orders, and recently vice-president Cheney remained conspicuously straight-backed as he shook the emperor’s withered hand.
A significant brouhaha in fact ensued when Clinton appeared to bow to Akihito, which was denied at the time by the ambassador in typically Clinton-esque fashion: “It was not a bow-bow, if you know what I mean.”
The previous emperor, Hirohito, was in the eyes of many an unrepentant war criminal who only escaped the gallows thanks to the necessity of confronting Russia, so it is no surprise he was never honoured, but his nondescript successor is regarded more positively.
Conscious of the great sacrifices made to rid the American people of monarchical parasites, for 200 years the US’s official diplomatic position has been that monarchs should humoured with nothing more than a handshake, so this gesture actually marks a significant change in policy, unwelcome in the eyes of many.
Obama’s obeisance might have been passed off as a gesture of contrition for the sake of manipulating an ally’s public opinion, but Obama recently made a similar grovelling performance for no less than the king of Saudi Arabia, a regime most in the west regard as utterly despicable.
Of course, the bow was well received by many in Japan, although with the Japanese Democrats being relatively sceptical of the imperial system this might not have quite the same effect it might have enjoyed had the emperor’s LDP fanclub still been in office.
He is bowing an elder, what is wrong with a younger male showing he’s respect to someone older.
lol I love how all the weeabos and jappos here are calling that ’emperor’ a god (as if any exist). He’s as mortal as anyone… it’ll become evident when he dies of old age. A bunch of make believe nonsense humans used to make up to control others. Wake up.
Comment by Anonymous
17:09 11/02/2011 # ! Neutral (0)
lol I love how all the weeabos and jappos here are calling that ’emperor’ a god (as if any exist). He’s as mortal as anyone… it’ll become evident when he dies of old age. A bunch of make believe nonsense humans used to make up to control others. Wake up.
^You’re fucking retarded.
I don’t see what all the big deal is…It’s just petty formalities between two world leaders…
It’s not like they’re giving each other head on top of a Shinto temple…
And even so, it’s going to be a matter of who’s going to be the uke in the relationship…
hmm not really xD but u got the general idea~
he deep bowed~ meaning he submitted himself~ but thats not something bad its something amazing~ showing his respect for the “king”
if his idea is only pleasure the public then he sucks. but if he really feel respect then. cool ^^ cauz he should after all.. its the Emperor ~ not some wannabe like himself that became pres xD
He’s behaving like they are superior. And that is a problem. Because it sends a completly wrong message.
Well, you just painted a very interesting mental image.
The Saudi bow was a honest mistake, he went too low. The Japan bow was an outright f***up, he should have known not to bow so deeply from the previous one.
Royalty absolutely does not bow to any one. It was a good decision for obama to bow to show respect, but not that low.