Photograph of Edward, Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII (1894-1972), with Prince Regent Hirohito, later Emperor Shōwa (1901-1989), at the Tokyo Golf Club, during the former's official visit to Japan in 1922.

This was the second time the two princes had met. The Prince Regent had become acquainted with the Prince of Wales when he visited Britain in 1921. During his stay, the Prince Regent noted the soaring popularity of golf among fashionable British society. Perhaps it was this observation that inspired him a year later to invite the Prince of Wales for a round of golf in Komazawa as a respite from their gruelling official engagements.

As a memento of their game, this photograph shows the two princes side by side in similar tweed suits with plus fours, paired with woollen socks and caps. The look had been popularised by the Prince of Wales and is emulated by the Prince Regent in a bid to fashion himself as an athletic, vigorous successor to his ailing father. So popular was his casual style among the British press that a cropped version of the photograph, excluding the Prince of Wales, was used by the Illustrated London News to accompany subsequent articles on the Japanese prince. These included the announcement of his wedding to Princess Nagako (1903–2000) in 1924 as well as his father’s death in 1926. When reproduced as a double portrait, the photograph also served to propagate the story of blossoming friendship between the two men. This ostensible relationship with a western prince, known for his progressive approach, allowed the Prince Regent to forge the image of a liberal-minded heir to the throne in touch with the times, keenly interested in diplomacy and open to change.

Text adapted from Japan: Courts and Culture (2020)