Emperor, Empress visit Linnaeus exhibition

Apr 24, 2018 | News On Japan

Apr 24, 2018 (NHK) - Japan's Emperor and Empress have joined Sweden's King and Queen in visiting an exhibition on the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in Tokyo.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko arrived at the museum in Chiyoda Ward on Monday morning. They were met by King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia, who are on a 4-day visit to Japan.

Princess Mako, the eldest grandchild of the Imperial couple, greeted the visitors. She is a researcher at the museum.

The exhibition is part of a series of events marking 150 years of Japan-Sweden ties. It features books and other writings by the 18th-century botanist, physician and zoologist known as the father of modern taxonomy.

Works by 2 other Swedish botanists are also on display.

The Japanese and Swedish couples toured the exhibition of about 60 items that include botanical reference books.

The Emperor is known for his taxonomic study of fish. He showed great interest in the display and asked if scientific names started with the first edition of a book by Linnaeus that was published in 1735. The Emperor stayed at the venue beyond the scheduled time.

The Emperor visited Sweden in 2007 to attend a ceremony marking the 300th anniversary of Linnaeus's birth. He was named an honorary member of Uppsala University, the botanist's alma mater, on that occasion.

The Tokyo exhibition will be open to the public from Tuesday.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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