The Emperor and Empress Nagako made a quick visit to the Vice-President's new $650,000 Japanese-style house in the family's Pocantico Hills, N.Y. estate. "This will be our retirement home," Rockefeller explained. The stopover was just part of one routinely hectic day for the imperial couple during their 15-day tour of the U.S.
The day began in Central Park, where a group of junior high pupils serenaded them with English and Japanese versions of a song from Oliver ("Consider yourself at home"). Then the imperial party drove 30 miles north to the Veep's estate, past some peacocky fall foliage which charmed the Empress. After Lipton tea, Japanese cookies and cake—served by kimono-clad Helen Seo, a Japanese-American employee of the Rockefellers—the visitors drove to the estate of Nelson's brother, John D. 3rd, for lunch.
Next, Hirohito was whisked to Shea Stadium to see a New York Jets-New England Patriots pro football game. The Emperor arrived unannounced during the third quarter, waving to the crowd when it cheered wildly for a Jets interception that coincided with his appearance.
Though he was suffering from a cold, the 74-year-old Emperor had one more appointment—with Mrs. Douglas Mac-Arthur, widow of the American general. It was an important courtesy call—the general helped keep Hirohito from being deposed, and perhaps tried as a war criminal, after World War II.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
