#the silver drum: a japanese Imperial memoir

[helenrourke]

As I was doing research for my upcoming fanfiction The Imperial House, a Goong Fusion. Where Tsukushi Makino, the heroine from Hana Yori Dango, ends up finding she is in an arranged marriage to a Prince of Japan who may be a member of the F4. I came across The Silver Drum: A Japanese Memoir which was written by the late Setsuko, Princess Chichibu who married into the Imperial family.

I was able to get a second-hand copy for cheap, that was basically brand new, and so far I have to say Princess Chichibu had a fascinating childhood. Her father gave up his nobility, she may have been the first commoner to marry into the royal family on a technicality. That same father also served as the Japanese Ambassador to the US and she moved to the States. She ended up living in Washington DC and was a student at Sidwell Friends School, where many children of US Presidents attended.

Honestly, I couldn't put this book down. However, after finishing reading this memoir of her life, I'm taking this book with a grain of salt.  Clearly, there are things in this work that Princess Chichiburu didn't want to share with us and I respect that.  However, I'm grateful this book exists. It did give me an idea of what Tsukushi might deal with in my work. The passages of how Princess Chichiburu felt disconnected from her family because of her status, felt essential for me to read and understand the mindset of a woman becoming part of the Imperial Family.

I wouldn't recommend this book for everyone, especially since it's out of print. However, after I bought my copy I found out my university had an ebook of this novel under another name. If you check your university for Prince and Princess Chichibu: Two Lives Lived Above and Below the Clouds.  I gave it a quick look through and this version had more content, including the unabridged version of her memoir.