摘要：9月6日为正式认可悠仁亲王成年而举行的繁复皇居仪式，让人不禁联想到这一全球最古老君主制的黯淡前景。造成这一局面的主要原因在于其“男性独占继承权”制度，以及皇室成员数量的不断减少。
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9月6日，日本皇室在皇居为第二顺位继承人悠仁亲王举行成人礼
美联社2025年9月7日报道，日本悠仁亲王是40年来首位成年的男性皇室成员。但许多日本民众担忧，他可能会是最后一位成年的男性皇室成员。
9月6日为正式认可悠仁亲王成年而举行的繁复皇居仪式，让人不禁联想到这一全球最古老君主制的黯淡前景。造成这一局面的主要原因在于其“男性独占继承权”制度，以及皇室成员数量的不断减少。
悠仁亲王是日本菊花皇位的第二顺位继承人，未来有望登基成为天皇。然而，在他之后，目前皇室再无男性继承人，这使得日本皇室陷入两难境地：是否应推翻19世纪确立的、废除女性继承权的规定。
悠仁在东京赤坂御用地完成18岁成年礼后的首次记者会上谈自己的学习研究兴趣
一、热爱昆虫的大学新生
悠仁亲王是东京附近的筑波大学的大一新生，主修生物学，喜爱打羽毛球。他对蜻蜓尤为痴迷，还曾与人合著一篇学术论文，内容是关于其位于东京赤坂御用地内昆虫的调查研究。
在他今年3月参加的首次记者会上，悠仁亲王表示，希望将研究重点放在蜻蜓及其他昆虫上，包括探索城市环境中昆虫种群的保护方法。
悠仁亲王出生于2006年9月6日，是皇位第一顺位继承人秋筱宫文仁亲王与其妻子秋筱宫纪子妃的独子。他有两位姐姐：颇受民众喜爱的佳子公主，以及前真子公主。真子公主因与非皇室成员结婚，已按规定放弃皇室身份。
悠仁亲王的成人礼在其年满18岁（法定成年年龄）一年后才举行，原因是他希望集中精力备战大学入学考试。
日本悠仁亲王（中）在父亲文仁亲王与母亲纪子妃陪同下参加幼儿园参加毕业典礼
二、日本为何担心他可能成为最后一位男性天皇？
悠仁亲王是德仁天皇的侄子，德仁天皇仅有一女，即爱子公主。悠仁亲王的父亲、德仁天皇的弟弟秋筱宫文仁亲王，是皇室上一位成年的男性成员（1985年成年）。
在由16名成年成员组成的日本皇室中，悠仁亲王是最年轻的一位。他与父亲是仅有的两位比德仁天皇年轻的男性继承人。前天皇明仁的弟弟常陆宫正仁亲王是皇位第三顺位继承人，但已89岁高龄。
男性继承人短缺是日本历史学家认为已延续1500年的日本君主制面临的重大担忧。这一问题也反映出日本人口快速老龄化与少子化的现状。
日本历史上虽以男性天皇为主，但曾允许女性继承皇位。日本历史上共出现过八位女天皇，其中最近一位是1762年至1770年在位的后樱町天皇。不过，这些女天皇在执政期间均未留下继承人。
1889年地好战前《大日本帝国宪法》首次以法律形式将皇位继承权限定为男性。战后1947年颁布的《皇室典范》在很大程度上保留了战前保守的家族价值观，同样仅允许男性继承皇位。
但专家指出，“男性独占继承权”制度存在结构性缺陷，该制度在历史上能够维系，主要得益于约100年前皇室侧室（妃子）为皇室生育子嗣的做法。
现任德仁天皇与雅子皇后的独女爱子公主深受民众喜爱，尽管多数民众支持她成为未来君主，但根据现行规定，她无法继承父亲的皇位。
悠仁向前来东京皇居观看其成人礼的日本民众挥手致意
三、关于皇位继承权的争论为何愈演愈烈？
为解决皇位继承问题，日本政府曾在2005年拟定一项允许女性担任天皇的提案。但悠仁亲王的出生迅速扭转了局势，日本民族主义者纷纷反对该提案。
2022年1月，一个以保守派为主的独立专家小组提出建议：政府应维持男性直系继承制，同时允许女性皇室成员婚后保留皇室身份并继续履行公务。该保守派小组还提议，从远支皇室家族中收养男性后裔，以延续男性继承血脉。但争议在“是否给予公主配偶及子女皇室身份”这一问题上陷入僵局。
日本前宫内厅长官羽田尚史今年早些时候在《读卖新闻》的一篇文章中表示，继承争议的僵局使得悠仁亲王独自承担起皇室命运的重担。“核心问题并非允许男性还是女性继承，而是如何挽救君主制。”
持保守立场的《读卖新闻》在今年5月提出了自己的提案，呼吁紧急修订《皇室典范》，给予公主配偶及子女皇室身份，并允许女性继承皇位。该报呼吁议会“就关乎国家及国民团结象征的危机，负责任地得出结论”。
日本悠仁亲王在东京皇居参加“加冠之仪”
四、繁复的亲王成人礼：皇冠、马车与祈福仪式
9月6日，悠仁亲王的成人礼仪式从其家族居所开始。他身着燕尾服，接收由德仁天皇派使者送来的皇冠。
在其他皇室成员及政府高官均出席的核心仪式上，悠仁亲王身着象征未成年身份的米色传统和服。仪式中，他头上的头饰被替换为黑色成人“冠”（日本传统礼帽），标志着成人礼正式完成。悠仁亲王深深鞠躬，感谢天皇授予皇冠，感谢父母操办仪式，并承诺将履行皇室成员的职责。
加冠后的悠仁亲王随后换上黑色上衣的成人礼服，乘坐皇室马车前往皇居内的三座神社祈福。当日下午，悠仁亲王再次换上燕尾服，前往皇居，在尊贵的“松之间”（殿内以松树为主题的房间）拜见伯父德仁天皇与伯母雅子皇后。按照战后传统，他还在另一项仪式中被授予“大勋位菊花大绶章”。此外，他还前往前天皇明仁与前皇后美智子的居所拜见祖父母。
当晚，秋筱宫文仁亲王与纪子妃在东京一家酒店为儿子举办家庭私人庆祝晚宴，邀请亲属出席。
成人礼相关仪式还包括：下周初，悠仁亲王将前往日本最高神道教圣地伊势神宫；前往奈良县，祭拜传说中日本首位天皇神武天皇的陵墓；以及前往东京郊区，祭拜其曾祖父、战时天皇裕仁（昭和天皇）的陵墓。此外，他将于周三与首相石破茂及其他政要共进午餐。
参加完在皇居举行的成人礼后，悠仁乘坐马车离开。
Who is Japan’s ‘dragonfly’ prince, who could be the last emperor of the world’s oldest monarchy? By Associated Press. September 7, 2025.
Japan’s Prince Hisahito is the first male royal to reach adulthood in 40 years. Many people in Japan worry he could be the last.
The elaborate palace rituals to formally recognize Hisahito as an adult on Saturday are a reminder of the bleak outlook for the world’s oldest monarchy. Much of this comes down to its male-only succession policy and dwindling numbers.
Hisahito is second in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne and is likely to become emperor one day. After him, however, there is nobody left, leaving the Imperial family with a dilemma over whether they should reverse a 19th century ruling that abolished female succession.
Hisahito is a university freshman who loves bugs
A freshman at Tsukuba University near Tokyo, Hisahito studies biology and enjoys playing badminton. He is especially devoted to dragonflies and has co-authored an academic paper on a survey of the insects on the grounds of his Akasaka estate in Tokyo.
In his debut news conference in March, the prince said he hopes to focus his studies on dragonflies and other insects, including ways to protect bug populations in urban areas.
Hisahito was born on Sept. 6, 2006, and is the only son of Crown Prince Akishino, the heir to the throne, and his wife, Crown Princess Kiko. He has two older sisters, the popular Princess Kako and former Princess Mako, whose marriage to a non-royal required her to abandon her royal status.
Hisahito’s coming-of-age rituals fell a year after he turned 18, reaching legal adulthood, because he wanted to concentrate on college entrance exams.
He may be the last emperor
Hisahito is the nephew of Emperor Naruhito, who has one child, a daughter, Princess Aiko. Hisahito’s father, Akishino, the Emperor’s younger brother, was the last male to reach adulthood in the family, in 1985.
Hisahito is the youngest of the 16-member all-adult Imperial Family. He and his father are the only two male heirs who are younger than Naruhito. Prince Hitachi, former Emperor Akihito’s younger brother, is third in line to the throne but is already 89.
The shortage of male successors is a serious concern for the monarchy, which historians say has lasted for 1,500 years. The issue reflects Japan’s rapidly aging and shrinking population.
Japan traditionally had male emperors, but female succession was permitted. There have been eight female emperors, including the most recent Gosakuramachi who ruled from 1762 to 1770. None of them, however, produced an heir during their reign.
Succession was legally limited to males by law for the first time in 1889 under the prewar Constitution. The postwar 1947 Imperial House Law, which largely preserves conservative prewar family values, also only allows male succession.
But experts say the male-only succession system is structurally flawed and only worked previously thanks to the help of concubines who, until about 100 years ago, produced imperial children.
Hugely popular Princess Aiko, the only daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, cannot be her father’s successor, even though she is supported by much of the public as a future monarch.
A succession debate rages
To address succession concerns, the government compiled a proposal to allow a female emperor in 2005. But Hisahito’s birth quickly changed the tide and nationalists turned against the proposal.
A separate, largely conservative panel of experts in January 2022 recommended calling on the government to maintain its male-line succession while allowing female members to keep their royal status after marriage and continue their official duties. The conservatives also proposed adopting male descendants from now-defunct distant royal families to continue the male lineage.
But the debate has stalled over the question of whether to give royal status to non-royals who marry princesses and their children.
The stalled debate has forced Hisahito to carry the burden of the Imperial Family’s fate by himself, former Imperial Household Agency chief Shingo Haketa said in a Yomiuri newspaper article earlier this year. “The fundamental question is not whether to allow male or female succession line but how to save the monarchy.”
The conservative Yomiuri issued its own proposal in May, calling for an urgent revision to the Imperial House Law to give royal status to husbands and children of princesses and allow women to succeed the throne. It called on the parliament to “responsibly reach a conclusion on the crisis surrounding the state and the symbol of the unity of the people.”
Crown, horse-carriage and prayers
Saturday’s ritual for Hisahito started at his family residence, with him appearing in a tuxedo to receive a crown to be delivered by a messenger from Naruhito.
In a main ritual at the Imperial Palace, attended by other royal members and top government officials, he wore traditional attire with a beige-colored robe that symbolized his pre-adulthood status. His headcover was replaced with the crown, a black adult “kanmuri” headpiece, formalizing his coming of age. Hisahito bowed deeply and thanked the Emperor for the crown and his parents for hosting the ceremony and pledged to fulfil his responsibility as a royal member.
The crowned prince then changed into adult attire with black top and rode in a royal horse carriage to pray at the three shrines within the palace compound.
In the afternoon, Hisahito was to put his tuxedo back on to visit the Imperial Palace to greet Naruhito and Empress Masako, his uncle and aunt, in the prestigious Matsu-no-Ma, or pine room. In another ritual he is to receive a medal, the Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, in a postwar tradition. He also was to greet his grandparents, Akihito and his wife, former Empress Michiko, at their palace.
In the evening, Akishino and Kiko were to host a private celebration for their son at a Tokyo hotel for their relatives.
The rituals also include his visits early next week to Ise, Japan’s top Shinto shrine, the mausoleum of the mythical first emperor Jinmu in Nara, as well as that of his late great-grandfather, wartime emperor Hirohito, in the Tokyo suburbs. He will also have lunch with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and other dignitaries Wednesday.
来源：读行品世事一点号
