Why is The Comic Opera The Mikado Not From Japan?

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Karen Hill

The English playwrights Gilbert and Sullivan wrote a musical about the emperor of Japan called the Mikado.

Most people think that the Mikado was the name of the Japanese emperor. The Mikado was actually the name of a door!

In medieval times, the Japanese were not allowed to say the name of their emperor. Saying his name was considered a sign of disrespect.

Instead, they called him the Mikado, which means “exalted door” and referred to the doorway to the emperor’s chambers.

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