Rituals await Japan heir, along with bit of freedom

TOKYO, Sep 7 (Reuters) Paper diapers or cloth? A day after Princess Kiko gave birth to a baby boy, Japan's tabloid media were awash with every tiny detail of the life that awaits the first male heir to be born into the imperial family in more than four decades.

The baby is likely to wear cloth diapers, and other aspects of life behind the Chrysanthemum curtain will reflect traditions that date back thousands of years, but his upbringing is expected to be less rigid than that of previous heirs to the throne.

The tiny prince, child of Prince Akishino, Emperor Akihito's younger son, got a taste of tradition on day one as a small sword -- a gift from the emperor and meant to ward off demons -- was laid by his pillow.

On the seventh day comes the naming ceremony, when Akishino writes the name on a piece of ''washi'', handmade paper, and puts it into a wooden box to be placed also by the baby's pillow.

In addition to his name, the small prince will also receive a ''stamp'', often in the shape of a flower, to mark his belongings.

Birth-related ceremonies are completed after four months when he is made to hold chopsticks dipped in porridge, a ritual also followed by some commoners.

While the monarchy remains rich with such symbolism, analysts agree the new prince will have more freedom and individual rights than was possible for older generations of the imperial family.

Until Empress Michiko, the new prince's grandmother, broke with tradition by raising her children herself, babies were taken care of by wet nurses and often lived away from their parents.

NURTURING INDIVIDUALISM Akishino and Kiko, who already have two daughters, have said they want to nurture the girls' individualism. The older princess, aged just 14, even went on a home-stay to Austria this summer, rare for such a young member of the imperial family.

And although the little prince is third in line to the throne, royal watchers say he will receive neither the special education nor leadership grooming laid on for past emperors.

''He may be an heir, but above anything else, he is a human being,'' said Motohide Osakabe, who was Crown Prince Naruhito's teacher at the high school that Akishino also attended.

''He should be brought up freely and I think that's what Prince Akishino will do,'' added Osakabe, who has said that Naruhito might not always have been a happy child, suppressing his feelings in view of his position.

Yohei Mori, a former journalist who has covered the royals, said times had changed and there was no longer any need for the special ''grooming'' practised when emperors were believed divine.

''All they need is to be able to exchange greetings, and perhaps the English language,'' he said.

Japanese emperors have not been worshipped as gods since Akihito's father, Hirohito, renounced his divinity after his army's World War Two defeat. They have no political authority.

REUTERS SP MIR BST1553