The Mikado of the title character as a disrespectful representation of the revered Meiji Emperor; Japanese theatre was prohibited from depicting the emperor on stage. Japanese Prince Komatsu Akihito, who saw an 1886 production in London, took no offence. When Prince Fushimi Sadanaru made a state visit in 1907, the British government banned performances of "The Mikado" from London for six weeks, fearing that the play might offend him – a manoeuvre that backfired when the prince complained that he had hoped to see "The Mikado" during his stay. A Japanese journalist covering the prince's stay attended a proscribed performance and confessed
The Cool Mikado The Cool Mikado The Cool Mikado is a British musical film made in 1962, directed by Michael Winner, (who makes a short appearance as an airline passenger a la Hitchcock near the start of the film) and produced by Harold Baim, with music arranged by Martin Slavin and John Barry. It starred Frankie Howerd as Ko-Ko, Lionel Blair and Stubby Kaye. The script was by Michael Winner, from an adaptation by Maurice Browning. Based on the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera "The Mikado", the plot is reset into contemporary Japan as a comic gangster story. The dialogue is largely rewritten,