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 Mikado the following: A wide variety of popular media, including films, television, theatre, and advertising have referred to, parodied or pastiched "The Mikado" or its songs, and phrases from the libretto have entered popular usage in the English language. Some of the best-known of these cultural influences are described below. Quotes from "The Mikado" were used in letters to the police by the Zodiac Killer, who murdered at least five people in the San Francisco Bay area between 1966 and 1970. A second-season (1998) episode of the TV show "Millennium", titled "The Mikado", is based on the Zodiac case. "The Mikado"