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 This was adapted as a film in 2010. Film and television references to "The Mikado" include the climax of the 1978 film "Foul Play", which takes place during a performance of "The Mikado". In the 2010 episode "Robots Versus Wrestlers" of the TV sitcom "How I Met Your Mother", at a high-society party, Marshall strikes an antique Chinese gong. The host rebukes him: "Young man, that gong is a 500-year-old relic that hasn't been struck since W. S. Gilbert hit it at the London premiere of "The Mikado" in 1885!" Marshall quips, "His wife's a 500-year-old relic that hasn't been