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 P.I.", entitled "Let the Punishment Fit the Crime", features bits of several songs from "The Mikado". The phrase and the Mikado's song also are featured in the "Dad's Army" episode, "A Soldier's Farewell." In "The Parent Trap" (1961), the camp director quotes the phrase before sentencing the twins to the isolation cabin together. The name of the character Pooh-Bah has entered the English language to mean a person who holds many titles, often a pompous or self-important person. Pooh-Bah is mentioned in P. G. Wodehouse's novel "Something Fresh" and in other, often political, contexts. In December 2009, BBC presenter James