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 English National Opera's usual Ko-Ko. In Isaac Asimov's short story, "Runaround", a robot recites some of the song. Other songs in "The Mikado" have been referenced in films, television and other media. For example, the movie poster for "The Little Shop of Horrors", shown to the left, parodies the song title, "The Flowers that Bloom in the Spring, Tra la!" changing the word "bloom" to "kill". In "The Producers", an auditioner for the musical "Springtime for Hitler" begins his audition with Nanki-Poo's song, "A wand'ring minstrel I." He is quickly dismissed. In the 2006 film "Brick", femme fatale Laura