The Thames and I: A Memoir of Two Years at Oxford is a memoir written by Naruhito, Emperor of Japan, that describes his time studying at Merton College, Oxford, from June 1983 to October 1985.[1] The book's title refers to Naruhito's thesis completed at Oxford: a study of "navigation and traffic" on the River Thames in the 18th century.[2] In the book, Naruhito writes that even after leaving Oxford seven years prior, the name of the river "conjures up in me feelings of affection and nostalgia transcending distance and time."[3]
The Thames and I was written in 1992 and translated into English in 2006.[2] The original Japanese version was printed in a small number of copies by a private press, and not sold to the public. The Times described the memoir as "unusually frank".[4]