Sayyida Buthaina bint Taimur Al Said (Arabic: بثينة بنت تيمور آل سعيد; born October 10, 1937)[1] is a member of the Omani royal family. She is the only daughter of former Sultan Taimur bin Feisal. Her mother was a Japanese woman, Kiyoko Oyama. Buthaina is the half-sister of Sultan Said bin Taimur and the paternal aunt of the sultans Qaboos bin Said and Haitham bin Tariq.
Biography edit
Early life in Japan edit
In 1935, at a dance hall in Kobe, Japan, a 19-year-old Japanese woman named Kiyoko Oyama (Japanese: 大山清子) met the former Sultan of Oman Taimur bin Feisal, who had recently abdicated the throne.[2][3] After a brief trip home, Taimur returned to Japan in 1936, at which point he married Oyama and took up permanent residence in Japan.[2][3] The couple lived in a mansion in Kobe's Fukiai-ku ward, and in 1937 they had a daughter, Buthaina, also known as Setsuko (節子).[2][3]
Buthaina's peaceful childhood was interrupted when her mother became ill with tuberculosis.[2][3] She was frequently in and out of the hospital, and Taimur was worried he and his daughter could catch the disease as well, so he sent Buthaina to live with her maternal grandmother while he moved alone to Bombay.[2] Kiyoko died in November 1939.[2][3] In May 1940, Taimur returned to Japan to bury his wife. He then left Japan, bringing Buthaina with him.[2][3]
Move to Oman edit
In 1940, after leaving Japan and briefly staying in Karachi, Buthaina was brought to Muscat, Oman. She was placed under the care of her father's first wife Sayyida Fatima bint Ali Al Said, the mother of sultan Said bin Taimur.[3] Buthaina's father decided to raise her completely Omani, cutting her off from her Japanese roots. She married and gave birth to a son.[3]
Buthaina's half-brother, Sultan Said bin Taimur, kept her essentially under house arrest at the royal palace alongside his son Sayyid Qaboos bin Said, who would later depose him and become sultan himself in 1970.[4] On taking the throne, Sultan Qaboos lifted Buthaina's house arrest, and in 1978 she was able to return to Japan for the first time, where she visited her mother's grave.[3]
Media depictions edit
Fuji TV aired two specials dealing with the story of Sayyida Buthaina bint Taimur Al Said and her mother, Kiyoko Oyama: an episode of Unbelievable in 2016[5] and an episode of The Nonfiction in 2018.[6]
References edit
- ^ Shimomura, Mitsuko (1974). アラビアの王様と王妃たち (in Japanese). Asahi Shimbun.
- ^ a b c d e f g Endou, Haru (2009). オマーン見聞録 (in Japanese). Tenbosha.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i al-Madani, Abdullah (2018-11-25). "تيمور بن فيصل.. أول سلطان عاش في اليابان من أهل الخليج". Al Bayan (in Arabic). Retrieved 2021-06-16.
- ^ "Sultan of Muscat and Oman Is Overthrown by Son". The New York Times. 1970-07-27. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
- ^ "国境を越えた愛の物語 〜80年前のシンデレラ〜". Fuji TV (in Japanese). 2016-02-04. Archived from the original on 2016-07-24.
- ^ "ザ・ノンフィクション: 私の姪はアラブの王女". TVでた蔵 (in Japanese). 2018-03-04. Archived from the original on 2005-12-05. Retrieved 2021-06-16.