Sayyida Buthaina bint Taimur Al Said (; born 10 October 1937) is a member of the

Omani Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

royal family. She is the daughter of Sultan Taimur bin Faisal and Kiyoko Oyama, the half-sister of Sultan Said bin Taimur, and the paternal aunt of Sultan Qaboos bin Said and Sultan Haitham bin Tariq.

Early life in Japan

Sayyida Buthaina, also known as Setsuko (), was born on 10 October 1937 in

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

to Sultan Taimur bin Feisal and his fifth wife, Kiyoko Oyama. She has five half-brothers from her father's other marriages: Sultan Said bin Taimur, Sayyid Majid bin Taimur, Sayyid Tariq bin Taimur, Sayyid Fahr bin Taimur, and Sayyid Shabib bin Taimur. In 1935, Sultan Taimur, then 47, met a Kiyoko Oyama (), then 19, at a

dance hall Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for Dance, dancing, but usually refers to a specific type of twentieth-century venue, with dance clubs (nightclubs) becoming more popular towards the end of the century. The palais de danse was a term ap ...

in Kobe. He had heard stories about Japan from

Shiga Shigetaka was the editor of the magazine ' during the Meiji period, in which he argued against extreme Westernization (Japanese: 欧化主義). Biography He was born in Yasuo-cho, Okazaki, Mikawa Province (present-day Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture ), ...

when he was in Oman in 1924 and after Taimur abdicated the throne in 1932 he decided to visit the country. Sultan Taimur returned to Japan the next year and married Kiyoko Oyama on 5 May 1936 at Akashi. He went back to Oman briefly to close his household there and returned to Japan on 18 September 1936. The couple lived in a mansion in Kobe's Fukiai-ku ward. Kiyoko contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and was in and out of the hospital until her death in November 1939. Taimur had sent Buthaina to live with her maternal relatives so she would not catch the disease while he lived in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He returned in May 1940 to bury his wife at Inami and then left Japan for the last time taking Buthaina with him.

Later life in Oman

After briefly staying in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

, Sultan Taimur brought Buthaina to Oman where she was placed under the care of his first wife, Sayyida Fatima bint Ali Al Said. Sultan Taimur continued to live in Bombay and only saw his daughter once more in 1945 when his visited Oman before his death in 1965. In 1978, Buthaina, accompanied by Sayyid Tariq bin Taimur, visited Japan so that she could visit her mother's grave. She also met with her maternal relatives and visited her previous home. It was noted at the time that she no longer could speak Japanese. Sayyida Buthaina bint Taimur now lives in

Muscat Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...

. She is married and has a son that works for

Oman Air Oman Air () is the flag carrier of Oman. Based at Muscat International Airport in Muscat, it operates domestic and international passenger services, as well as regional air taxi and charter flights. History Background Oman was one of the four s ...

Media depictions

Buthaina and her mother, Kiyoko Oyama, have been the subject of two

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

specials in Japan: an episode of '' Unbelievable'' in 2016 and an episode of ' in 2018

Title and style

*10 October 1937 - present: Her Highness Sayyida Buthaina bint Taimur Al Said

References

{{Authority control Al Said dynasty Omani royalty Daughters of Omani sultans 21st-century Omani women 21st-century Omani people Japan–Oman relations Omani people of Japanese descent People from Kobe Living people 1937 births 20th-century Omani women 20th-century Omani people