Princess Ayako's wedding was celebrated in Japan. She married an ordinary Tokyo resident and is now losing her title. She will have to leave the palace and start living like an ordinary person. How was the wedding treated in the imperial family? And what is known about the groom? About this - Yana Lubnina and Anna Pestereva.
Princess Ayako Takamado is the first cousin of Emperor Akihito of Japan. She is 28 years old, and her chosen one Kay Moriya is 32 years old. The wedding took place at the Meiji Shrine, the largest shrine in Tokyo. The princess and her fiancé drank sake in a Shinto ritual, and then, as Europeans do, exchanged rings. The ceremony, which was broadcasted by national TV channels, took place without much scope. The girl came in a kimono and traditional hakama pants. The hair is tied up in a high hairstyle, which was worn by noblewomen in the XII century. The groom, on the contrary, looked modern: black tailcoat, silver tie, striped pants. In the hands of a bowler hat - this headdress used to belong to the father of Princess Ayako.
All this is traditional for local residents, said Alexander Meshcheryakov, professor at the Institute of Oriental and Antiquity at the Higher School of Economics: “In Japan, unlike the Christian tradition, a wedding ceremony was never considered a sacrament. These rites were created in the second half of the 19th century. This is a society that was rapidly entering Western life, but the modernization concerned, first of all, men, therefore a man in a tailcoat, and a woman, as the keeper of traditions, in traditional Japanese dress. "
Immediately after the ceremony, Ayako lost her princess title - no more honors and privileges. By law, a woman, when she marries, accepts the social position of her husband. And the chosen one of the princess, Kei Moria, is not from an aristocratic family. Nevertheless, the newlyweds were congratulated by the Japanese government. Crown Prince Naruhito, heads of the three branches of government and even Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are expected at the festive banquet. Despite the loss of the title, it seems that relations with the imperial house of Ayako were preserved. After the wedding, she told reporters that she did not regret anything and was very happy.
Ayako Takamado, Japanese princess:
"I am overwhelmed with joy both because I am getting married and because so many people have come to congratulate us."
Ayako and her husband Kei Morio met in December. They were introduced by the princess's mother, who wanted her daughter to be imbued with the idea of charity. Kay is on the board of the Children Without Borders group. In addition, the parents of the lovers, it turns out, knew each other.
Although the media calls Morio a “commoner,” he can hardly be considered an ordinary Japanese. He went to kindergarten in Paris, attended schools in Switzerland and the UK. The man works for one of the largest transport companies in Japan, Nippon Yusen. Kay loves sports and participates in marathons and triathlon competitions.
Such a marriage is actually a blessing for Princess Ayako, and deprivation of the title is an opportunity to finally live for her own pleasure, says the Japanese scholar Alexander Raevsky: “She will finally have a normal life. The imperial family in Japan is a golden cage. Emperor in Japan is not the most enviable position. The emperor has no power at all, he is a symbol of the nation. The emperor is a descendant of the sun goddess, he does not need to do all this, he is never burdened with this. In the modern world, for a modern young man or girl, the fact that she becomes an ordinary person means that she can breathe a sigh of relief. "
Obviously, Princess Ayako will not be lost in her new life. First, she has an excellent education. She graduated from Josai International University with a Master's degree and is a Research Fellow in the Department of Social Research. Secondly, the imperial house allocated a dowry to the newlyweds. The princess will receive almost a million dollars from the state. These funds should be enough to get the young family back on their feet.
Despite being stripped of her title, former Princess Ayako will retain honorary positions in two community organizations. One is engaged in the Japanese-Canadian community, the other is in children's education. Although this is against the rules, the imperial house decided to make an exception. Another unequal marriage in Japan will take place in two years. Princess Mako Akishino is also going to marry a "commoner".
MINSK, May 17 - Sputnik. The Japanese princess Mako Akishino, the granddaughter of the reigning emperor Akihito, is marrying a 25-year-old law firm employee whom she met while still a student.
The princess studied at the International Christian University of Tokyo, where she met her future groom Kei Komuro. The princess is now working as a research assistant at the museum, having received her master's degree from the University of Leicester.
Having entered into marriage with the chosen one, she will lose her title and leave the imperial family. In return for privileges, she will be given the right to vote and other civil rights, and a lump sum will be paid from the state. The amount of the payment is set by the State Council with the participation of the Prime Minister.
About morals
In an effort to learn more about Mako's fiancé, the Japanese nearly brought down the website of the travel agency Komuro works for. Upon learning of the engagement of the princess, the inhabitants of the country began to discuss whether the requirement for princesses to leave the family was outdated if their chosen one was a commoner. Mako is not the only unmarried princess, she has five more unmarried sisters.
© REUTERS / Imperial Household Agency of Japan via Reuters / File Photo
In Japan, there are concerns that the imperial family will not be able to fulfill their social responsibilities if the princesses continue to lose titles through marriage. An expert group of the Japanese government urgently demands that measures be taken that would allow the princesses to remain part of the family, no matter who their chosen one turns out to be. This should keep the imperial family large.
The Japanese imperial family now has 19 members, 14 of whom are women. A high family size is important also because it increases the chances of a boy heir and the continuation of the imperial family. The possibility of allowing the princesses to create their own branches of the imperial family after marriage is being discussed.
And last summer, the current emperor, now 83, announced his intention to resign. He stated that age and health conditions could prevent him from fulfilling his duties with dignity. Now Japan is in the process of preparing the renunciation of the imperial title.
What will happen now
Prior to the official wedding of Princess Mako and Kei Komuro, several important rituals and procedures must go through. The first is an engagement ceremony. The groom's representative must come to the imperial palace with gifts, after which he must announce the day of the wedding.
During the following ceremonies, the princess should express her gratitude to the emperor and empress. And on the wedding day, the groom's representative takes the bride from the palace, and only then the wedding ceremony is held.
Another Japanese princess chose love over royal status, and now it's official: Her Highness Ayako, daughter of Emperor Akihito's late cousin, underwent the traditional Nosai no Gi ceremony. The betrothal rite is an obligatory stage in the registration of a marriage union in the country. According to local custom, the groom's messenger comes to the bride's house to present her with an official marriage proposal and wedding gifts: dried fish, sake and silk fabric, symbolizing the groom's promise to maintain prosperity in the family for the rest of his life.
Recall that Her Highness's chosen one was 32-year-old Kei Moriya, an employee of the shipping company Nippon Yusen, whom the princess met last December ( read more about their dating history: "Another Japanese Princess Will Leave the Imperial House for Love"). Ayako and Kei announced their engagement in early July.
According to NHK World, at the Nosai-no-Gi ceremony, his relative Tatsuya Kondo became the messenger of the princess's groom. It was he who had the honor to visit the residence of the late Prince Takmado and his widow Hisako ( we talk about her here: "Who is the Japanese princess Hisako Takamado (and why is she a football fan)"). The ceremony took place in the presence of representatives of the press, and next to the bride who received the gifts was her mother. Her Highness Ayako looked gorgeous in a light-colored dress, gloves and pearl jewelry. It is symbolic that the ceremony took place in the hall where the portrait of the deceased father of the princess was located - so both parents of the bride were able to be present at this important moment for their daughter.
“I am very happy that the Nosai-no-Gi ceremony went so smoothly,” the bride later said in an official statement.
After the ceremony, Ayako and her mother went to announce the official engagement of the princess to the emperor and the empress. It is known that later the same day they were joined by the groom and his father. At the same time, the imperial family delighted their subjects with a whole series of official photographs of the bride and groom.
The formalization of the engagement was successful, however, we note that the Nosai-no-Gi rite is just one of several stages on the path of the lovers to the wedding. So, soon the couple will have a ceremony called Kokki no Gi, during which the groom's messenger will return to the Takamado residence to officially announce the wedding date. This will be followed by formalities of a different kind: discussion of Ayako's financial security after she leaves the imperial family. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet with representatives of both houses of the Japanese Parliament to agree on the amount of her "compensation".
Unfortunately or fortunately, the authorities already have the necessary precedents. So, in 2005, the only daughter of Emperor Sayako married a man of non-royal blood (or rather, his family formally lost aristocratic titles in connection with the events of 1947). She was paid 150 million yen. In 2014, the elder sister of Princess Ayako Noriko left the imperial family and married the commoner Senge Kunimaro. She received about 100 million yen.
All these amounts are a kind of compensation for the fact that the princesses have lost their titles, and with them various privileges. Under the Imperial Household Law, passed in Japan in 1947, women from the imperial family cannot maintain their status if they marry commoners. It is characteristic that this rule does not work for men: Japanese princes may well marry ordinary girls, and the misalliance will not affect either their own position or the position of their descendants.
The chrysanthemum throne was shaken by another love story, in which the emperor's granddaughter chose love over privileges. Princess Mako chose a simple student as her husband. And it just so happened that women from the Japanese imperial family, unlike men, always have to choose between love and title.
On September 3, the eldest granddaughter of Emperor Akihito of Japan, Princess Mako, officially announced her engagement to her classmate Kei Komuro. The wedding, according to preliminary data, will take place in the fall of 2018. But she will not become royal. The chosen one of the princess does not come from the imperial family, and therefore, before saying "I agree", Mako, in accordance with Japanese law, will have to give up his title and leave the imperial palace forever. The girl's parents - Prince Fumihito and Princess Kiko - did not interfere with their daughter's happiness and approved an unequal marriage, but they did not want to fight for the preservation of her aristocratic status.
The Japanese imperial house is very different from Western monarchies: it is not only scrupulous in the matter of observing traditions, but also quite secretive. Unlike, say, the British royal family, the emperor of Japan and his offspring continue to maintain an aura of mystery around them, and therefore to find out something about the details of their personal life is a real success for any journalist. This is probably why we know so little about the union between Princess Mako and Kei Komuro. It's no joke, even when a young princess from the most famous royal house entered the University of Leicester in London, she managed to remain incognito for a whole year. It was only the Japanese themselves who could recognize the aristocrat, but they, because of their special mentality in every sense, did not "give out" their princess.
Love story in Japanese
As expected, the love story of a princess and a simple student is as mysterious and sparse for press details as the whole life of Japanese monarchs.
Mako met her fiancé five years ago. Then she studied art and cultural studies at the International Christian University of Tokyo, and he studied at the Faculty of Law. Mako and Kei first met at an overseas education party and fell in love almost immediately. Their romance developed so rapidly that the young man in love made Mako an offer only 12 months after they met.
All these years, their love remained a secret for everyone: the couple did not even take joint photos (probably for the first time they will be photographed together during a press conference on the 8th). It seems that the only people who knew about this novel were the closest friends and members of the imperial family, who, perhaps, patiently waited and hoped that the princess would change her mind.
But she didn't change her mind. A small leak - and the whole country learned about the next imperial misalliance. Having received confirmation from the Directorate of the Imperial Court, the journalists immediately rushed for comments to the heroes themselves. Kay was taken by surprise by the paparazzi: the only thing he could say was that he would talk to the press "when there was time." Nobody got any comments from Mako: the girl limited herself to a modest smile and a polite nod.
Kay Kommuro is the same age as the princess and a real workaholic. He was not born in silks, but all his life he studied and worked a lot so as not to deny himself anything. Like his fiancée, the young man attended courses at several universities and, at 25, managed to change at least four jobs. On one of them, he even managed to work as a "prince" - though not in the imperial palace, but on the beaches of the city of Fujisawa. Officially, his position sounded like "Prince of the Sea". And do not be confused by such a naive name, because in fact Kay served as the city's ambassador, promoting tourism in it. His former boss recalls that his knowledge of the history of the city, international affairs and a brilliant English language helped the young man get the position.
Kei is currently working as an assistant lawyer and is pursuing a master's degree in corporate law from a prestigious university in Tokyo. Who knows, perhaps a person with such upbringing and intelligence could perfectly get used to the role of a prince-consort - besides, there are already such precedents in the world (the Swedes have allowed their crown princess to marry a fitness trainer). But the Japanese monarchy is adamant.
Kay Kommuro is not an aristocrat, and therefore the imperial granddaughter had to make a choice. And she chose love.
Runaway princess
Moreover, lately, tying the knot with commoners has become a major trend in the Japanese imperial family. At one time, Emperor Akihito married an ordinary girl (albeit from a wealthy intelligent family). Then he not only retained the title, but also knocked out the title of Empress Consort to his bride Michiko. His sons followed in their father's footsteps: in 1990, the younger Prince Akishino married a simple girl named Kiko, and three years later, the senior prince Naruhto took a worker of the Japanese Foreign Ministry Masako Owada as his wife. Both women were granted princess titles after marriage.
It turned out that the imperial sons twice completely violated the palace protocol with impunity: firstly, the youngest son married earlier than the eldest, and, secondly, both of them linked their lives with commoners. But, unfortunately, this mechanism does not work in the opposite direction - and this is very dangerous for the future of the Japanese monarchy.
The fact is that the Japanese imperial family is already small: it has only 19 people (with the departure of Princess Mako, there will be 18 of them), and 14 of them are women. Moreover, 6 of these 14 women are unmarried princesses, who in the near future - given the latest trend - may also fall in love with "ordinary" men and leave the family. Thus, a little more than ten people will remain in the imperial house - and this is catastrophically little for the full performance of the monarch's functions.
This is due to the strictest Japanese law on the Imperial House, which was adopted in 1947 and by the will of the coalition that won the Second World War, significantly limited the possibilities of the local monarchy. In general, the Japanese imperial order is too masculine. Women here not only do not have the right to take the throne - even being married to the emperor, they have to be content with only the title of empress-consort (that is, they are not sovereign monarchs). Moreover, the sons of the emperor's daughters also have no right to claim the throne. So neither Sayako nor Mako was "caught" in the imperial house anyway.
8 empresses
As already mentioned, there are few men in the Japanese imperial family, and if we talk about the younger generation, then here he is completely alone - the ten-year-old Prince Hisahito, who is the third in line for the Chrysanthemum throne.
There are no sons in the family of Crown Prince Naruhito and his wife Princess Masako (by the way, she is often called "Japanese Diana"). Moreover, due to the lingering depression of the princess, the couple could not conceive an heir for many years: their only daughter, Aiko, was born eight years after the wedding. And in the family of the brother of the crown prince Akishino and Kiko, only girls were born for a long time. The first - our heroine Princess Mako - was born in 1991, followed by Princess Kako.
Since the palace baby boom for a long time was limited to some girls, in the imperial family, as well as in the Japanese government, they seriously thought about changing the principle of succession to the throne in favor of the birthright. A special expert group was assembled, and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi even promised to submit a relevant bill to parliament. In a word, the Japanese monarchy was already on the verge of a new era for itself, and the young princess Aiko was just a few steps away from the throne.
In addition, then many Japanese remembered that the Chrysanthemum throne was not always so intolerant of women: in the history of the country there were already precedents when a lady ascended the throne. Of course, over the 2500-year history of the Japanese dynasty, 8 women are like a drop in the ocean, and many local conservatives do not stop shouting that these empresses were just regents, but the fact remains.
Moreover, while traditionalists are trying hard to defend the inviolability of male privileges in the right to the throne, ordinary Japanese, as it turned out, are not at all opposed to being formally ruled by a woman in the future - a recent poll yielded 86%. However, after a son was finally born to the youngest Prince Akishino, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe immediately rushed to roll back the bill. As unnecessary.
Since then, the "women's question" in the imperial house has remained a topic not subject to discussion. So it is not surprising that Japanese princesses continue to flee Tokyo Palace with "ordinary" suitors, because inside the imperial court they are waiting for a marriage of convenience, renunciation of basic civil rights, permanent protocol - and no hope of the throne. In an ordinary Tokyo apartment, Princess Mako will not be met by a hundred servants, but at least she will have love, the opportunity to vote, and even the chance to do international affairs (what Kei Komuro wants so much, and what Princess Macau, the former an ambitious employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and now just a depressed princess).
