On Tuesday, Japan’s Princess Mako – Emperor Naruhito’s niece – married her lawyer fiancé, Kei Komuro, in a ceremony that usually lacked bells and whistles.
When you think of royal weddings, you think of a lavish public ceremony, with thousands of well-wishers lined the streets and a country brimming with wedding fever. But that was not the case here at all.
This silent episode also marked the end of Mako’s imperial times. The newlyweds are expected to move to New York City, where Komuro works at a law firm.
While some may draw comparisons between the couple and the British royal family, the similarities are somewhat superficial.
Sure, these days it’s become fairly routine for the royal family to find themselves “happily after” with the masses. In the Windsor clan alone, we’ve seen the Queen’s sister Princess Margaret marry photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, William and Kate, and of course, Harry and Meghan. But marrying a non-royal has also been widely accepted in European royal monarchies: Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik married marketing executive Mary Donaldson, and Spain’s then-Crown Prince Felipe married former CNN+ anchor Letizia Ortiz. Of.
And yes, stepping out of a royal family after falling for an ordinary man – which some people disapprove of – is akin to the Sussexes. Harry and Meghan famously stepped back as working royals in favor of a new life in California, but don’t expect Japanese newlyweds to follow suit.
Ken Roof, director of the Center for Japanese Studies at Portland State University, says, “Members of the British royal family grow up amongst great wealth. And they also spend a lot of time directly raising money for charitable causes, so learn how to do that. Have to.” Works.” “So when Harry and Meghan went to America telling different stories about the royal family, they managed to make millions and millions of dollars, all the while wrapping themselves in feel-good, left-wing causes.”
Roof says that Mako’s departure is a “dramatic exit”, but feels they will opt for a quieter life, now that they are married. “I think what’s going to happen is they’re going to disappear.”
The 30-year-old isn’t the first Japanese princess to swap the palace for a more normal life. His Aunt Sayako, the only daughter of former Emperor Akihito, was the last to do so in 2005, when she married town planner Yoshiki Kuroda. But in comparison to that match, Mako and Komuro’s union has suffered an unusual level of vitriol from the public.
It should have been a love story for centuries. The college sweetheart announced her plans to get married in 2017. The excitement initially spread throughout Japan, but public perception soon waned.
“There are a lot of doubts and misunderstandings about Kei Komuro and his mother, and people are afraid that the image of the royal family will be tarnished,” says YouTuber Kei Kobuta of Royal Affairs. Kobuta said that many royal viewers view Mako as a sister or daughter, and believe that she made the wrong choice.
Many in Japanese society hold the world’s oldest monarchy – and especially its women – to mercilessly high standards, says Kumiko Nemoto, a professor in the School of Business Administration at Senshu University in Tokyo, whose research focuses on gender.
“The Japanese public wants to feel closer to members of the royal family, but they also want the family to adhere to gender roles and family norms, where a woman, they believe, has male rights in the family and nation. are. must obey,” she said.
“Perhaps, because many Japanese men and women live their lives with the great constraints of gender roles or the social pressures of traditional family and career, they may think that a man and a woman must sacrifice themselves for marriage and family ,” They said. adds up.
Even Japanese royals need a certain mystery about them, says Christopher Harding, a senior lecturer in Asian history at the University of Edinburgh. “There has been no attempt in Japan to create a ‘media monarchy’ the way there has been progressively in Britain. There is more respect and respect, although this does not prevent certain sections of the Japanese media from doing tabloid-style gossip stories, “They say.
Those smears have taken a toll on the bride, who was diagnosed with complicated post-traumatic stress disorder earlier this month. She is not one of Japan’s first imperial women to face intense pressure from public scrutiny.
Harding says Masako married into the royal family in the belief that she could continue her diplomatic career. “The reality has been less kind, at least until recently. Masako found that his main duty was to produce an heir.”
Harding continues, “Feminists in Japan, the United States, and elsewhere were deeply disappointed, as they hoped that she could represent a new beginning.” “The Japanese public is generally sympathetic to the toll on mental health that an imperial role can play. But it also suspects that mental health diagnoses are used to stifle criticism, or to hide shortcomings.”
“This was especially the case with Masako,” he says. “She needed rest as part of her treatment, but some criticized her for avoiding her duties and letting her husband do all the work.”
Mako’s departure would once again restart the debate as to whether royal law should be amended to allow women marrying commoners to keep their royal titles as men, and consequently a reduction in succession. I. To strengthen the line.
For some, the idea of the so-called “Empress Reign” on the Chrysanthemum Throne is an obstacle to the modernization of the monarchy. But Harding says the real important point is the potential loss of patrilineal succession.
“Even when emperors have ruled in the past, the throne has always been passed down the male line,” he explains. “Those in Japan who are keen to preserve the Japanese tradition … worry that the country could end up with an emperor (or empress) at some point in the future if women are allowed to sit on the throne. Those whose mothers are of royal blood but whose fathers are not. It will be an unbearable break with the past for them.”
(With reporting from CNN’s Amiko Jozuka, Selina Wang and Junko Ogura in Tokyo and Nectar Gan in Hong Kong.)
did you know?
Japan’s royal family is shrinking with Mako’s departure. There is currently only one young heir to the throne, Mako’s brother, 15-year-old Prince Hisahito.
Here’s a look at how the existence of the world’s oldest dynasty rests on the shoulders of a schoolboy.
from the royal vault
We mentioned earlier that life as an empress in Japan’s royal family is not an easy ride. Going back to the CNN archives, we found this 2019 excerpt from international correspondent Will Ripley exploring the difficult experience faced by Empress Michiko of Japan. take a watch:
At a press event on Tuesday afternoon, Mako appeared with her husband in front of a selected group of journalists. The pair apologized for any trouble caused by their marriage, expressing gratitude to supporters.
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-Max and Lauren
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