Crown Princess Masako

Masako
皇太子妃雅子
Spouse Crown Prince Naruhito
Issue
Aiko, Princess Toshi
Father Hisashi Owada
Mother Yumiko Egashira
Born 9 December 1963 (1963-12-09) (age 48)
Tokyo, Japan
Occupation Crown Princess of Japan

Crown Princess Masako (皇太子妃雅子 Kōtaishihi Masako?, the Crown Princess Masako) (born 9 December 1963) is the wife of Crown Prince Naruhito, the first son of the Emperor Akihito and the Empress Michiko, and a member of the Imperial House of Japan through marriage.

Contents

Early life and education

Born in Tokyo, Japan, she was originally named Masako Owada (小和田 雅子 Owada Masako?). She is eldest daughter of Hisashi Owada, a senior diplomat, and President of the International Court of Justice. Her siblings are two younger sisters, twins named Setsuko and Reiko.[1]

Masako went to live in Moscow with her parents when she was two years old, where she completed her kindergarten education. Upon returning to Japan, she attended a private girls' school in Tokyo, Denenchofu Futaba, from elementary school through her second year of senior high school. Masako and her family moved to the United States when her father became a guest professor at Harvard University and vice ambassador to the United States. In 1981, she graduated from Belmont High School, where she was president of the National Honor Society,[2] and she entered Radcliffe College.

Princess Masako holds an A.B. magna cum laude in Economics from Harvard College and attended but did not finish the graduate course in International Relations at Balliol College, Oxford University. Her senior thesis advisor at Harvard was Jeffrey Sachs. She also studied briefly at the University of Tokyo, where her father taught, in preparation for the entrance examinations at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[3]

In addition to her native Japanese, she is fluent in English and French, and is said to be of conversational standard in German, Russian, and Spanish.[4][5]

Employment

Masako was formerly employed by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she worked with her father, the Director General and prospective Vice Minister.[6] During her career she met many world leaders, such as U.S. president Bill Clinton and Russian president Boris Yeltsin. She also took part as a translator in negotiations with the United States concerning superconductors.

Marriage

Imperial House of Japan

HIH The Prince Mikasa
HIH The Princess Mikasa
Styles of
Crown Princess Masako of Japan
Reference style Her Imperial Highness
Spoken style Your Imperial Highness
Alternative style English: Ma'am
Japanese: denka 殿下

Masako first met the prince when she was a student at the University of Tokyo in November 1986, although some say they had actually met previously when her father served as an escort to members of the Imperial Family. Masako and the prince were pursued relentlessly by the press throughout 1987.[1]

Masako's name disappeared from the list of possible royal brides due to controversy about her maternal grandfather, Yutaka Egashira, Chairman of Chisso, a corporation infamous for the Minamata disease, a major pollution scandal. Behind the scenes, however, her relationship with the prince continued unabated. The Prince proposed several times before Masako finally honored his request on 9 December 1992. Palace officials formally announced the engagement on 19 January 1993. Although many were surprised at the news (as it was believed that the prince and Masako had gone their separate ways), the engagement was met with a surge of renewed media attention directed towards the imperial family and their new princess.

Masako was joined in marriage with His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito in a traditional wedding ceremony on 9 June 1993.[7] By virtue of the marriage, Masako Owada assumed the formal predicate Her Imperial Highness, the Crown Princess of Japan. In addition, she was placed in the Japanese Imperial Order of Precedence (used for the most formal occasions) behind her mother-in-law, the Empress Michiko, and her grandmother-in-law, the Dowager Empress Nagako.

Family and succession

The Crown Princess' first pregnancy was announced in December 1999. However, the Crown Princess miscarried soon after the announcement.[8]

Princess Aiko

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess have one child, Princess Aiko (her official title is Toshi no Miya, or Princess Toshi), born on 1 December 2001.[9][10]

The child's birth, which occurred more than eight years after her parents' marriage, sparked lively debate in Japan about whether the The Imperial Household Law of 1947 should be changed from that of agnatic primogeniture to absolute primogeniture, which would allow a woman to succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne.

A government-appointed panel of experts submitted a report on 25 October 2005, recommending that the Imperial Succession Law be amended to permit absolute primogeniture. On 20 January 2006, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi used part of his annual keynote speech to address the controversy when he pledged to submit a bill to the Diet letting women ascend to the throne in order that the imperial throne be continued into the future in a stable manner. Koizumi did not announce a timing for the legislation to be introduced nor did he provide details about the content but he did note that it would be in line with the conclusions of the 2005 Government Panel.

The Japanese Constitution does not allow the members of the Imperial Family to engage in political activities. The Prince has made pointed and controversial comments about discourtesies and pressures placed on his wife by the Imperial Household Agency and his wife's desire to pursue the life of a diplomat.[11]

Nephew

Plans to change the male-only law of Imperial succession were shelved after it was announced in February 2006 that Masako's brother-in-law, Prince Akishino, and his wife Princess Kiko were expecting their third child. On 6 September 2006, Princess Kiko gave birth to a son, Hisahito, who is third-in-line to the Chrysanthemum Throne under the current law, after his uncle, the Crown Prince and his father, Prince Akishino.[12][13][14]

Health

Princess Masako has remained largely out of the public eye since 2002, reportedly due to emotional disorders which many speculate are caused by the pressure to produce a male heir and adjusting to life in the Imperial Family.[15][16] In July 2004, she was diagnosed as suffering from adjustment disorder and is reported to be seeking treatment.[17][18][19]

On July 11, 2008, Naruhito sought public understanding for his ailing wife. He was on an eight-day trip to Spain without her, attending the wedding of the Prince of the Asturias[20]: "I would like the public to understand that Masako is continuing to make her utmost efforts with the help of those around her. Please continue to watch over her kindly and over the long term." Pressures to produce a male heir, to conform with the ancient traditions and a 1947 Imperial Law are perceived to be behind her illness, as well as negative media coverage of her behavior, the stress of royal responsibility and public life, and turf battles among the Imperial Household Agency.[21][22]

Ancestry

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8. Kaneyoshi Owada
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. Takeo Owada
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 9. Takeno Koga
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. Hisashi Owada
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10. Matashirō Tamura
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5. Shizuka Tamura
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1. Masako Owada
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12. Yasutarō Egashira
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6. Yutaka Egashira
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 13. Yoneko
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. Yumiko Egashira
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 14. Tanin Yamaya
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7. Suzuko Yamaya
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 15. Sadako Niwa
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


See also

References

  1. ^ a b Sanz, Cynthia (21 June 1993). "The Princess Bride". People 39 (24). http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20110658,00.html. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 
  2. ^ Green, Michelle (25 January 1993). "Princess Bride: Oft Rejected, Japan's Crown Prince Gets a 'Yes' from a Harvard Grad". People 39 (3). http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20109655,00.html. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 
  3. ^ Sato, Mariko (19 May 2009). "Princess Masako: Weight of Imperial world on Princess Masako". The Japan Times. FYI (weekly column). http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090519i1.html. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 
  4. ^ Hills, Ben (2006). Princess Masako: Prisoner of the Chrysanthemum Throne. London; New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin. p. 110. ISBN 1585425680. OCLC 76074219. http://books.google.com/books?id=zyg5_SYNe6UC&pg=PA110&lpg=PA110&dq=german,+Russian+and+Spanish+masako#v=onepage&f=false. 
  5. ^ Ruoff, Kenneth J. (2002). The People's Emperor: Democracy and the Japanese Monarchy, 1945–1995. Volume 211 of Harvard East Asian monographs. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Asia Center. p. 249. ISBN 0674010884. OCLC 55102604. http://books.google.com/books?id=aE4tpq4D2RAC&pg=PA249&dq=%22Crown+Princess+Masako%22#v=onepage&q=%22Crown%20Princess%20Masako%22&f=false. 
  6. ^ "The Imperial Family". Japan Zone. http://www.japan-zone.com/culture/imperial_family_members.shtml. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 
  7. ^ Hills, Ben (2006). Princess Masako: Prisoner of the Chrysanthemum Throne. London; New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin. p. 2. ISBN 1585425680. OCLC 76074219. http://books.google.com/books?id=zyg5_SYNe6UC&lpg=PA2&pg=PA2#v=onepage&q=june%201993&f=false. 
  8. ^ "Royal life takes its toll on Japan's crown princess". China Daily. 2 August 2004. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. http://web.archive.org/web/20110606231921/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-08/02/content_356946.htm. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 
  9. ^ "Girl Born to Japan's Princess". The New York Times. 1 December 2001. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/01/world/girl-born-to-japan-s-princess.html. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 
  10. ^ French, Howard W. (8 December 2001). "Asia: Japan: A Name For The Royal Baby". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/08/world/world-briefing-asia-japan-a-name-for-the-royal-baby.html. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 
  11. ^ Cameron, Deborah (24 February 2005). "Airing wife's troubles a turning point: prince". The Age (Melborne). http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/Airing-wifes-troubles-a-turning-point-prince/2005/02/23/1109046986391.html. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 
  12. ^ "Japan princess gives birth to boy". BBC News. 2006-09-06. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5316266.stm. Retrieved 2006-09-05. 
  13. ^ Walsh, Bryan (5 September 2006). "Japan Celebrates: It's a Boy!". Time. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1531895,00.html. Retrieved 16 November 2011. .
  14. ^ Yoshida, Reiji (27 March 2007). "Japan's Imperial Family: Life in the Cloudy Imperial Fishbowl". The Japan Times. FYI (weekly column). http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070327i1.html. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 
  15. ^ "Japan princess makes rare solo public visit". Agence France-Presse. Google News. 2 March 2009. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iKOMfNLRjO_gBnrVAhIzh7dtyXLw. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 
  16. ^ Lewis, Leo (5 February 2008). "Tabloids turn against the Crown Princess Masako". The Times (London). Archived from the original on 5 February 2008. http://www.forumforfree.com/forums/a/prince-naruhito-amp-princess-masako_post20-195-theroyals.html?mforum=theroyals. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 
  17. ^ "Royal wives seek new role in monarchies". China Daily. 13 July 2004. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-07/13/content_347829.htm. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 
  18. ^ "Princess trapped by palace guard". BBC News. 3 February 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3939179.stm. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 
  19. ^ Sakamoto, Mie (14 June 2008). "'Imperial diplomacy' proves elusive dream". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080614f2.html. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 
  20. ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-sadness-behind-the-chrysanthemum-throne-6169426.html
  21. ^ "Japan's crown prince seeks public understanding for ailing princess". Associated Press. GMA News and Public Affairs. 11 July 2008. http://www.gmanews.tv/story/106446/Japans-crown-prince-seeks-public-understanding-for-ailing-princess. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 
  22. ^ Schreiber, Mark, "Japan's troubled royals put up a brave front", Japan Times 1 January 2012, p. 13.

External links

Biographies: