Princess Ayako is the latest female royal to leave Japan’s shrinking Imperial Household.
Princess Ayako of Japan, the youngest daughter of Emperor Akihito’s cousin, has married Kei Moriya, a shipping firm employee, in a traditional ceremony at Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine.
With the marriage, held on Monday, the 28-year-old becomes the latest female royal to leave the Imperial Household under a Japanese law that strips women of their royal status if they marry a commoner.
« I’m filled with joy to get married and to have so many people visit us at the Meiji Shrine and congratulate us, » Princess Ayako told a news conference after the private Shinto wedding ceremony.
The princess wore a red court kimono and the moulded hairdo typical of the country’s imperial aristocracy to tie the knot with Moriya, a 32-year-old employee of Nippon Yusen, one of the world’s oldest shipping companies, who wore a morning suit.
Moriya said he hoped to help Ayako adjust to everyday life, telling reporters: « I want us to work together, hand in hand, to create a family filled with smiles ».
The pair met through their mothers, who are friends.
After signing her marriage papers, Princess Ayako became Ayako Moriya under Japan’s Imperial Succession Law.
