In 2018, Japan’s Princess Mako made headlines all around the world. In 2018, Mako was the oldest granddaughter of then-Emperor Akihito. In 2019, Emperor Akihito abdicated and his son Naruhito became emperor. Naruhito is Mako’s uncle. There are several girls in Mako’s royal generation, and the Japanese media is very interested in the lives and loves of the Japanese princesses. Anyway, in 2018, Mako was 27 years old and she had been engaged to Kei Komuro for about a year. They were planning their wedding and there was tons of interest in it. Then Mako decided to call off the wedding because of, in her own words, her immaturity. The way the Japanese imperial family works, if you’re a princess and you marry a commoner, you’re basically kicked out of the family but you get a nice payout (millions of dollars). People thought at the time that Mako was having second thoughts about leaving royal life to marry Kei, a commoner.
Crash cut to present day. Mako is still with Kei, and as it turns out, Mako kind of took the hit for postponing the 2018 wedding because Kei’s family was and is pretty sketchy. But their love prevailed and now they’re set to wed later this month. And no one is happy about it!
Princess Mako’s engagement to non-royal Kei Komuro has been anything but smooth sailing. They set out plans to marry in November 2018, but this was put off after Mr Komuro’s mother was reportedly embroiled in a financial dispute linked to money she had received from an ex-fiancé. (It was thought that this money was used to fund her son’s education). Now, three years on, a date is set, and Japan’s Princess Mako, 29, will marry her former classmate, a commoner, this month – and give up her royal status.
The landscape they will marry against has reportedly soured somewhat somewhat; when they were first engaged they were cast as a perfect match: the young, beautiful princess and her sharp-brained trainee lawyer, a man – also 29 – for whom she was prepared to sacrifice her imperial status. Now, following the financial scandal, the media has changed their tune and they have been dubbed Japan’s Harry and Meghan (given their plans to live in America once wed).
The Imperial Household Agency announced on Friday 1 October, that Princess Mako, the niece of Japan’s Emperor Naruhito, would marry Komuro on 26 October. But rather than the day being an all-singing, all-dancing national celebration, rather it will take place against a backdrop of scandal, tabloid intrusion and public disapproval.
Komuro, who has recently returned to Japan with a law degree from Fordham University in New York, has become easy prey for the tabloids. According to media commentators, it’s partly spurred by the fact that the topic causes sales and viewing figures to boom across news outlets. Returning to Tokyo’s Narita airport last week, Komuro was greeted by more than 150 reporters, who focused their – unfavourable – copy on the ponytail he had grown during his time in the US. As the BBC writes: ‘In a country where appearance plays a big art in people’s impressions, many felt that it was further proof that he was not fit to marry Princess Mako.’
The Guardian writes that ‘the scandal surrounding their relationship means this will be a royal wedding like no other’. Mako will reportedly forgo a traditional lump-sum payment of up to 150 million yen (£0.97m) which is typically given to a member of the royal family upon their departure from the household (given it is a payment funded by the taxpayer).
The couple will not have an official engagement ceremony and will do without a formal meeting with Mako’s uncle before the wedding. Instead, they will register their marriage at a government office before moving to New York, where Komuro has lined up a job with a leading law firm. The couple are expected to continue to attract serious levels of media attention, even in the US. Just before his recent visit to Japan, his first trip home for three years, Komuro was reportedly chased through the streets of New York by Japanese reporters.
Apparently, Mako’s parents do NOT approve of this marriage at all, but they’re letting it happen. And Mako will soon be 30 years old – her birthday is on the 23rd of this month, so she will be 30 when she marries Kei. Her parents are like “what can we even do at this point, she’s 30 years old and she’s loved this guy for nearly a decade.” But they can register their disappointment and lay a guilt trip on her. I don’t think Mako really cares though – it’s really funny to me that Kei rolled up in a ponytail and he’s like “we’re going to live in New York, I’ve got a good job, see ya!” Props to Kei, honestly. And Mako! I’m proud of them – they’re dreaming of a life bigger than the imperial family. They’re marrying for love and moving to New York.
Look at Kei’s ponytail!!! OMG!!! He’s so cute.
Photos courtesy of Getty, Avalon Red.
I think they will be very happy in NYC away from the Imperial court. I’ve read that the Japanese royal family is stifling and living within it causes serious mental health issues.
Yeah, we all talk about Princess Charlene but not Empress Masako. Now that’s a tragic story!
Also her mother in law Empress Emerita Michiko–she was treated just as poorly as Masako.
And even Mako is reported to have developed PTSD by all the pressure and brouhaha over her marriage to Kei.
I agree. I wish them all the luck in the world. So happy to see them escaping.
I agree completely! Three women in three generations suffering from mental health problems (and they aren’t even all blood relations) feels like a huge sign that things should be reworked. I hope Mako and Kei are so happy.
Even the young crown princess has struggled. Being a Japanese royal sounds like it sucks hairy goat balls.
With the way Empress/Princess Masako struggled and suffered (and may still be struggling and suffering), I think Mako is making the right decision.
I remember when Yale- and Oxford- educated Empress Masako got engaged in the early 90s; she said she hoped to continue her work in diplomacy as a member of the Imperial family. After marriage she basically disappeared and then came the rumors of severe and debilitating depression. I am not sure she would make the same choice again.
I had read awhile back that Masako’s father’s career as a diplomat was threatened if she didn’t accept the Crown Prince’s proposal. I don’t know if that’s true but if so, what a horrible dilemma to be laid in your lap! I would hope that faced with the same decision today, she would think more of her own well-being and the track of her own life.
Feeshalori I remember reading something in that vein back then. That Masako was very reluctant to accept the proposal but Naruhito somehow “convinced” her. Wow and yikes if her father’s career was part of it.
She was so pressured to have a male child and the Chrysanthemum Court almost destroyed her over it.
Naruhito did try to protect her, but the Imperial Household Agency was just too powerful. Her MIL, Empress Michiko, also suffered to the point where she couldn’t talk for a period of time. It’s such a disgrace what these courtiers do to these women.
Aww, they’re adorable
@ Guest, they really are adorable and I love his ponytail!! Love conquers their imperial opinion!!! May they be happy and live life of fulfillment and happiness!!!
I don’t get it, there doesn’t seem to be a scandal here? The guy’s mother’s ex-fiance wanted to give him some money to go to school? And?
Japan is an extremely toxic place though. I know some Asian countries seem superior, but Japan ain’t it.
Same, I also don’t understand the financial scandal here. Am I missing something?
I think the financial scandal is BS. If you’re engaged to someone with a kid of course you’ll spend money on that kid. To turn around years after the break up to publicly demand the money back now that the kid has grown up and become a somewhat public figure feels like a BS Thomas Markle move imo. I kind of feel like maybe the public doesn’t like the idea of a guy who grew up without a lot of money raised by a single mom marrying a princess, if that happens they must be gold diggers. It is so snobby. I’m glad they are persevering. I bet she’s turning down the money because of the gold digger rumors too, which I don’t think she should have to do!
Wait what? You mean life in the imperial family is toxic for the princesses, right? Not the entire nation.
Yes, the entire nation.
I lived in Japan for six months. As a non-Japanese and non-white woman, don’t even TRY to tell me it’s not toxic. Even beyond the race stuff, daily life can be toxic, from the insane work culture to the rampant misogyny.
Soni – I’m sorry you had that experience. I lived in Tokyo for four years. I can’t speak much to daily life outside of Tokyo or the experience of being non white, but the most toxic element of my personal experience was the behavior of white men in Japan. To that end, Japan has more respect for the humanity and dignity of women than the state of Texas. No country is perfect but currently the US isn’t even in the running when it comes to race relations and women’s rights.
Japan is literally one of the most xenophobic places on Earth. I’m guessing you’re white, and thus had no contact with that that side of things, as Japanese and many east Asian cultures venerate whiteness. And you’re talking about the dignity of women? Did you know that it’s required that a woman in Japan get consent from the father for abortion? Additionally, chemical abortions, which are safe, are also illegal, and the only option is surgical, which is way more dangerous.
Soni – I already acknowledged that I can’t speak to the experience of being a non-white Westerner in Japan. And yes I know there is a great deal of xenophobia. I am aware of the restrictions on abortion (which are far more minimal than the restrictions in many U.S. states). My point is just that most of the toxic elements in Japan (xenophobia, objectification of women) exist in equal or greater degrees in the U.S. I admit when I first moved there I was young and hugely feminist and scandalized by a lot of what I saw regarding the treatment of women. But in the decades since, I’ve seen much worse treatment of women here in the U.S. Also, Japan – very much unlike the U.S. – has constitutional guarantees of equal rights for women. So while culturally there is a lot of sexism, legally women have more protections than we do in the U.S.
As for having to get permission from the sperm donor to have an abortion, I was scandalized by that when I first learned about it. But in reality they don’t DNA test, so any man can sign the consent form and women regularly just have a male friend do it. It’s still horrifically patriarchal, but it’s a damn site better than what women face in Texas.
Again, I cannot personally relate to the experience of being non white and non Japanese. I do know there’s a lot of racism against non-Japanese Asians in Japan. And I’m not saying Japan is a bastion of open-mindedness at every turn, but blanket dismissing an entire nation as “toxic” begs some analysis.
I’m a white westerner and lived in Japan for 3 years (near Tokyo), and I loved every minute of it!
I lived half way between Osaka and Kyoto for three years – the first year was really hard and I had a lot of problems with sexual harassment. Groping, stalking, being filmed through my apartment window and the police blamed me for it because I wasn’t married. However, once I better understood the culture and how a lot of the older, more traditional men view women I learned how to navigate it. And in the end I just loved it despite the difficult start. Made a lot of friends, admired so much about the culture and had a wonderful time. I’d do it all again in a heartbeat. That said. They are smart to get out and very strong humans to be able to withstand the peer pressure, judgement and obligation to family and culture which is next level. Good for them. I wouldn’t wish what happened to the Empress on anyone.
From what I’ve read, Kei’s mother is a single mom who worked in a bakery. The boyfriend gave her (loaned her) $40,000. She says it was a gift, the ex-boyfriend went to the media and said it was a loan and she hadn’t paid him back. She may or may not have used some of that money to pay for Kei’s tuition and the press is saying she was grooming her son to snag a princess. And Kei says that whether it was a gift or a loan, he’s going to pay it back.
Oh ok, well that changes things a bit lol. Though if his family is poor I’m gonna be on his side.
I have never lived there, only visited for a few days, but I wouldn’t describe Japan as “extremely toxic.” Every country has its issues.
Some might say my country was extremely toxic due to electing a vile criminal like Trump president, and I’d have to agree, that was extremely toxic, but that does not represent all of us.
a national culture can be toxic without that representing all the people in the country, just like a workplace culture can be toxic even if some or many employees are not
if the US was a workplace, i would not want to work there
can’t speak for japan, but the perspective of someone who has lived there as a visible minority holds more weight for me than the perspectives of tourists (including my own)
Wow @emma guessing you are a white woman too. You’ve never Lived there have no experience of the country other than 3 DAYS and your own opinion- which you deem to be superior to a racialized woman’s account of her experience living and working in the country. Wow. White privilege personified.
Well, the Japanese press are losing their minds because he wore a ponytail, so I guess it doesn’t take much to “scandalize” them.
@MissMarirose – I did not know that Dan Wooton & Piers Morgan had journalist relatives living and working in JAPAN! Thanks for the update!
I watched a documentary on PBS about Japan and how important it is to be pure Japanese and anyone of mixed blood was discriminated against. God forbid you were Korean and Japanese or a child of a US African American serviceman and Japanese woman. It was pretty sad and infuriating.
I worked for a Japanese company in NYC for years. My boss was “pure Japanese” but he married a Japanese woman who had been born in Japan, of “pure Japanese” parents, but raised in South America. As long as he chose to stay married to her and was employed by that company, they would not allow him to return to Japan. He chose to stay in NYC.
So, it seems women are still considered property in Japan. Why would a princess lose her name and titles just because she marries a commoner? It makes no sense, especially since everyone in Japan is a commoner!
She’s not only the Emperor’s niece, she is also the daughter of the next Emperor, and sister to the next next Emperor. The best thing to do is GTFO. Her sister, too.
Also, how many men are there who these princesses could marry and retain their status? I just don’t understand it.
Literally none. After WWII aristocracy and minor royalty was abolished. Only the Imperial House remains, and the Emperor had to sign a document stating he wasn’t descended from God/s (?) So literally every female born to an Imperial Prince will lose her name and status if she weds.
There aren’t any. After WWII they restructured the laws around the Imperial Household and the number of people who could claim Imperial status decreased by a ton. It means that princesses are stuck because there are no princes for them to marry. It is incredibly unfair that they lose their status because of this.
Hypothetically, a Japanese Princess could marry a western European Prince but that would really cause the Japanese Imperial Household Industrial Complex and the Japanese media to have an apoplexy.
I do not know the name of the publication or how large the circulation numbers are but there is a Japanese equivalent of The Daily Fail.
Good for them! Sound like they weather some crap over their years together and now they are leaving everyone negative behind and starting a new life.
Glad you shared the picture of his scandalous ponytail! Would any Japanese readers be willing to explain why the ponytail is a big deal? How does it make him unfit? Is it too casual?
As much as we see Japan as a fashion leader, there is massive pressure to conform to traditional norms. We’ve hosted a couple Japanese international students and here are some of the things I’ve seen/been told
– when flying home, all the girls were required to fly in their school uniform for inspection by the school chaperone meeting them in Toronto for the flight back to Japan.
– one of the boys staying with us had us help him dye his hair jet black before returning home for school because it was slightly sunbleached. Only Black hair was permitted, if you were Japanese. Literally needed a doctor’s note to attest that your hair was naturally brown if anything other that black.
A ponytail in the business/legal world there would be … shocking.
Thank you for sharing those stories. The media reaction makes a bit more sense to me now.
He is cute! I love the jaunty ponytail. In the US they will likely have anonymity and be able to live normal lives, because the average person here has no idea Japan even has a royal family. But I would love it if paparazzi got shots of them hanging out with Harry and Meghan, lol.
I haven’t been able to gauge whether this is an actual scandal or just tabloid shit stirring. I had a Japanese friend from grad school who really didn’t want to go back, but her company paid her tuition. Very narrow range of appropriate behavior.
My cousin’s ex-wife is Japanese. He’s American and they met in London. They lived first in the US, and later in Japan. When they divorced after about 15 years, he stayed in Japan and she moved back to the US. I don’t have all of the details, but my understanding is that his ex-wife was never excited to move back to Japan in the first place. And part of the reason was that she comes from an upper/upper-middle class family and she didn’t want to deal with their very narrow behavioral expectations. (I suspect including a choice to maintain her academic profession and not have kids.)
@Malificent –
One thing that occurred to me while I lived in Japan is that there is something very unique to North America (and Europeans correct me if I’m wrong that this is largely a North American thing) which is that if you don’t come from money and also don’t follow the traditional path of high school-university/trade school-career, in North America there are many opportunities to start over, to return to school or begin a new trade or change careers at 50. It’s not easy, and of course it’s harder if you’re raising children, but my own mother dropped out of college after 3 years and had me. She returned to school in her forties to finish college and earn a master’s degree. Nearing 50, she started a completely new career, from which she’ll soon retire at 70.
I could be wrong that it’s not common in Europe to do that, but I know for a fact that it’s not common in Japan to do that. And if there’s any one thing we can say we do well here in the U.S./North America, it’s second/third chances at life.
So what is that figure 97 million pounds and of taxpayers money? Wow
No it’s 150 million yen, which is around a million pounds. And she’s leaving it on the table.
£0.97M, so just under £1M.
It’s .97 million pounds – still a lot of money, but closer to $1.3 million USD.
This comment reminds me of the 80s when the Yen was the hot currency, but the funny thing is that as a denomination, the yen is equivalent to the penny. It’s the smallest denomination, so while exchange rates fluctuate, the simplest method is to divide by 100 to estimate the value in dollars or pounds.
I love Japan dearly but their press can be SO vicious, I’m sure that plays a role in this too.
This girl is a fighter. And her dad sucks.
I don’t quite…what is supposedly wrong with them as a couple? Something about his mother and money? It doesn’t sound like it was illegal or anything.
Anyway, Mako would have had to leave the royal family if she married at all. There’s no one who would be an eligible spouse. She’s been together with her fiance since forever, so good for them for doing what they want.
Kei’s mother’s ex-fiance started publicly complaining about money he gave her when they were in a relationship together. He says it was a loan, she says it was a gift. Apparently the money was used on living expenses and for Kei’s education. This has caused people to paint the whole family as gold-diggers, which seems very unreasonable to me. But people have said that Kei must be marrying Mako for the money, and my guess is that’s why she’s not taking the million dollars when she leaves the family.
Are you a member of a royal family who is being harassed by the media in your home country for crazy reasons? Come to America!
Apparently she’s an art appraiser and is already being approached for jobs in NYC, so the two of them should be just fine.
And the Japanese imperial family is on its last legs. Whereas hundreds of people are in line for pretty much all of the European thrones, Japan only has 2 – TWO! – heirs: the emperor’s younger brother and his young son. Rulers cannot be descended from daughters, and there is only one boy in the youngest generation who has descended from the male line. So if that boy dies without an heir, that’s it. All over, unless they bring in men descended from women, which is hard to do since they kick out of the royal family any woman who marries a commoner (thus, all of them).
Run, Mako, run!
“Are you a member of a royal family who is being harassed by the media in your home country for crazy reasons? Come to America!”
@harperc, I LOL’ed at this. I can just picture the ads on late-night TV!!
Funny but accurate!
I mean . . . that’s laugh out loud funny, but also kinda a South Park-esque mini-history of America. That’s kinda how we came to exist.
I suppose the Japanese Imperial family has some of the same appeal as the British RF, which is stunningly beautiful real estate that makes you feel like you’re walking through history. If anyone ever finds themselves in Tokyo, absolutely tour the imperial palace gardens. But, again, like the British RF, we don’t need a living monarchy to enjoy the wonders of their real estate holdings.
I think the Japanese Imperial Family will have to die out for it to be gone. The Japanese monarchy is so much older and more intertwined with national and religious culture than so many other monarchies. And with the Japanese focus on rank (in every sense, from familial, to work, to social, etc) the reverence toward the Emperor is so much more intensified than with other monarchies. It’s funny in that for so long the emperor was so ceremonial and then became the functioning head of state during the Meiji and now is a constitutional monarchy. Ironically enough I think the 1947 Constitution extended the monarchy’s longevity by reducing the Emperor to a symbolic role. We’ll see how the succession issues turn out…
It’s going to be interesting to watch the Japanese royal family. Their inability to change has rendered them nearly obsolete. Only males can be heirs, and they have 1 male heir in the entire family. One teenaged boy. The pressure on him will be unbearable, and the pressure on whoever he chooses to marry will be appalling. Her ONLY value, as of now, will be to give birth to a boy. The pressure nearly destroyed Empress Masako. She was a vibrant, intelligent woman completely beaten down by the pressure of the royal family.
While in a sense it’s too bad that Japanese princesses who marry at all must leave the family, at least they get to live their own lives.
I think they’d probably allow female inheritance if there wasn’t anyone left, they were about to right before the birth of Hisahito. But I could be wrong.
Exactly. If Hisahito and not been male, the succession laws would have been changed to allow for a sovereign Empress. This was talked aboy a great deal in the USA on NPR.
Do to the birth of Hisahito, all the Japanese Imperial Household Industrial Complex did was the “kick the can” down the street for another 30 years.
No, they were mainly debating between :
1) allowing male descendants of the Imperial Family in the female line inherit,
2) allowing female members of the Imperial Family who marry non-Imperial Family males to stay in the official family and thus allow their male children a place in the line of succession but also potentially leave the government with financial obligations to them, or
3) making a one-off deal that put some or all of the male descendants of the Imperial Family from historical collateral branches of the Imperial Family into the line of succession and allowing a place in the line of succession for any male-line male offspring (specifically avoiding changing the marriage rules for the female members of the Imperial Family, and allowing them to pick and choose only those men the Diet and the Imperial Household Authority found to be the least objectionable).
For the most part the Japanese government wasn’t seriously considering allowing female inheritance before Prince Hisahito of Akishino was born. Also, they are still publicly investigating possible answers to the succession crisis, and those government officials who have made statements about it have been clear even by non-Japanese standards that they do not see allowing female inheritance as a possibility.
Turns out, misogyny is not a winning strategy for long-term dynastic rule! They’re getting what they deserve.
True that! They are rendering themselves obsolete through their own intransigency.
I agree completely, I cannot imagine how hard it would be to be that boy or the woman who winds up marrying him. They should have changed the law to let Princess Aiko inherit – not just for her, but for the good of the whole family. You can’t just keep counting on sons, it’s an incredibly unfair amount of pressure to put on someone and you just cannot control it!
Oh look, royalty once again causing problems in people’s lives! I am delighted that they found each other stuck together, I wish them a fulfilling and happy marriage.
I love that he came back with that ponytail knowing that the press and traditionalists would go absolutely crazy. The older I get the less tolerance I have for the peripheral and meaningless trappings of ‘tradition’.
so people don’t like thst his mom got money from a former lover thst paid for her kids education…..thst is stupid….did the liver rob a bunch of girl scouts for the money?
I wonder if Princess Mako and Kei got advice from Harry and Meghan.
In my fantasy, both couples go out to dinner together in the U.S,! 🙂
Yaaaas!!
The Japanese Imperial Court seems horrible- conformist, even more stuck in its ways than the UK, and responsible for Empress Masako’s mental health issues. They seem inflexible in its rules for women, and downright misery-inducing.
Mako is super close to freedom. And I hope she and Kei have a great time once they get out of there and get here to NYC.
The Imperial Household can kick rocks! She should be second in line to the throne, but she’s not because they’re sexist jerks! She should still be a princess and member of the royal family after marriage, but she’s not (going to be), because they’re sexist jerks! I’m glad she’s taking her man and running off to New York. I hope she meets up with Meghan and Harry and causes people to faint from the pearl clutching. I hope she and Kei have like 12 kids, all boys!
She should be third, behind her cousin Aiko and her father.
Mako’s father is HIH Prince Fumihito. Prince Fumihito is the better looking of the two brothers in my personal opinion.
Do not see how Prince Fumihito could be bothered about a ponytail when for years Fumihito wore his hair long and looked like the Japanese version of an older George Harrison. See the link: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2018/11/d11f30316603-princes-free-speech-hot-topic-in-japan.html
A woman has agency over her own life and it’s a scandal in Japan. That is why sometimes I hate in here. It’s been awful to watch all the circus that the media has created around this marriage. I hope they can be happy in the USA and never look back.
Wait, the “scandal” was that Kei’s mother was fighting about money with her ex? How is that a scandal? And why would that make Kei a bad marriage prospect? This seems all blown out of proportion. I definitely see the similarities with Harry and Meghan on that point.
The real scandal is that an Imperial Princess is going to marry a man from a single-mother-working-class background and they’re leaving the country to avoid the excessively narrow socially acceptable expectations placed upon them. I’m pretty sure if he was from an old money family, especially one of the old noble families or a collateral branch of the Imperial Family, they might report on this stuff but they’d downplay it considerably. They wouldn’t turn it into a we-have-to-leave-the-country-to-get-away-from-the-press-harrassment situation.
The whole scandal is partly because Japan is super conservative, where appearances is everything and you can’t ruffle feathers and also, probably, they don’t want to pay that much tax money to a princess when their economy isn’t doing well.
Shallow comment here: they are both SO GORGEOUS!! Hope they find happiness in the U.S.
100% agree that they make a gorgeous couple, this is my first time seeing a picture of the infamous ponytail, and damn does Kei look GOOD! I’m really rooting for them!
So it seems that no matter who she married she would lose her status, so I’m happy that she’s found someone she loves and they are already setting up a life together in NYC. Good for them.
I thought he was cute before, in the engagement photos, he’s even cuter with the pony tail. She’s not the first Japanese princess to marry a commoner and get kicked out of the family and since the family is mostly girls they won’t have anyone left. I do wonder what that means, can they still see their family in private but not show up for public events? Perhaps it’s time for a rule change.
The scandal is the mom was sued by the ex- boyfriend, she claimed the money was a gift, he said it was a loan.
The only reason paparazzi will bother them in NY is because the Japanese press put a price on them, just like the DM did to H&M.
Wishing them the best.
I don’t know anything about Japanese royalty so who would have been considered an acceptable partner for her in Japan? Do they have certain families or an aristocracy that they should choose partners from? I read she has PTSDf rom the nasty press coverage, and another woman in the imperial household, Empress Masako, withdrew from public life for over a decade due to aggressive and hostile media. Anyway, these are two grown adults and they are capable of living their lives and making these decisions themselves. Wishing them much success in life and love. Also, I like the ponytail. He’s really cute.
Maybe some personalities flourish better in different cultures. The United States, for both better and worse, is pretty fiercely individualistic. That may appeal to people who want to live outside their family’s expectations.
They are so cute together, I’m happy they’re getting out!
We all have to thank our lucky stars none of us were born into a royal family and deal with the toxicity of being an heir, being a spare, or having to lose all our titles simply because we want to be with the person we love. I know families are complicated and can be toxic nonetheless but I can’t imagine dealing with the added pressure of royalty on top of it. I did some quick research, basically there’s been a scandal every single time a commoner has married into the Japanese imperial family. That goes for Empress Masako, her sister-in-law Princess Kiko, and former Empress Michiko. Michiko and Masako especially both dealt with a lot of mental health issues due to the pressure of being part of the imperial family and now this toxicity is now spreading to poor Princess Mako. I get a financial dispute is kind of scandalous but Kei seems like a stand-up guy, he has worked hard to get his law degree, and now he’s got a great job waiting for him in NYC. I get the money loan/gift thing is sketchy but that’s not Kei’s fault, he’s not the one that accepted the money. This isn’t a Lori Loughlin situation where he lied about his credentials to get into college or whatever. And it sucks now they can’t have the wedding they want, but since it was already delayed my guess is Mako was probably over it and just wanting to get it done. She can start her life with her future husband away from the Japanese media and live her life the way she wants. I wish them both all the happiness they so deserve!
So now we have Harry and Meghan, Mako and Kei, and also Princess Madeleine and her husband (I forget his name), they’re in Florida somewhere. Any other royalty refugees who want to start anew on our shores?
Glad for them and congrats to the happy couple, but can I just say that if they have wanted to have children – only IF, maybe they don’t or hadn’t up until now; I wouldn’t assume and I don’t know them, – it’s pretty outrageous for anyone to have been interfering and causing this delay. People aren’t fertile forever, and people in good health and with enough financial resources are most of the time much better off having kids when they are younger.
All monarchies should be abolished.
Good for them, the Japanese Imperial court is a destroyer of souls. She’s smart to get out and away, far, far, away.
It’s kind of funny that his ponytail is viewed as further proof that he isn’t fit to marry her lol like WTH? Half of the guys u know grew out their hair and a beard during quarantine. Chill out. I’m happy they are getting out. Being Royal ain’t what it used to be.
I am 100% digging the pony tail. It’s a fresh, modern, very New York look. The princess is lucky and I am happy for both of them. These imperial/royal families are relics of ancient decorum rules that destroyed lives and kept women tamped down for years. They are super toxic and the complicit press is really incurring some seriously bad karma.
The ponytail thing is crazy but then again look at the western media and some white people still unable to come to grips with the hair of a black princess.
I wish the couple well and yes it’s unfair but it’s forever #abolishthemonarchy. Funny how they are acting more like true royalty yet will be extinct in the near future. Royalty is about divine right and “pure” bloodlines, having commoners marry in as the western monarchies have done actually doesn’t make sense. What then makes them special?
I’m happy for the both of them and I wish them the best. Doesn’t matter which country you’re in, royal life can be horrid, especially if you’re a woman.
I too love the ponytail and wish them the very best. I worked for an ambitious Japanese company here in the states for a long time. Tons of Japanese filling out the company’s positions. My Japanese boss was an absolute gem. Something would happen and he would exclaim “and this is why I hate the Japanese!” My coworkers and I would be in stitches.
The expats never wanted to go back to the mothership in Tokyo, they wanted to raise their kids here and attend US colleges, it was like reaching the promised land.
damn if they decide to make babies, dem babies are going to be STUNNERS.
Happy to have em! 💚 Send us all the royals who choose love!
America is glad to play host country to Truman show escapees 😆
They are a lovely couple, I wish them the best. I think and hope they’ll be better off in New York.
Interesting to read the perspectives on Japanese culture. I have never been, but my husband did a lot of work for a Japanese company in the late 90s and early 2000s, and spent many weeks there. He also had two Japanese interns at his firm, and we spent time with both of them.
I can totally see how some people would have a bad experience there. It can be very conservative, somewhat misogynistic, depending on whom you encounter. One of the two interns we hosted was very retrograde in his views on women, even rude. I had him for dinner, and at one point in the middle of a conversation he turned to my husband and said, right in front of me, “your wife asks a lot of questions!,” as if I were not there. It was just the three of us, too!
The other young man we hosted was just the opposite. He was lovely, married with a little girl, and much more modern in his views. Just way more with the times.
Anyway, kudos to the pair and may they be very happy! They’re adorable.
He’s super handsome! And she’s really beautiful. Good for them. America will be a great place to be out of the spotlight.
He looks so different in these photos. His eyebrows are totally different and so are his eyes.
OT: If it’s a healthy relationship I am all for it.