In 2021, royal gossip turned to Japan and the saga of Princess Mako’s love affair with Kei Komuro. Kei and Mako had been in love for the better part of a decade, and Mako had (at that time) already called off their engagement at least one time. Kei even moved to New York to pursue his law studies, yet he and Mako were still together. Kei returned to Japan in 2021, he married Mako and he brought her to New York. It was Japan’s version of the Sussexit – by marrying a “commoner,” Mako had to leave the Japanese Imperial family. Reportedly, Mako and Kei live pretty quiet lives in New York – he works for a law firm and she was volunteering at the Met. I hadn’t seen any gossip about them in a few years. Well, it looks like they welcomed their first child!
Japan’s former Princess Mako has given birth to her first child, Japan’s Imperial Household Agency confirmed on Friday, May 30.
Few details were shared by palace officials, who did not reveal the baby’s gender or date of birth, but did say that both mother and child were doing well, according to reports from the Associated Press and The Japan Times.
Mako’s child is the first grandchild for Japan’s Crown Prince and Crown Princess, who also share children Princess Kako and Prince Hisahito, according to The Japan Times.
Grand Master of the Crown Prince’s Household Naomasa Yoshida shared in a May 30 press conference that the palace was officially announcing the arrival of Mako’s child following reports that she had given birth.
“This is a matter for a person who has left the Imperial Family, and we had hoped that she would spend her time in a quiet environment,” the grand master said, per The Japan Times. “We decided to make the announcement, however, in light of some media reports [about the birth].”
Mako welcomed her child with her husband Kei Komuro, her former classmate from International Christian University in Tokyo. The former princess, who is Emperor Naruhito’s niece, left Japan’s royal family and gave up her royal status in order to marry Komuro — who is a commoner — in 2021. They later moved to New York, where Komuro is a lawyer.
“Mako’s child is the first grandchild for Japan’s Crown Prince and Crown Princess” is wild. Let me look something up… Mako’s sister Kako is around 30 years old and she’s unmarried. Kako will likely be in the same boat as Mako if and when she marries – she’ll have to “leave” the family and have her royal status withdrawn. Prince Hisahito is only 18 – it’s pretty early to pressure Mako’s brother to provide an heir. The whole reason why Hisahito is the second in line to the throne is because Emperor Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako, only have one child, Aiko, Princess Toshi. Japan still hasn’t overthrown their strict male-only primogeniture rules. Anyway, congrats to Mako and Kei! I hope they’re living a lovely life in New York.
Photos courtesy of Getty, Avalon Red.
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- SÃO PAULO, SP – 22.07.2018: PRINCESA MAKO VISITA JAPAN HOUSE – Princess Mako, 26, the eldest granddaughter of Japan's Emperor Akihito, who is in Sao Paulo for the 110th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Brazil, visits Japan House on Sunday morning (22). (Photo: Aloisio Mauricio/Fotoarena),Image: 515676246, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Aloisio Mauricio / Fotoarena / Avalon
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- SÃO PAULO, SP – 22.07.2018: PRINCESA MAKO VISITA JAPAN HOUSE – Princess Mako, 26, the eldest granddaughter of Japan's Emr Akr Akihito, who is in Sao Paulo for the 110th anniversary of Japanese immigra to Brazil, visits Japan Hou House on Sunday morning (22). (Photo: Aloisio Mauricio/Fotoarena),Image: 515676249, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Aloisio Mauricio / Fotoarena / Avalon
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- SÃO PAULO, SP – 22.07.2018: PRINCESA MAKO VISITA JAPAN HOUSE – Princess Mako, 26, the eldest granddaughter of Japan's Emr Akr Akihito, who is in Sao Paulo for the 110th anniversary of Japanese immigra to Brazil, visits Japan Hou House on Sunday morning (22). (Photo: Aloisio Mauricio/Fotoarena),Image: 515676259, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Aloisio Mauricio / Fotoarena / Avalon
Aww, congrats to them!!
I’m also *really* happy that Kei appears to have passed the bar exam and is a practicing lawyer. I know it took him at least a couple times which, while extremely common, had to have been a lot more pressure and attention than they wanted on their post-royal life.
The first picture is straight out of a KDrama – that long look from nearby.
Hopefully they are living a wonderful life, regardless of anyone else’s expectations!
So intense! I’m glad they held on and found a way.
Congratulations on the birth of your child. May you all live in peace and enjoy your lives.
Are there any non-commoners the Japanese princesses could marry and keep their status? Anyone in Japan? What if they married a European royal? Aristocrat?
The BRF is awful, but the Japanese courtiers seem to be trying hard to outdo them. Just know what I read in the mainstream press, though. Is there a good book someone can recommend.
From what I remember at the time I think the catch is that there isn’t anyone for them to marry without losing their royal status.
CBs please correct me if I’m wrong!
I believe that in the aftermath of WWII there was no more Japanese nobility outside of the immediate royal family — so at this point, if a Japanese princess wants to marry, she basically has to marry a commoner and lose her status as there are no other options for her.
The role of the tabloids in this story was insane — the coverage was so awful that Mako was diagnosed with PTSD. When they got married she basically flipped off the Japanese tabloid media (in a Japanese princess kind of way) and bolted to the US where I hope they have a very happy life.
Hello, I am a huge fan of Kaiser from Japan. SarahCS’s comment is correct, there (almost) isn’t anyone. They have to marry a male member of Japanese imperial family to keep their status, but prince Hisahito (Mako’s brother, second in line) is the only one male unmarried.
Wow. That’s restrictive. So the male heir, who is only 18, at some point, will he also have to pick from such a limited and imperial pool? Wild. I lived in Yoro-cho within Gifu-ken over 20 years ago. So many things I loved about Japan and some culture shock with some things I didn’t love. Same as if someone moved to any new place, I’d imagine.
The Japanese royal family reminds me of cults like the Shakers who eventually just die out due to these restrictions.
(The Shakers left a legacy of unique and beautiful furniture, though …)
Hello jais, no the male heir (all the male members) can marry a commoner and keep their status. It’s a deeply patriarchal system.
I’ve read that life as a royal is incredibly rigid and harsh. Japanese society in and itself can be be rigid and demanding, and I would imagine the royal households are even more so.
Masak and I are more or less the same age, and like with Diana initially you see a fairy tale. I think the reality of being a commoner as well as having fertility issues was such a strain on her. Although I think Emperor Naruhito loves her unlike Charles with Diana.
I’ve read that life as a royal is incredibly rigid and harsh. Japanese society in and itself can be be rigid and demanding, and I would imagine the royal households are even more so.
Masak and I are more or less the same age, and like with Diana initially you see a fairy tale. I think the reality of being a commoner as well as having fertility issues was such a strain on her. Although I think Emperor Naruhito loves her unlike Charles with Diana.
She’s adorable.
Royal life in Japan is harsh for several reasons and one of them is the Imperial Household Agency. The Imperial Household controls literally every aspect of a royal’s life including their daily routines, finances, and security. Their level of control is so invasive and intense they were able to create the Imperial House laws which dictates the rules that govern the Imperial family. Using that law they control succession, the rights and responsibilities of members, and their interactions with the public.
Japan prioritize male heirs and the current Empress could only give birth to one daughter. She’d had miscarriages and literally just giving birth was a miracle but it wasn’t enough for the Imperial Household Agency (IMA) because the child was a girl. They pressured her so intensely she developed depression and then the IMA claimed she developed “adjustment disorder” which made it hard for her to adjust to royal life and banned her from going outside or doing any kind of work privately or publicly to “reduce her stress levels”. Her husband Naruhito both as crown prince and then the emperor fought with the IMA publicly (breaking centuries of royal tradition) and spoke about how their abuse of his wife, their intentional “suppression of her personality” and other tactics had affected her ability to adjust to royal life and impacted her mental health.
I don’t even blame him for how hard he went against them. His wife was exceptional and kind of reminds me of Meghan with her intelligence and then how the establishment tried to crush her. Masako was a highly educated successful woman who had B.A. in economics from Harvard and a law degree from the University of Tokyo which allowed her to work in International Relations for the Japanese government. She spoke English French and Japanese. She was born in 1963 and was being this badass in the 80s in JAPAN! Masako was 1 of 5 women working in International Relations and literally turned down Naruhito 3 times when he proposed because it would end her career in diplomacy and restrict her freedoms. He finally convinced her to marry him by saying being the crown princess would be another form of diplomacy. The Imperial Household Agency took that bright accomplished woman and tortured her and damn near imprisoned her just because she couldn’t give birth to a boy. Her husband fought them and now she can come outside but she’s not the same.
The IMA is terrible! Princess Mako developed PTSD because they were doing everything they could including using the press to pressure her and her fiancé’s family to stop her from marrying a commoner. Keep in mind there is no one else the royal women can marry! There are only royals and commoners left in Japan and only royal men can marry and keep their royal status. Knowing this the IMA still makes it outrageously difficult for royal women to marry and then makes life hard for them if they do and stay in Japan.
Honestly this family feels less terrible then other royal houses because i feel like they know they have to band together against the IMA which makes all of their lives terrible. Sort of a my enemies enemy is my friend type of thing that bonds them.
@B: wow!!! How awful!! Perhaps this is an example of the ‘slimmed-down monarchy’ that Charles is working towards. They’ll end up slimming themselves down out of existence. I feel for everyone in the Japanese royal family–those who remain in the fold most of all.
From the outside it seems like a lovely outcome. I hope they are still able to have a relationship with her family. And that PR statement, what a polite but direct scolding of the media!
From what little I’ve seen, it seems like her family is largely supportive. They certainly aren’t waging smear campaigns (that I know of). I think the Japanese press had it out for Kei from the get go, but it seems like once they got married and faded into obscurity, they let it go.
The Japanese paparazzi are as bad as UK paps. And their tabloids are also as bad. Some of the JP Monachists feel entitle to have a say in whatever Mako should do. The paparazzi followed this couple around the NYC all the time when Mako first moved there. I don’t know if the paparazzi still do that (because I stopped following their story), but hope they can give the new parents spaces & some respect.
Congratulations to Mako & Kei.
I hope they’re having fun in NYC. Welcome to parenthood!
Aww, this news makes me very happy. Mako & Kei were very much in love before the Japanese press came for him because of his mother’s debts. I’m glad they are happy & thriving in NYC.
I was just in Japan (had a Great time!) and on a tour, the tour guide told us that the Japanese people really like her.
Their laws are like Britain where males inherit the thrown though the country recently has a vote (don’t think it was official) and 80% of the country was in favor of changing the law so she could be the next Empress.
Leaving is the best thing that could happen for her. The life of an imperial woman is toxic. Both the current empress and the previous one had nervous breakdowns from the lifestyle and pressures imposed on them. It’s very misogynistic.
This news gave me a smile. I’m happy for Mako and Kei. True Love might struggle to survive but it always wins.
I love this couple. So romantic
Just read through the comments and yes wish this couple well.
Awww! So glad they are doing well and are happy. They were put through a lot of grief for no good reason.
‘…we had hoped that she would spend her time in a quiet environment.’ WTF? Do they really mean they hoped she go away forever & they could forget about her? Would they rather they leave NYC and move to, I dunno, some tiny island with no internet? Geez Louise; how about ‘we’re happy for the young couple’? Is that too much?
I think they were referring to the paparazzi. They’ve been following her around NYC, saw her pushing a stroller, and that’s the only reason people know she had a baby. She shouldn’t have to announce anything, especially considering how horribly she was treated by the Japanese media. They should leave her alone.
That’s how I read it too — that the hope was / is that the press and photographers would leave this young family alone instead of forcing them to be exploited by the media.
Congratulations to Mako and Kei. Wishing them happiness and peace.