Japan's Princess Kako Stars in Birthday Portraits, Embracing Elevated Role After Sister's Royal Exit
Imperial Household Agency of Jap/AFP via Getty
Happy birthday, Princess Kako!
The Japanese princess turned 28 on Thursday, and the Imperial Household Agency released new portraits of her to celebrate. In the autumnal photos, Kako smiled and posed on the grounds of the Akasaka imperial property residence in Tokyo, where many members of the Japanese royal family live.
According to The Japan Times, Kako embraced a heavier royal workload throughout the past year after her elder sister, the former Princess Mako, left the royal family to marry Kei Komuro, her commoner boyfriend who she met in college a decade ago.
With local coronavirus-related restrictions officially lifted, Kako attended an urban greenery fair, a high school sign-language contest, Girl Scout events and more this summer and fall, the Japan Times reported. She also became patron of the Japan Tennis Association and the Japan Kogei Association, a cultural preservation group, in her sister's stead.
Imperial Household Agency of Jap/AFP via Getty
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Kako and Mako, 31, are the daughters of Crown Prince Fumihito Akishino and Princess Kiko, who are also parents to son Prince Hisahito, 16. The siblings are the nieces and nephew of Emperor Naruhito, who sits on the Chrysanthemum Throne of Japan. Because the Japanese line of succession is exclusive to men, Emperor Naruhito's younger brother Crown Prince Fumihito Akishino is next in line, followed by Prince Hisahito.
In October 2021, then-Princess Mako married Komuro, 31, in a subdued ceremony at a government office. Because Japanese law requires a princess to "leave the imperial family upon marriage to a commoner," Mako gave up her royal titles in order to get married. She also turned down a $1.3 million payout from the Japanese government that is traditionally paid to royal women who lose their royal status when they marry.
The Imperial Household Agency explained that Mako and her now-husband did not want to have a big wedding "because their marriage is not celebrated by many people."
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SHIZUO KAMBAYASHI/AFP via Getty Images Kei Komuro and Princess Mako
"I am very sorry for the inconvenience caused and I am grateful for those ... who have continued to support me," the bride told the press at the time, according to the BBC. "For me, Kei is irreplaceable — marriage was a necessary choice for us."
Mako and Komuro met while attending International Christian University in Tokyo in 2012, the South China Morning Post reported. Komuro proposed over dinner in December 2013, per The Telegraph, and their relationship went long-distance while Mako studied for her master's degree overseas, graduating in Art Museum and Gallery Studies in January 2016 from England's Leicester University.
SHIZUO KAMBAYASHI/AFP via Getty Images Kei Komuro and Princess Mako
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The couple did not announce their engagement until September 2017, though their 2018 wedding plans were ultimately pushed off following a dispute over money between Komuro's mother and her former fiancé concerning his having financed Komuro's education.
One month after Mako and Komuro got married, they moved to New York City for a fresh start. Today, Komuro works in law, while Mako reportedly volunteers as a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
