Mako from Japan has been three years since he left everything to marry the love of his life. She lost her title as Princess, her status, her imperial jewels and even her family in order to fulfill her dream. She was considered at the time ‘the Japanese Meghan Markle’, but unlike her, discretion is her maxim. The Princess has not had it easy, but now she enjoys anonymity and a life away from strict Japanese protocol in New York, where she resides with her husband, lawyer Kei Komuro.
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Despite having everything against her, the former princess has been able to rebuild her life and move into the background of the media after experiencing great tension and stress before her wedding, which even took its toll on her mental health. As soon as she married her boyfriend, a university classmate, the couple settled in the Big Apple.
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Together in the United States they began a life very different from the one she had as the daughter of the heir to the chrysanthemum throne. After their wedding, which actually consisted of registering as a marriage in the civil registry and had none of the millennial elements of imperial marriages, they settled in New York, where Kei graduated in Law and got a job in a law firm. after taking the bar entrance exam several times. For his part, Mako initially focused on making his first accommodation a home. She was seen around Manhattan buying towels and other items for her one-bedroom house in the luxurious New York neighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen or taking the bus. She no longer had her security team or bodyguards available and she was a Princess in front of the world.
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Two months after leaving Japan, the couple already seemed practically New Yorkers and were beginning to enjoy an anonymous and free life that they would never have achieved in their native country. Without money (she gave up the million euros that corresponded to her as compensation), she quickly started looking for work and got it in the spring of 2022. Her knowledge of Asian art helped her find a job as a volunteer at the prestigious Metropolitan Museum of Art. Art (MET). She was heavily involved in preparing an exhibition of paintings inspired by the life of a 13th century monk who traveled throughout Japan to introduce Buddhism. Mako is an expert, having graduated from the International Christian University, where she met her husband, in art and cultural heritage. He also studied art history at the University of Edinburgh, before doing a master’s degree in museum and art gallery studies in 2016 at the University of Leicester (UK). While she was a Princess, she also did some work as a special researcher at the Tokyo University Museum.
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The rules of the Japanese Court
Princesses of the Imperial Family who marry a person without blue blood are automatically removed from the Crown, a requirement that does not apply to men. Mako has not been the only woman who has married a man who did not belong to royalty, but the controversy came when she was involved in a financial scandal that affected her future mother-in-law and that made her the center of all the targets. .
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After their engagement in 2017, the wedding was announced for November 2018, but Kei’s mother’s financial problem disrupted everything. His ex-partner demanded 31,000 euros from him, which according to her were a gift and, according to him, were a loan to be able to pay for his son’s university studies in the United States. The controversy became a snowball that caused a serious crisis in the Palace and put the celebration of the wedding at risk. In 2020, Crown Prince Akishino, Mako’s father, gave his approval to the marriage union, although requiring that the financial conflict be resolved, which was also highly questioned.
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In an attempt to calm things down, Mako rejected the financial aid of one million euros that the Japanese Government grants to women who leave the Royal House as compensation for marrying a commoner. Additionally, she gave up her diamond tiara and jewelry that were given to her when she turned 20 so she could be ‘introduced’ to her grandfather and begin her official duties.
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Finally, she got married in the most atypical wedding that the Japanese Court has ever had, as it was a civil marriage. The newlyweds held a press conference, the last time they have spoken publicly, where Mako said: “I am sorry for the inconvenience I have caused and I am grateful for the support I have received. For me, Kei is irreplaceable, marriage was a necessary option for us.” For his part, Kei added that he wanted to spend his entire life with her. “I love Mako. We only have one life and I want to spend it with the person I love. “I feel very sad that Mako has been in poor mental and physical condition, due to certain false accusations.”
Click to watch this special about Princess Mako, eldest niece of Emperor Naruhito of Japan, and her husband Kei, her boyfriend since college. After their wedding, the couple began a new life in the United States, far from their native country, which has earned them the nickname of the “Meghan and Harry” of Japan. Don’t miss it!
