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Mrs. Komuro leaves the imperial house
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The bow to the royal parents, the Japanese version of the European curtsey. In Tokyo, Princess Mako has formally bid farewell to her family. There was a brief hug for her sister Kako before Mako got into the limo. Strictly speaking, she no longer took this path as a princess. Because on Tuesday she married her college sweetheart, commoner Kei Komuro. Without pomp and ceremony, just a signature on a document. With that she left the imperial house and lost her title as Princess of Akishino. In addition, Mako had announced that she wanted to forego her multi-million dollar dowry. The latter can be seen as a concession to the Japanese public, which had made it anything but easy for the daughter of the Crown Prince and niece of the Emperor in recent years. Mako and Kei wanted to get married back in 2018. But the year before, a financial scandal rocked the groom’s family. The Japanese media went crazy, opponents of the alliance took to the streets, the wedding was postponed and the fiancé left the country for the USA to let the matter grow. The scandal did not leave Mako unscathed either. The otherwise silent court office, considered arch-conservative, announced that the princess was suffering from a post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the negative reporting. She herself spoke – unusually for Japanese standards – publicly of false reporting and great sadness. Protesters took to the streets on Tuesday to oppose the wedding. Her departure from the imperial family should take her out of the lines of fire. In the future she will live in New York with her husband. As a member of the imperial family, Mako did not have a passport – as a commoner she will now receive one – another sign of a step into a new, hopefully more carefree life.
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With her wedding on Tuesday, Mako of Japan lost all titles and imperial privileges and will in the future live by her husband’s side in New York. Shortly after the marriage, she said goodbye to her parents.
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