Masako, Crown Princess of Japan
From Freepedia
Masako (雅子皇太子妃殿下 Masako kōtaishihi denka, the Crown Princess Masako) (born December 9 1963, Tokyo, Japan) is styled Her Imperial Highness The Crown Princess of Japan. As the wife of the heir apparent she is next in line to become the Empress of Japan.
Her Imperial Highness (born Owada Masako 小和田 雅子 and known in Japan as Masako-sama) is the eldest daughter of Hisashi Owada, a senior diplomat. She famously gave up a promising professional career when she married, and has struggled to adapt to life in the Imperial Household and the pressures to produce a male heir.
Contents |
Early life
Masako traveled the world with her parents from early childhood. She attended kindergarten in Moscow, and graduated Valedictorian of Belmont High School in Belmont, Massachusetts, near Boston, where she achieved a perfect 4.0 grade point average and was also President of the National Honor Society.
In 1985, she graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a degree in economics, following she spent the years between 1988 and 1990 reading for a postgraduate degree in International Relations at Oxford University.
Besides Japanese, the Crown Princess is fluent in six languages: Russian, English, Spanish, French, Latin and German. She was hired by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she met many world leaders such as U.S. president Bill Clinton and Russian president Boris Yeltsin. She also took part as a translator in negotiations with the United States concerning superconductors.
Marriage
Masako famously refused the marriage proposal of His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito, the Heir Apparent to the throne of Japan, on two occasions; she agreed on his third proposal.
Prior to the wedding she was required to undergo an intense fertility examination to ensure that she could safely deliver an heir to the throne. She also signed a prenuptial agreement, that limited her claims to the royal family assets as well as her own children in the event of a divorce.
The wedding took place on June 9 1991, and Masako, who by virtue of her marriage became Her Imperial Highness The Crown Princess of Japan, was instructed to give up her career and take on the responsibilities of Imperial Court life, which is dominated by the powerful and highly conservative Imperial Household Agency.
Controversy
After a highly publicized miscarriage (which was blamed on intense media pressure and the neglect and mistreatment she received from members of the Imperial Household Agency), the Crown Princess gave birth to a baby girl, Her Imperial Highness Princess Aiko, on December 1 2001. Princess Aiko's birth stimulated intense and ongoing public debate on changing Japan's Imperial Household Law so that females can ascend to the throne. The current lack of a male heir has created a great deal of anxiety in the Imperial household and Imperial Household Agency, as well as among some Japanese people.
On December 9, 2004, the Crown Princess announced that she hoped to return to her official duties, from which she had been absent for more than two years due to what doctors have called "stress-induced illness." The Prince has made pointed and controversial comments about discourtesies addressed to and other pressures placed upon his wife by the Imperial Household Agency; observers have claimed that the Crown Princess suffered a nervous breakdown. It was announced that the Crown Princess experienced a bout of shingles, and she herself released a rare statement that she was suffering from "fatigue."
It has been widely speculated that the immense pressure to produce a male heir has put heavy stress on the Crown Princess. In January, 2005, the Japanese government announced that it would consider allowing the Crown Prince and Crown Princess to adopt a male child in order to avoid a succession crisis. The child would be adopted from former royal members who lost their imperial titles after World War II. A government-appointed panel of experts is expected to submit a report later in 2005 regarding the feasibility of this plan. Many members of the Japanese public, however, have indicated that they would happily accept the possibility of Princess Aiko ascending the throne as Empress and view allowing the continuance of male primogeniture as a retrograde step.
External links
- Kunaicho | Their Imperial Highnesses Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako
- Hello! Magazine | Japan's Masako
- Who2 profile
- Profile at kjeld.com | Crown Princess Masako
- CBS News | Japan's Crown Princess Crumbles
- BBC News | Princess trapped by palace guard
- BBC News | News archive
