Japanese princess Ayako gets into the (modest) marriage boat

Princess Ayako gets married today with her fiancée Kei Moriya, but that is – unlike Harry and Meghan – not accompanied by pomp and circumstance. The woman disappears from the Japanese emperor’s house and from now on she goes through life as an ordinary citizen.

Mrs. Ayako Moriya gets a one-time benefit from the Japanese government, but after that she will have nothing more to do with the imperial family. Because Princess Ayako is no longer part of the emperor’s house because of her marriage, the wedding is a modest affair. The event is a stark contrast to the royal marriages earlier this year, for example of Prince Harry and Princess Eugenie in England. Even the Ayako family is largely absent: the princess has already said goodbye to Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko last Friday, and equally important, to the imperial ancestors in the sanctuaries dedicated to them.

Ayako met her bridegroom this morning in the Meji shrine in Tokyo. She wore a kimono, a so-called kouchiki, for the ceremony. She was accompanied by her mother Princess Hisako and her still unmarried oldest sister Princess Tsuguko. It is not clear whether her married sister Noriko may be present.

Tomorrow a wedding party will take place in a hotel in Tokyo, where Ayako is officially welcomed in her new family. Reportedly, Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako will come over to congratulate the ex-princess and her husband.

© REUTERS-Princess Ayako (R) and her husband Kei Moriya after their wedding ceremony.

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ANP
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