By: Mihika Yadav
Japan’s Former Princess Mako and her husband Kei Komuro.
On the 26th of October, former Japanese princess Mako Komuro married her college sweetheart Kei Komuro, thus losing her royal status.
This is because most Japanese women are obligated to renounce their own family names upon marriage due to a law that requires only one surname per married couple.
She skipped the customary rites of a royal wedding and also turned down a 140 million yen payment to which she was entitled upon her departure from the imperial family. She is the first royal family member to decline the payment since World War II.
This was a decision made because of the relentless criticism that the young couple face. The excessive media coverage of the two was said to be the reason that Mako was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) a few months prior.
On the topic of the public vitriol, the former princess’ psychiatrist said in a news conference that “[Mako] felt like her dignity as a human being had been trampled on.”
Most of the negative remarks made against Kei Komuro have been based on his mother’s financial dispute that came to light 4 years ago, postponing the marriage. It was revealed that his mother had received over 4 million yen from her ex-fiancé and had not repaid him, however, details about this dispute have remained unclear.
“For me, Kei is irreplaceable - marriage was a necessary choice for us," Mako said, according to an NHK report. To which Kei Komuro responded, “I love Mako. I live only once and I want to spend it with someone I love.” The two have emphasised that they wish to build a warm family and create an environment in which they can spend their time calmly.
However, as aforementioned, Mako continues to tackle a lot of mental stress surrounding the pressure that is put onto women in the royal family. Her struggles have highlighted a pattern based on other women in the imperial family.
Former Empress Michiko
Around 20 years ago, her grandmother, Empress Emerita Michiko collapsed on her birthday after which she temporarily lost her voice. According to The Diplomat, she was the first commoner married to a monarch in modern history and she collapsed due to the stress of being heavily criticised by the media; who claimed she was unfit to be an empress.
Empress Masako, the wife of Emperor Naruhito, suffered depression after she was blamed for failing to produce a male heir, which she found became her main duty.
It is clear that women in the Japanese royal family are pitted against stringent guidelines and are faced with harsh backlash if they fail to meet expectations. However, it is becoming more clear that they will be under public scrutiny regardless of what they do.
Empress Masako
Newbery Honor-winning author Kathryn Lasky of the book Kazunomiya: Prisoner of Heaven put things into perspective when she brought up Empress Masako’s troubles in an interview, discussing how her life changed so drastically upon joining the royal family. From a cheerleader in a suburb in Boston and then a Harvard graduate to being hounded by the public for something out of her control.
She ends by saying that, “In terms of the Japanese royal family, they were considered the direct descendants of a God. They are regarded as all powerful and possessors of unimaginable wealth, and yet they are, more often than not, literally prisoners of tradition.”
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