Japanese Princess Ayako Gets Married

October 29, 2018

Tokyo- A wedding ceremony for Japanese Princess Ayako and Kei Moriya, a commoner who works for major shipping firm Nippon Yusen K.K., was held at Meiji Jingu, a major Shinto shrine in central Tokyo, on Monday.

Princess Ayako, 28, the third daughter of the late Prince Takamado and Princess Hisako, and Moriya, 32, made wedding vows in the ceremony at the shrine's Kaguraden hall.

It was the first marriage for a female member of the Imperial Family since the 2014 marriage of Noriko Senge, now 30, formerly Princess Noriko, the second daughter of the late Prince Takamado, a cousin of Emperor Akihito.

"I'm very happy to be celebrated by many people," Princess Ayako told reporters after the ceremony, which was attended by relatives from both families, including Princess Hisako.

Tatsuya Kondo, 76, a relative of Moriya, visited the residence of the Takamado family in Tokyo around 9:30 a.m. (12:30 a.m. GMT) as the groom's messenger to take Princess Ayako to the ceremony.

Princess Ayako left the residence around 10:20 a.m., and she was received by Moriya at the shrine. The two then entered Kaguraden together.

With a traditional coiffure for noble women called "osuberakashi," the princess wore a "kouchigi" robe and a "nagabakama" long trailing skirt at the ceremony. Moriya was dressed in a morning suit.

The kouchigi and nagabakama were handed down to Princess Yuriko, 95, grandmother of Princess Ayako, from Empress Teimei, the wife of Emperor Yoshihito, posthumously known as Emperor Taisho.

During the ceremony, which started around 11:30 a.m., Seitaro Nakajima, chief priest of Meiji Jingu, offered Shinto prayers, and the bride and groom exchanged wedding rings, shared a cup of sake and made wedding vows.

Princess Ayako officially became a commoner after an official serving for the Takamado family submitted a marriage notification by proxy for the couple to Tokyo's Minato Ward Monday afternoon.

Procedures to deprive her of Imperial Family status will be taken at the Imperial Household Agency on Tuesday. A banquet to celebrate the marriage will be held later on Tuesday in a Tokyo hotel, attended by Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako. Jiji Press