, formerly , is the youngest child and only daughter of Emperor Emeritus

Akihito Akihito (born 23 December 1933) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 1989 until 2019 Japanese imperial transition, his abdication in 2019. The era of his rule was named the Heisei era, Hei ...

and Empress Emerita Michiko, and the younger sister of the current Emperor of Japan,

Naruhito Naruhito (born 23 February 1960) is Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne following 2019 Japanese imperial transition, the abdication of his father, Akihito, on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era. He is the 126th monarch, ...

. She is an imperial

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

priestess of the Ise Grand Shrine, currently serving as the Supreme Priestess. Kuroda held the appellation "''Nori-no-miya''" (Princess Nori), until her marriage to Yoshiki Kuroda on 15 November 2005. As a result of her marriage, she gave up her imperial title and left the Japanese Imperial Family, as required by the Article 12 of the Imperial Household Law, and received a payment of approximately

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

1,000,000.

Education and career

Princess Sayako was born on 18 April 1969 at the Imperial Household Agency Hospital in

Tokyo Imperial Palace is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda district of the Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda ward of Tokyo and contains several buildings including the where the Emperor h ...

, Tokyo. Her mother, Empress Emerita Michiko, is an alumna of the University of the Sacred Heart and a convert to

from

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. She first attended Kakinokizaka Kindergarten in 1973, and then Gakushuin school for her primary, junior high, high school and university education, graduated in 1992. Later in the year, she was accepted as research associate at the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology, where she specialized in the study of kingfishers. In 1998, she was appointed

researcher Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

at the same institute. Apart from her research, Sayako has traveled extensively abroad and within Japan, as a representative of the Imperial family.

Marriage and change in status

On 30 December 2004, the

Imperial Household Agency The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family, and the keeping of the Privy Seal of Japan, Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century ...

announced the engagement of the 35-year-old Princess Nori to the 39-year-old Yoshiki Kuroda (黒田慶樹 ''Kuroda Yoshiki''). Born in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

on 17 April 1965, he is an urban designer with the

Tokyo Metropolitan Government The is the government of the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis. One of the 47 Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Japan, the government consists of a popularly elected governor and assembly. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, headquarters build ...

and a longtime friend of Prince Akishino. The announcement of the engagement was postponed twice following the 2004 Chūetsu earthquake and the death of Princess Takamatsu. Upon her marriage, which took place at the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo on 15 November 2005, Princess Nori left the

Imperial Family A royal family is the immediate family of monarch, monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or emperor, empress, and the term papal family describes the family of ...

, taking the surname of her husband; he became the first non- aristocratic commoner to marry an Imperial princess. This change in her status is mandated by the Imperial Household Law that requires females of the imperial family who marry to relinquish their title, official membership in the imperial family, and allowance from the state. She became the sixth female member born into the Japanese imperial family to marry a commoner since the passage of the Imperial Household Law in 1947, and the first member of the family to lose royal status since the marriage of Princess Masako of Mikasa, one of Emperor Akihito's cousins, in 1983. Sayako's parents, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko were in attendance at her wedding, as were other members of the imperial family. About 30 people attended the ceremony, and some 120 guests attended the reception including the Governor of Tokyo

Shintaro Ishihara was a Japanese politician and writer, who served as the Governor of Tokyo Metropolis, Governor of Tokyo from 1999 to 2012. Being the former leader of the Far-right politics, radical right Sunrise Party, later merged with Toru Hashimoto's Japan ...

. Thousands of well-wishers lined the streets between the royal palace and the city hotel where the half-hour marriage rite took place. Kuroda resigned from her job as an ornithologist to focus on her family life. While she is no longer entitled to an imperial allowance, she received a wedding gift worth

1,200,000 from the Japanese government. To prepare for her change of lifestyle, Princess Sayako reportedly took driving lessons and practised shopping at the

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...

After marriage

In April 2012, Kuroda was appointed as a high priestess of the Ise Grand Shrine to assist her aunt, Atsuko Ikeda, Chief Priestess of the shrine, who was also subjected to the conditions of the Imperial Household Law upon marriage. She was among the guests during a banquet held at the Tokyo Imperial Palace in honour of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

in October 2016. Since her marriage, Kuroda has continued to appear on some formal occasions with other members of the Imperial Family. She officially replaced Atsuko Ikeda as the supreme priestess of Ise Shrine on 19 June 2017. For the coming-of-age of her niece, Aiko, Princess Toshi, the daughter of Emperor

and Empress Masako, Kuroda lent Aiko the tiara that was presented to Kuroda for her own coming-of-age in 1989. Princess Aiko wore Kuroda’s tiara for the celebration of her coming-of-age on 5 December 2021.

Titles and styles

* 18 April 1969 – 15 November 2005: ''Her Imperial Highness'' Princess Nori * 15 November 2005 – present: ''Mrs.'' Yoshiki Kuroda

References

External links

Sayako becomes Mrs Kuroda (14 November 2005)
— Hello! magazine's article on Sayako and Yoshiki Kuroda's wedding
Japanese princess weds commoner (15 November 2005)
—

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuroda, Sayako 1969 births Living people People from Chiyoda, Tokyo Children of Akihito Daughters of Japanese emperors Japanese ornithologists Gakushuin University alumni Grand Cordons (Imperial Family) of the Order of the Precious Crown 20th-century Japanese women scientists 21st-century Japanese scientists 21st-century Japanese women scientists 20th-century Japanese women 21st-century Japanese women Japanese Shintoists 20th-century Shintoists 21st-century Shintoists 20th-century Japanese zoologists Scientists from Tokyo