The Japanese princess Ayako renounces her royal status when she marries the groom Kei Moriya



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When the smiling couple entered the shrine, the crowd shouted congratulations with the Japanese word "Banzai" – which means a wish for a long life. Close family members and friends welcomed the newlyweds as they headed for the ceremony room.

Princess Ayako was dressed in a pale yellow kimono embroidered with pink flowers and green leaves and a dark purple hakama – pleated trousers with wide legs falling to the ankles. She also wore a Japanese cypress fan called hiougi. Moriya wore a black Western-style coat, striped gray trousers and a silk hat belonging to the late father of Ayako, Prince Takamodo.

This Ayako kimono has a style and design similar to that of her sister Princess Noriko when she married Kunimaro Senge in 2014.

Princess Ayako is the youngest daughter of Princess Hisako and the late Prince Takamodo, cousin of Emperor Akihito. According to Japanese imperial law, female members of the royal family lose their titles, status and allowances if they choose to marry someone who has no royal family ties or aristocratic. The same rule does not apply to male members of the royal family.

After marrying 32-year-old Moriya – an employee of the shipping company Nippon Yusen KK – the princess will give up her royal status and receive a lump sum of $ 950,000 from the Japanese government for her living expenses.

Japanese Princess Ayako and new husband Kei Moriya address reporters after their wedding ceremony at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on October 29, 2018.

Before the ceremony began, Ayako turned her kimono into a more formal Shinto-style dress. She wore a red kouchiki, a "little coat" with long, wide sleeves, and a long, split brown skirt called naga-bakama.

The ceremony itself was a private affair with only close family members. Inside, the couple allegedly performed several rituals marking a Shinto-style wedding, including the exchange of sake nuptial cups and the presentation of a sacred branch of Tamagushi. The newlyweds would also have exchanged greetings and alliances.

What will Princess Ayako bring to her wedding?

After the final prayers, the couple came out of the sanctuary as husband and wife. Moriya said that he thought his new wife was "beautiful" while they were answering questions from reporters. "I would like to support her firmly and, hand in hand, build a happy family with lots of laughter," he said.

"I am amazed at how blessed I am," Ayako said. From a young age, Ayako said that she had learned that her membership in the imperial family meant that her duty was to support the emperor and the empress. "I will leave the imperial family today, but I will continue to support Her Majesty and Her Majesty," she said.

Princess Ayako of Japan wore an uchiki outer dress embroidered with pink flowers and green leaves and a dark purple hakama before her wedding ceremony.
The sanctuary where the ceremony was held is of considerable symbolic importance. Opened in 1920, the Meiji Shrine is dedicated to the deified souls of Ayako's great-great-grandfather, Emperor Meiji, and his wife, Empress Shoken.

"I am very happy that we organized the wedding in this Meiji shrine where my great grandfather, Emperor Meiji, is revered," Ayako said. "I feel so happy."

The marriage of Ayoko and his resignation from the royal functions come at a difficult time for the oldest monarchy in the world. The beloved Emperor Akihitio announced that he would abdicate on April 30, 2019 by passing the chrysanthemum throne to his son, Crown Prince Naruhito. Imperial law states that the throne must be passed on to male heirs. As Naruhito only has one son, Prince Hisahito, aged 12, could be solely responsible for the perpetuation of the royal lineage.
The abdication of Akihitio and the future marriage of his granddaughter, Princess Mako, revived the debate on the role of women in the Japanese monarchy and on the question of whether the imperial law should be changed to allow women to inherit the throne.

"This is a wise and necessary option in terms of risk management, but the governing elite Conservatives have steadfastly resisted despite strong public support for women's succession," said Jeff Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University Japan and author of the next book. Japan.

Unlike the United Kingdom, where Queen Elizabeth approved changes to the royal line of succession and granted equal rights to sons and daughters of British monarchs to inherit the throne, the Japanese authorities ruled out such a move.
An abdication law that allows Akihitio to resign has been passed without a motion for a resolution that potentially raises the question of whether women who marry outside the family should cancel their royal rights.

"Apparently, they are not inspired by Queen Elizabeth (…) and instead hide behind stupid patriarchal justifications," Kingston said. "The law will only change if it absolutely must."

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