Princess Akishino
Encyclopedia
, formerly is the wife of Prince Akishino
, the second son of the Emperor Akihito
and the Empress Michiko
of Japan
. The daughter of a university professor, she became the second commoner
to marry into the imperial family; her mother-in-law, the Empress, was the first in 1959. She is also known as Princess Kiko.
of economics
at Gakushuin University
, and his wife, Kazuyo. She was affectionately called Kiki by friends and relatives in her childhood. She spent her preschool days in the United States
when her father received a PhD in Regional Economy from the University of Pennsylvania
and later taught there. Princess Kiko also attended elementary and high school in Vienna
, Austria
, when her father became the chief researcher at The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Laxenburg
, Austria, where he studied spatial science and NGO activities. The future princess became fluent in English
and German
. She participated in the Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program (SSEAYP) in 1987 and continues to be a supporter of the program. She received her undergraduate degree from the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Letters of Gakushuin University in 1989. She subsequently began graduate study in psychology
at Gakushuin and completed the first part of the doctorate
in 1995. Princess Kiko was chosen as one of the Young Global Leaders for 2007, drawn from a poll of 4000 candidates.
on 12 September 1989. The wedding took place at the Tokyo Imperial Palace on 29 June 1990. The Imperial Household Economy Council had previously granted the prince permission to establish a new branch of the imperial family and the Emperor granted him the title Akishino no miya (Prince Akishino) on his wedding day. Upon marriage, his bride became Her Imperial Highness Princess Akishino, known informally as Princess Kiko.
The engagement and marriage of Prince Akishino to the former Kawashima Kiko broke precedent in several respects. First, at the time, the groom was still a graduate student at Gakushuin and married before his older brother, Crown Prince Naruhito
. Second, the princess was the first woman from a middle-class background to marry into the imperial family. Although Empress Michiko was born a commoner, she was from a very wealthy family; her father was the president of a large flour-milling company. Finally, the engagement and marriage was widely reported to be a love match.
Princess Akishino continued her post-graduate studies in psychology in between her official duties and received her MA in psychology in 1995. She is known for her continuing interest in deaf culture
and the Deaf in Japan. She learned Japanese sign language
and she is a skilled sign language
interpreter
. She attends the "Sign Language Speech Contest for High School Students" held every August, and "Praising Mothers Raising Children with Hearing Impairments" every December. In October 2008, she participated in the "38th National Deaf Women's Conference." She also signs in informal Deaf gatherings.
The princess suffers from (carpal tunnel syndrome
) osteoporosis aggravated by child-nursing, yet this symptom is common among middle-aged women, her doctor said on 14 December 2007. http://sankei.jp.msn.com/culture/imperial/071214/imp0712141605000-n1.htm
. The couple have two daughters and one son:
The Prince and Princess have made numerous official visits to foreign countries. In June 2002, they became the first members of the Imperial Family to visit Mongolia
, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations. In October 2002, they visited the Netherlands
to attend the funeral of the Prince Claus of the Netherlands
. In September 2003, the Prince and Princess made goodwill visits to Fiji
, Tonga
and Samoa
, again, the first time ever members of the Imperial Family had visited these countries. In March 2004, the Prince and Princess returned to the Netherlands for the funeral of Princess Juliana of the Netherlands. In January 2005, they visited Luxembourg
to attend the funeral of Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte
. In January 2006, they visited Indonesia
for a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Republic of Indonesia. From October to November 2006, they visited Paraguay
to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Japanese emigration
to that country.
Princess Akishino has also assumed the role of Patroness of the Japan Anti-Tuberculosis
Association, succeeding the Late Princess Chichibu
in June 1994. She also plays an active role in the Japanese Red Cross
Society.
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Prince Akishino
Fumihito, The Prince Akishino is a member of the Japanese imperial family...
, the second son of the Emperor Akihito
Akihito
is the current , the 125th emperor of his line according to Japan's traditional order of succession. He acceded to the throne in 1989.-Name:In Japan, the emperor is never referred to by his given name, but rather is referred to as "His Imperial Majesty the Emperor" which may be shortened to . In...
and the Empress Michiko
Empress Michiko of Japan
Empress Michiko of Japan is the wife and consort of Emperor Akihito, the current monarch of Japan. She was the first commoner to marry into the Japanese Imperial Family. As crown princess and later as empress consort, she has become the most visible and widely-travelled imperial consort in...
of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The daughter of a university professor, she became the second commoner
Commoner
In British law, a commoner is someone who is neither the Sovereign nor a peer. Therefore, any member of the Royal Family who is not a peer, such as Prince Harry of Wales or Anne, Princess Royal, is a commoner, as is any member of a peer's family, including someone who holds only a courtesy title,...
to marry into the imperial family; her mother-in-law, the Empress, was the first in 1959. She is also known as Princess Kiko.
Early life
Princess Kiko is the eldest daughter of Kawashima Tatsuhiko, professorProfessor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
at Gakushuin University
Gakushuin University
is an elite higher educational institution in Mejiro, Toshima Ward, Tokyo. It was re-established after World War II as an affiliate of the Gakushūin School Corporation, the privatized successor to the original Gakushūin University or "Peers School" set up during the Meiji era to educate the...
, and his wife, Kazuyo. She was affectionately called Kiki by friends and relatives in her childhood. She spent her preschool days in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
when her father received a PhD in Regional Economy from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
and later taught there. Princess Kiko also attended elementary and high school in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, when her father became the chief researcher at The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Laxenburg
Laxenburg
Laxenburg is a town in the district of Mödling in the Austrian state of Lower Austria, near Vienna.- History :The place is well-known for its castle, Schloss Laxenburg, which, beside Schönbrunn, was the most important summer seat of the Habsburg dynasty....
, Austria, where he studied spatial science and NGO activities. The future princess became fluent in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. She participated in the Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program (SSEAYP) in 1987 and continues to be a supporter of the program. She received her undergraduate degree from the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Letters of Gakushuin University in 1989. She subsequently began graduate study in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
at Gakushuin and completed the first part of the doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in 1995. Princess Kiko was chosen as one of the Young Global Leaders for 2007, drawn from a poll of 4000 candidates.
Marriage
Prince Akishino first proposed marriage to Kawashima Kiko on 26 June 1986 while they were both undergraduates at Gakushuin. The couple, however, did not announce their intent to marry for three years. The engagement received the formal sanction of the ten-member Imperial Household CouncilImperial Household Council
is a ten-member body to approve the statutory matters on the Imperial House of Japan. The Council was established in 1947, when the current Imperial Household Law took effect.- Functions :...
on 12 September 1989. The wedding took place at the Tokyo Imperial Palace on 29 June 1990. The Imperial Household Economy Council had previously granted the prince permission to establish a new branch of the imperial family and the Emperor granted him the title Akishino no miya (Prince Akishino) on his wedding day. Upon marriage, his bride became Her Imperial Highness Princess Akishino, known informally as Princess Kiko.
The engagement and marriage of Prince Akishino to the former Kawashima Kiko broke precedent in several respects. First, at the time, the groom was still a graduate student at Gakushuin and married before his older brother, Crown Prince Naruhito
Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan
is the eldest son of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, which makes him the heir apparent to the Chrysanthemum Throne of Japan.-Early life and education:...
. Second, the princess was the first woman from a middle-class background to marry into the imperial family. Although Empress Michiko was born a commoner, she was from a very wealthy family; her father was the president of a large flour-milling company. Finally, the engagement and marriage was widely reported to be a love match.
Princess Akishino continued her post-graduate studies in psychology in between her official duties and received her MA in psychology in 1995. She is known for her continuing interest in deaf culture
Deaf culture
Deaf culture describes the social beliefs, behaviors, art, literary traditions, history, values and shared institutions of communities that are affected by deafness and which use sign languages as the main means of communication. When used as a cultural label, the word deaf is often written with a...
and the Deaf in Japan. She learned Japanese sign language
Japanese Sign Language
, also known by the acronym "JSL", is the dominant sign language in Japan.-History:Little is known about sign language and the deaf community before the Edo period. In 1862, the Tokugawa shogunate dispatched envoys to various European schools for the deaf...
and she is a skilled sign language
Sign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
interpreter
Interpreting
Language interpretation is the facilitating of oral or sign-language communication, either simultaneously or consecutively, between users of different languages...
. She attends the "Sign Language Speech Contest for High School Students" held every August, and "Praising Mothers Raising Children with Hearing Impairments" every December. In October 2008, she participated in the "38th National Deaf Women's Conference." She also signs in informal Deaf gatherings.
The princess suffers from (carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is an entrapment idiopathic median neuropathy, causing paresthesia, pain, and other symptoms in the distribution of the median nerve due to its compression at the wrist in the carpal tunnel. The pathophysiology is not completely understood but can be considered compression...
) osteoporosis aggravated by child-nursing, yet this symptom is common among middle-aged women, her doctor said on 14 December 2007. http://sankei.jp.msn.com/culture/imperial/071214/imp0712141605000-n1.htm
Children
Since 1997, Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko and their children have maintained a principal residence on the grounds of the Akasaka Palace in Motoakasaka, Minato, TokyoMinato, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 1 March 2008, it had an official population of 217,335 and a population density of 10,865 persons per km². The total area is 20.34 km².Minato hosts 49 embassies...
. The couple have two daughters and one son:
Public service
Princess Akishino often accompanies her husband to attend a wide variety of official events within Japan. These events include the Summer and Winter National Sports Festivals, Arbor Day events and school graduations. The couple is also called upon to meet with important overseas visitors to improve diplomatic relations.The Prince and Princess have made numerous official visits to foreign countries. In June 2002, they became the first members of the Imperial Family to visit Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations. In October 2002, they visited the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
to attend the funeral of the Prince Claus of the Netherlands
Claus von Amsberg
Prince Claus of the Netherlands was the prince consort of the current Queen regnant of the Netherlands, Queen Beatrix.-Biography:...
. In September 2003, the Prince and Princess made goodwill visits to Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
and Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
, again, the first time ever members of the Imperial Family had visited these countries. In March 2004, the Prince and Princess returned to the Netherlands for the funeral of Princess Juliana of the Netherlands. In January 2005, they visited Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
to attend the funeral of Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte
Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg was the reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg from 1919 to 1964.-Early life and life as Grand Duchess:...
. In January 2006, they visited Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
for a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Republic of Indonesia. From October to November 2006, they visited Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Japanese emigration
Japanese diaspora
The Japanese diaspora, and its individual members known as , are Japanese emigrants from Japan and their descendants that reside in a foreign country...
to that country.
Princess Akishino has also assumed the role of Patroness of the Japan Anti-Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
Association, succeeding the Late Princess Chichibu
Princess Chichibu
was the wife of Prince Chichibu of Japan.Princess Chichibu was born as Matsudaira Setsuko in Walton on Thames, England. She was the daughter of Matsudaira Tsuneo , Japanese ambassador to the United States and later to Great Britain , and still later, Imperial Household Minister and his wife, the...
in June 1994. She also plays an active role in the Japanese Red Cross
Japanese Red Cross
The ' is the Japanese affiliate of the International Red Cross.The Imperial Family of Japan traditionally has supported the society, with Empress as Honorary President and other royal family members as vice-presidents. Its headquarters is located in Tokyo and local chapters are set up in all 47...
Society.
Honorary Positions
- President of the Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association
- Honorary Vice-President of the Japanese Red Cross Society
Ancestry
See also
- Emperor of Japan: Succession
- Masako, Crown Princess of JapanMasako, Crown Princess of Japanis the wife of Crown Prince Naruhito, the first son of the Emperor Akihito and the Empress Michiko, and a member of the Imperial House of Japan through marriage.-Early life and education:...
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External links
- Kunaicho | Their Imperial Highnesses Prince and Princess Akishino
- Kunaicho | Press Conference by Their Imperial Highnesses Prince and Princess Akishino on the Occasion of the Birthday of His Imperial Highness Prince Akishino (2003)
- CNN | Japan's Princess Kiko has boy
- BBC | Japan welcomes imperial baby boy
- CNN | Japan's new prince meets public