The Story of Japanese Princess Mako Who Chose Love Over the Crown and Had to Deal With Public Criticism

In many fairy tales, a prince charming meets a common girl, falls in love with her and marries her to live happily ever after. But real life is not that simple. Sometimes a princess who falls in love with a commoner has to make a difficult choice between her loved one and family. Japanese princess Mako chose to follow the call of her heart and was right.

At CHEERY, we are sure that the story of this Japanese princess will make even a big skeptic believe in love.

Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko with newborn Princess Mako

Mako is the eldest daughter of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, and was born in 1991. From a young age, she took her imperial duties with all responsibility and was willing to do charity work. As an adult, Mako even secretly volunteered to help the victims of the tsunami and earthquake, trying to avoid unnecessary hype and attention.

Initially, she diligently followed the family tradition and attended the elite Gakushuin school, where her parents, her uncle, who is the current emperor of Japan, and her grandfather, his predecessor, also studied.

But she broke with custom when it came down to choosing the university. Princess Mako entered Tokyo’s International Christian University, where she studied art and cultural heritage, and spent a year at the University of Edinburgh. Later, she got a master’s degree, and described this experience as “wonderful.”

Princess Mako at her 20th birthday celebratory event

People close to Mako described her as an independent and friendly woman who wanted to pursue her own career while performing her imperial duties. But everything changed when Mako met Komuro at a meeting of students in 2012. Komuro was her peer and a student who was planning to study abroad.

The couple began dating but soon their relationship had to pass the test of time because Mako studied in the UK and Komuro studied in the US, and they were apart for an entire year keeping in touch through Internet.

He was a modest guy, from a common family. So, he had to deal with attacks from mass media who tried to accuse him for dating the princess only for the sake of money. In 2018, he moved to New York, and the couple had to test the strength of their feelings again.

Komuro and Princess Mako at the graduation ceremony

Mako recalled the first impression her future husband made on her, “First I was attracted by his bright smiles like the sun,” and then added some details describing the beginning of their relationship, “My seat was behind Mr. Komuro’s, we had a friendly conversation, and started dating before the study abroad began. At that time, it was our mutual understanding that the person we were dating would be someone good to marry, so marriage was in our mind from the beginning.”

Komuro was also emotional about his significant other, “We started dating before the study abroad began, and, afterwards, the Princess traveled to Britain for a year, and myself to America, so we were separated for a long while. However, even during that time, we continued to stay in touch, and our relation deepened. After returning home, we confirmed our mutuals feelings, and I made a proposal. In December 2013, I proposed to the Princess with the words, ‘Let’s marry in the future.’ I recall that the location was within the city, and the time was right after having a meal, when the two of us were walking together.”

Princess Mako and her father, Prince Akishino, during their unofficial visit to Hungary

Mako introduced Komuro to her parents after his proposal. Her father, Prince Akishino, and other members of the imperial family accepted Mako’s fiancé, and Komuro was really thankful for that.

However, the couple had to deal with another difficulty — the condemnation of society. The strict conservative public was, to put it mildly, not quite happy with the princess’s independent spirit who dared to fall in love with a commoner.

Mako was so saddened by criticism and negativity on social media that she developed post-traumatic stress disorder. Nevertheless, she found the strength to respond to the attacks in a kind manner, “Many people have difficulty and hurt feelings while trying to protect their hearts. I sincerely hope that our society will be a place where more people can live and protect their hearts with warm help and support from others.”

Komuro at the press conference to announce their wedding with Princess Mako

The public was so critical about Komuro that they demanded him to explain the money dispute between his mother and her former fiancé. Komuro and his mother claimed that the dispute was caused by a misunderstanding. According to him, 4 million yen ($36,000) was a gift to his mother which was spent on Komuro’s education. The couple even had to postpone their wedding, and Komuro had to explain in details to the press how he planned to return the money. But people were still indignant which made Mako very upset.

The princess even apologized to everyone who was hurt by her decision, but remained true to her heart, “I am very sorry for the inconvenience caused and I am grateful to those who have continued to support me. For me, Kei is irreplaceable — marriage was a necessary choice for us.”

Finally, after all the hardships, Princess Mako and her beloved Komuro got married in 2021. “For us, marriage is a necessary choice to live and honor our hearts. We are irreplaceable to each other and we can I lean on each other in happy and unhappy times,” Mako talked about this happy event.

And Komuro echoed his wife, “Mako and I would like to build a warm, nice family. At the same time, I would like to do the best I can to support Mako. Happy times, unhappy times, we would like to be together, and we will be indispensable to each other.”

Mako is not the first woman in the Japanese imperial family who married a commoner, giving up her royal status. But she became the first one who turned down a traditional payment of about $1.3 million given to a female member of the imperial family after their departure from the household. This way, Mako wanted to reduce the level of disapproval from the public, but on their wedding day, a protest was nevertheless held with placards saying, “Protect our household” and “The imperial family is the soul of Japan.”

As for the title, a woman can’t become Empress according to Japanese traditions.

But modern Japanese people have a slightly different opinion. More than 70% of respondents favored having female emperors. And 52% of respondents approved of female-line emperors.

Perhaps, royals will no longer have to choose between their love and the crown in the future.

If you were royalty, what would you choose: marriage for love or royal status? Share your opinion in the comments below.