, formerly , is a former member of the Imperial Family of Japan. She is the fourth child and second daughter of

Takahito, Prince Mikasa was a Japanese prince, the youngest of the four sons of Emperor Taishō (Yoshihito) and Empress Teimei (Sadako). He was their last surviving child. His eldest brother was Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito). After serving as a junior cavalry officer in th ...

and

Yuriko, Princess Mikasa (born ; 4 June 1923), is a member of the Imperial House of Japan as the widow of Takahito, Prince Mikasa, the fourth son of Emperor Taishō and Empress Teimei. The Princess is the last surviving paternal great-aunt-in-law of Emperor Naruhito, an ...

.Kunaicho , Their Imperial Highnesses Prince and Princess Mikasa and their family
/ref> She is the wife of the 16th-generation Soshitsu Sen.

Education

For her early education as a child, Princess Masako attended Gakushuin Elementary School and then Gakushuin Women's Secondary School. She later enrolled in the Department of Japanese Language and Literature, Faculty of Letters,

Gakushuin University is a private university 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") was estab ...

. After completing three years, she was sent to a boarding school in Switzerland and moved to Paris for studying in the

University of Sorbonne , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

Marriage and family

Princess Masako married Masayuki Sen (b. 1956), the elder son of Sōshitsu Sen XV, on 14 October 1983. Upon her marriage, she gave up her imperial title and left the

Japanese Imperial Family The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the House of Yamato, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the Emperor i ...

as required by Imperial Law, and took the surname of her husband. He succeeded his father and thus became , the sixteenth hereditary grand master (''

Iemoto is a Japanese term used to refer to the founder or current Grand Master of a certain school of traditional Japanese art. It is used synonymously with the term when it refers to the family or house that the iemoto is head of and represents. Th ...

'') of the

Urasenke is one of the main schools of Japanese tea ceremony. Along with and , it is one of the three lines of the family descending from , which together are known as the - or the "three houses/families" (). The name , literally meaning "rear hous ...

Japanese Tea Ceremony The Japanese tea ceremony (known as or ) is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of , powdered green tea, the procedure of which is called . While in the West it is known as "tea ceremony", it is se ...

School, in December 2002. The couple have two sons and one daughter: * Akifumi Kikuchi (born 10 November 1984), had his surname officially changed from "Sen" to "Kikuchi" in 2014 * Makiko Sakata (born 11 July 1987), married in 2017 to Munehiro Sakata * Takafumi Sen (born 6 July 1990)

Official activities

Masako Sen has been active in the

Soroptimist International Soroptimist International (SI) is a global volunteer service organization for women with nearly 72,000 members in 121 countries worldwide. According to Soroptimist.org, their mission statement says that, "Soroptimist is a global volunteer organiza ...

(SI) organization in Japan. She was President of the SI Kyoto Club in 2006, and again, in 2016. In 2012, she was elected as the 14th Governor of Japan's Soroptimist International of the Americas (SIA) Chuo Region. In March, 2018, she was elected as Chair of the Soroptimist Japan Foundation.

Titles and styles

* 23 October 1951 – 14 October 1983: ''Her Imperial Highness'' Princess Masako * 14 October 1983 – present: ''Mrs.'' Soshitsu Sen

Honours

National honours

* Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Precious Crown The is a Japanese order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. Since the Order of the Rising Sun at that time was an Order for men, it was established as an Order for women. Originally the order had five classes, but on Apr ...

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sen, Masako 1951 births Living people Japanese princesses Grand Cordons (Imperial Family) of the Order of the Precious Crown Gakushuin University alumni