, formerly , is a former member of the
Imperial House of Japan
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 ...
and the second daughter of
Norihito, Prince Takamado
was a Japanese member of the Imperial House of Japan and the third son of Takahito, Prince Mikasa and Yuriko, Princess Mikasa. He was a first cousin of Emperor Akihito, and was seventh in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne at the time of his death. ...
and
Hisako, Princess Takamado
(born ; 10 July 1953), is a member of the Japanese Imperial Family as the widow of Norihito, Prince Takamado.
Background and education
Hisako was born on 10 July 1953 in Shirokane, Tokyo. She is the eldest daughter of Japanese industrialist S ...
. She married Kunimaro Senge, a commoner, on 5 October 2014. As a result, 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 law.
Biography
Princess Noriko was born on 22 July 1988 at Aiiku Hospital in
Minami-Azabu
is a district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Literally meaning "Southern Azabu", Minami-Azabu was named so because it was situated in the southern portion of the former Azabu Ward.
The area's postal code is 106–0047.
Tokyo Metropolitan Library, Tok ...
,
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
. After her birth, her father, Prince Takamado, chose her name. She went to Gakushuin Kindergarten. After that she attended the prestigious
Gakushuin School for her primary, junior high, and high school education.
In April 2007, Princess Noriko enrolled in the
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 ...
, Faculty of Letters, Department of Psychology, and expressed her intent to pursue studies in the field of
clinical psychology
Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...
.
In July 2008, she came of age and attended official ceremonies in Japan with the other members of the Imperial Family. She attended official functions at the palace and accompanied her mother to some other official events, as well as attending some on her own. On 20 March 2011, she graduated from Gakushuin University with the
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree in
Psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
.
Marriage
On 27 May 2014, Princess Noriko announced her engagement to , a
kannushi
A , also called , is a person responsible for the maintenance of a as well as for leading worship of a given .* ''Kannushi'' (in Japanese), Iwanami Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version The characters for are sometimes also re ...
for the
Izumo-taisha
, officially Izumo Ōyashiro, is one of the most ancient and important Shinto shrines in Japan. No record gives the date of establishment. Located in Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, it is home to two major festivals. It is dedicated to the god , fam ...
shrine. The two married on 5 October at the shrine.
Senge Kunimaro is the eldest son of Senge Takamasa, the head priest of the Izumo Grand Shrine. The Senge family have been hereditary administrators of the shrine for generations.
[ Though legally commoners today, the heads of the family held the title of ]baron
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
in the Imperial Japanese peerage (''kazoku
The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. They succeeded the feudal lords () and court nobles (), but were abolished with the 1947 constitution.
Kazoku ( 華族) should not be confused with ' ...
'') before its abolition in 1947. Senge Kunimaro is a second cousin (twice removed) of the present Emperor and a distant cousin twice over of Princess Noriko. He and Noriko are third cousins once removed by their shared descent from Prince Kujō Michitaka
, son of regent Kujō Hisatada and adopted son of his brother, Kujō Yukitsune, was a '' kuge'' or Japanese court noble of the late Edo period and politician of the early Meiji era who served as a member of the House of Peers. One of his daughte ...
, who was the father of the Empress Teimei, Princess Noriko's great-grandmother and Senge Kunimaro's great-great-aunt. The couple are also fifth cousins through their shared descent from Marquis Nakayama Tadayasu
Marquess Nakayama Tadayasu (Japanese 中山 忠能, 17 December 1809 – 12 June 1888) was a Japanese nobleman and courtier of the Edo period and then one of the Kazoku of the post-1867 Empire of Japan. He was the father of Nakayama Yoshiko (183 ...
, the maternal grandfather of the Meiji Emperor
, also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figure ...
. By birth, Kunimaro is also related to other members of the imperial family. He is a sixth cousin once removed of his grandmother-in-law, 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 ...
, a third cousin twice removed of Princess Hitachi
(born ; 19 July 1940), is a member of the Japanese Imperial Family as the wife of Masahito, Prince Hitachi, who is the younger son of Emperor Shōwa and the only brother of Emperor Emeritus Akihito.
Early life and education
She was born at Tsu ...
and a cousin of the late Princesses Takamatsu
270px, Takamatsu City Hall
270px, Aerial view of Takamatsu city center
270px, View from Yashima to Takashima port
is a city located in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 414,134 in 190120 households and a popul ...
and Chichibu
is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 61,159 in 26,380 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is .
Geography
Chichibu is in the westernmost part of Saitama. Unli ...
(a second cousin thrice removed and a fourth cousin thrice removed, respectively).[
After the wedding, Princess Noriko lost her imperial status. This change in her status is mandated by the Imperial Household Act of 1947 that requires females of the Imperial Family to relinquish their title from birth, official membership in the Imperial Family, and allowance from the state upon marriage to a commoner. At 26 years of age, she became the seventh female member born into 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 ...
to marry a commoner since the passage of the Imperial Household Law
is a statute in Japanese law that governs the line of imperial succession, the membership of the imperial family, and several other matters pertaining to the administration of the Imperial Household.
In 2017, the National Diet changed the law ...
in 1947, and the first member of the family to lose her royal status since the marriage of Sayako, Princess Nori, Emperor Akihito's daughter, in 2005. The government decided to bestow a one-time ¥106.75 million allowance on the couple.[
]
Titles and styles
*22 July 1988 – 5 October 2014: ''Her Imperial Highness'' Princess Noriko of Takamado
*5 October 2014 – present: ''Mrs.'' Kunimaro Senge
Ancestry
References
External links
Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado and her family
at the Imperial Household Agency website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Senge, Noriko
Japanese princesses
1988 births
Living people
People from Tokyo
Gakushuin University alumni
Order of the Precious Crown members