, 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 de ...

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 industrialis ...

. 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, 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 Central Libr ...

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 37.46 ...

. 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 est ...

, 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. degree in

Psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

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 kn ...

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 daught ...

, 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, 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, a third cousin twice removed of Princess Hitachi 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. Unl ...

(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 to marry a commoner since the passage of the Imperial Household 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