is the second daughter of the

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the w ...

and Crown Princess of Japan and a member of the Japanese imperial family. She is a niece of

Emperor Naruhito is the current Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era, following the abdication of his father, Akihito. He is the 126th monarch according to Japan's traditional order of succession. ...

and the second-eldest grandchild of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and

Empress Michiko is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who served as the Empress consort of Japan as the wife of Akihito, the 125th Emperor of Japan reigning from 7 January 1989 to 30 April 2019. Michiko married Crown Prince Akihito and became the Crow ...

Biography

Princess Kako was born on 29 December 1994 at Imperial Household Agency Hospital in

Tokyo Imperial Palace The is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda district of the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo and contains several buildings including the where the Emperor has his living quarters, the where va ...

, Chiyoda,

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 ...

. In April 2001, Princess Kako began Gakushuin Primary School and graduated in March 2007. Princess Kako entered Gakushuin Girls' Senior High School

in April 2007 and graduated in March 2013. From 7 to 21 August 2003, Kako went to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

with her parents and sister for the 71st birthday celebration of

Queen Sirikit Queen Sirikit ( th, สิริกิติ์; ; ); born '' Mom Rajawongse'' Sirikit Kitiyakara ( th, สิริกิติ์ กิติยากร; ; 12 August 1932) is the queen mother of Thailand. She was Queen of Thailand as the wi ...

and for conferment of an honorary fellowship from

Ubon Ratchathani University Ubon Ratchathani University (UBU) ( Thai, มหาวิทยาลัยอุบลราชธานี) was established as a campus of Khon Kaen University, Thailand, in 1987. It gained independent university status in 1990. ] History ...

, and for joint research on poultry. She has an older sister,

Mako Komuro , formerly , is a former member of the Japanese imperial family. She is the eldest child of Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko, niece of Emperor Naruhito, and granddaughter of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko ...

, and a younger brother, Prince Hisahito. Kako participated in

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

while in primary school. In 2007, she represented the Meiji-jingu Gaien Figure Skating Club and joined the Spring Cup Figure Skating Competition held by the Japan Skating Federation. Princess Kako ranked top in the

Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world ( Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

division (Female Group B - Primary School Year Six or above). In April 2013, she attended the entrance ceremony of

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 ...

and began her life as an undergraduate student. In August 2014, she quit the Department of Education, the Faculty of Letters, Gakushuin University and passed the entrance examination to the

International Christian University is a non-denominational private university located in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan, commonly known as ICU. With the efforts of Prince Takamatsu, General Douglas MacArthur, and BOJ President Hisato Ichimada, ICU was established in 1949 as the first ...

(ICU), her older sister's alma mater. On 2 April 2015, the Princess attended the entrance ceremony of the university in Tokyo. In 2017, as part of the ICU's study abroad programme, Princess Kako travelled to the United Kingdom to study at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. She studied performing arts and psychology as part of the programme. She completed her studies in June 2018. In September 2019, she embarked on her first official solo overseas visit and went to Austria and Hungary, where she met with the heads of state of those countries. In May 2021, she began working part-time for the Japanese Federation of the Deaf.

Titles and styles

Kako is styled as ''Her Imperial Highness'' Princess Kako.

Honours

National honours

*: **

Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious CrownCelebration of Princess Kako
/ref> (29 December 2014)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kako, Princess 1994 births Living people Grand Cordons (Imperial Family) of the Order of the Precious Crown International Christian University alumni Japanese princesses People from Tokyo 20th-century Japanese women 21st-century Japanese women