Everything about Princess Akishino totally explained
, formerly is the wife of
Prince Akishino, who is the second son of the
Emperor Akihito and the
Empress Michiko of
Japan. The daughter of a university professor, she became the second
commoner to marry into the imperial family; her mother-in-law, the Empress, was the first in 1959. She is also known as
Princess Kiko.
Early life
Princess Kiko is the eldest daughter of Kawashima Tatsuhiko,
professor of
geology at
Gakushuin University, and his wife, Kazuyo. She was affectionately called Kiki by friends and relatives in her childhood. She spent her preschool days in the
United States when her father received a PhD in Regional Economy from the
University of Pennsylvania and later taught there. Princess Kiko also attended elementary and high school in
Vienna, Austria, when her father became the chief researcher at The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in
Laxenburg, Austria, where he studied spatial science and NGO activities. The future princess became fluent in English and German. She particpated in the Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program (
SSEAYP) in 1987 and continues to be a supporter of the program. She received her undergraduate degree from the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Letters of Gakushuin University in 1989. She subsequently began graduate study in psychology at Gakushuin and completed the first part of the doctorate in 1995. Princess Kiko was chosen as one of the Young Global Leaders for 2007, drawn from a poll of 4000 candidates.
Marriage
Prince Akishino first proposed marriage to Kawashima Kiko on
26 June 1986 while they were both undergraduates at Gakushuin. The couple, however, didn't announce their intent to marry for three years. The engagement received the formal sanction of the ten-member
Imperial Household Council on
12 September 1989. The wedding took place at the Imperial Palace on
29 June,
1990. The Imperial Household Economy Council had previously granted the prince permission to establish a new branch of the imperial family and the Emperor granted him the title
Akishino no miya (Prince Akishino) on his wedding day. Upon marriage, his bride became
Her Imperial Highness Princess Akishino, known informally as
Princess Kiko.
The engagement and marriage of Prince Akishino to the former Kawashima Kiko broke precedent in several respects. First, at the time, the groom was still a graduate student at Gakushuin and married before his older brother,
Crown Prince Naruhito. Second, the princess was the first woman from a middle-class background to marry into the imperial family. Although Empress Michiko was a commoner, she was from a very wealthy family; her father was the president of a large flour-milling company. Finally, the engagement and marriage was widely reported to be a love match. Princess Kiko continued her post-graduate studies in psychology in between her official duties and received her MA in Psychology in 1995. She is known for her ardent understanding and respect for
deaf people and is a skilled
sign language interpreter.
She suffers from (
carpal tunnel syndrome) osteoporosis aggravated by child-nursing, yet this symptom is common among middle aged women, her doctor said on December 14, 2007.
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Children
Since 1997, Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko and their children have maintained a principal residence on the grounds of the
Akasaka Estate in
Motoakasaka, Minato ward in
Tokyo. The couple have two daughters and one son:
Functions
Princess Kiko serves as the president of Japan Anti-
Tuberculosis Association. She is also the honorary vice-president of the Japanese
Red Cross Society.
Further Information
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