2016-12-09 Fri

Kotaishi Naruhito Shinnohi Masako, born on 9th December 1963 is the wife of Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan and heir apparent to the Chrysanthemum Throne. She is now a member of the Imperial House of Japan through marriage.

She lived and received education from places like Russia, New York City, Moscow, Japan, Tokyo, etc. She received a graduate degree in economics from Harvard University/ Radcliffe College in 1981. During her time there, she became the Chairman of the school’s Japan Society and volunteered as a kind of a self-appointed diplomat and cultural ambassador in the wake of mounting Japan-United States trade tension. She then studied Law in 1986 from the University of Tokyo to prepare for the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ entrance examination and was one of the 28 to pass these out of 800 applicants.

She first met Naruhito at a tea for Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo in November 1968 and refused two of his proposals for marriage to avoid giving up her promising career and freedom. However, in 1992 she finally agreed to marry him after his third proposal and got married to him on 9th June 1993.

She has struggled as Crown Princess and battled depression for more than a decade as she grappled palace life and pressures to produce a son. They have a 14-year-old daughter Aiko but she cannot ascend to the throne due to the Japanese male-only inheritance laws. In 2012, she publicly acknowledged having a stress-related illness and Naruhito has pleaded for understanding from the public ever since 2003.

Japan issued a 500 yen coin to commemorate their Imperial Wedding in 1993. It weighs 7.2g, its diameter is 26.5mm and is 1.8mm thick. On the obverse side is a chrysanthemum flanked by cherry blossom springs with legend around the border. There are Japanese inscriptions on it meaning “.The Wedding of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.Japan.500 Yen. The year 5 of Heisei”. On the reverse side is a pair of flying herons with a design of waves. Its edges are reeded.