Wedding of Princess Sayako of Japan

The Japanese Imperial Family broke tradition as they celebrated the Wedding of Princess Sayako of Japan and Yoshiki Kuroda at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo on this day in 2005, 20 years ago, who gave up her Imperial Title and Privileges upon her marriage!

Princess Sayako of Japan, Princess Nori, the only daughter of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, married urban designer Yoshiki Kuroda in a simple Shinto Ceremony at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo attended by 30 guests including her parents, the Emperor and Empress in a big break from tradition as Princess Sayako renounced her Imperial Title and Privileges upon her marriage as mandated by the Imperial Household Law.

It is the first time in 45 years that a female member of a reigning emperor’s family weds. She is the last among the emperor’s three children to marry. The princess and Kuroda have known each other for years, as he is a childhood friend of Prince Akishino, one of her two older brothers.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko

Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako

Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko

After the wedding, Yoshiki and the new Sayako Kuroda gave a Press Conference at the Imperial Hotel.

Princess Sayako (R) and Yoshiyuki Kuroda smile during a news conference following their wedding ceremony at a Tokyo hotel November 15, 2005. Princess Sayako, 36, the only daughter of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, married urban planner Kuroda, 40, thus bidding farewell to her life as a privileged princess. The marriage means she will relinquish her title, swap the grandeur of the Imperial Palace for an ordinary apartment, and trade official duties for housework and the supermarket run

In the evening, the Imperial Family were led by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko at the Banquet celebrating the Wedding of Princess Sayako and Yoshiki Kuroda.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko

Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako

Afterwards, Princess Sayako wore Court Dress for her ‘Choken-no-Gi’ Farewell Audience with her parents, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, inside the Imperial Palace.

Japan’s Princess Sayako exchanges farewell greetings with Emperor Akihito, left, as Empress Michiko, 3rd left, looks on, during a traditional “Choken-no-gi” ceremony, her last rite as a member of the Imperial family, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

Princess Sayako wore her Diamond Tiara, Diamond Necklace and Earrings with the Order of the Precious Crown for the final time. The Tiara has remained in her possession and has now been loaned to her niece, Princess Aiko.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko (wearing the Imperial Chrysanthemum Tiara)

In the morning, Princess Sayako wore the traditional 12-layered kimono for a series of rituals in the shrines of the Imperial Palace.

Princess Sayako of Japan, in ancient formal court ensemble, is led by a Master of Rituals as she pays respects at sanctuaries where Japanese gods and the spirits of late emperors are enshrined, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

Emperor Akihito’s youngest child, Princess Sayako, 36, bid a formal farewell to the royal family Saturday in a traditional ceremony ahead of her wedding next week to a commoner, a Tokyo government official Yoshiki Kuroda

Japan’s Princess Sayako, dressed in a purple, 12-layered kimono with orange and green trim, is seen as she pays respects at sanctuaries where Japanese gods and the spirits of late emperors are enshrined, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

Princess Sayako’s Mikimoto Diamond Tiara

Imperial Chrysanthemum Tiara