The endless tales of love stories we see in movies from all parts of the world is pretty much a thing of reality. As a born princess with all the benefits and privileges that a young lady will ask for, Princess Ayako says no to the blooming royal extravaganza and goes ahead to marry her longtime boyfriend Kei Moriya, against the royal protocol of not marrying a commoner.
Yesterday, in a private ceremony meant for close friends and family, the Princess got married to Kei Moriya, an employee of a major shipping company, in Tokyo at the city’s historic Meiji Shrine originally built as a homage to the Princess’s great grandfather. According to the rule of Japan’s Imperial House, female members of the royal family are in no position to tie the nuts with a commoner ‘Not royal’- in contrast to these terms following her wedding, the princess has lost her title, fortune and place in the imperial family.
Despite having to break from her former life, though, Ayako was brimming with joy on her special day, “I am filled with happiness,” she told reporters after the ceremony. The bride and princess of the day donned in two looks for the nuptial ceremony, beginning first with a pale yellow uchiki kimono, an outer robe and a plum hakama or wide-legged pleated trousers, for her arrival at the temple. She then changed into a more formal kouchiki, or small cloak that featured brightly hued floral accents embroidered over a brilliant red silk. Both ensembles according to history have been worn by Japanese nobility since the Heian era, which lasted from 794 to 1185.
“I would like to support Princess Ayako firmly and hand in hand build a happy family with lots of laughter,” the groom disclosed at the end of the festivities. The princess nonetheless promises to remain unchanged in her support to the royal family regardless of her moving out into a new kind of living and family.
Congratulations to the newlyweds!