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| Princess Sayako of Japan bids farewell to members of the
Imperial Household Agency as she heads for the Imperial Hotel for
her wedding ceremony with Tokyo city bureaucrat Yoshiki Kuroda in
Tokyo, on Tuesday November 15, 2005. |
Japanese Princess Sayako, the emperor's only daughter, was greeted by
thousands of well-wishers as she prepared to marry a commoner at age 36
and leave the world's oldest monarchy.
Sayako, 36, wearing a simple Western-style long white dress and a
single-strand pearl necklace, climbed into the black Prince Royal limousine as formally-dressed royal
minders bowed deeply and clapped.
As the limousine slowly cruised to the nearby Imperial Hotel, the
princess smiled and waved to thousands of well-wishers along the road.
Sayako will marry Yoshiki Kuroda, a 40-year-old urban planner for the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government in a Shinto-style ceremony at a specially
built altar at the 118-year-old hotel.
The princess and part-time bird researcher will turn into a full-time
housewife after wedding .
In the late afternoon, the princess-turned-commoner will don a
kimono once worn by her mother
and toast with champagne at a reception attended by 150 guests, including
her parents.
Sayako is the youngest child of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko and
the last of their three children to wed. No female royal has married in
her late 30s in recent history, but the Japanese are increasingly settling
down late as women juggle lifestyles and careers.
Because Japan does not allow women to take the throne, Sayako must
leave the imperial family when she marries Kuroda, a childhood friend of
her brother.
Faced with a succession crisis, Japan is studying allowing women to
assume the Chrysanthemum Throne and letting princesses keep their royal
status after marriage. But any change would be too late for Sayako.
The princess has been preparing for her life in middle-class Tokyo,
taking driving lessons and receiving a one-time government payment of 1.3
million dollars as an allowance for becoming a
commoner.
(Agencies) |
明仁天皇惟一的小女兒、現年36歲的紀宮公主今天將下嫁給一位平民，從此離開這個世界上最古老的皇室家族，成千上萬祝福者前來向她表示問候和祝愿。
紀宮公主今年36歲，她身穿簡樸的西式白色長裙，帶著一長串珍珠項鏈，坐進皇太子的黑色豪華轎車里，其他穿著正式的皇室招待們深深地向她鞠了一躬，并伴以掌聲。
豪華轎車緩緩駛向附近的帝國飯店，紀宮公主微笑著向馬路兩邊成千上萬的祝福者們揮手致意。
在這座有著118年歷史的飯店中特地修建了一座圣壇，紀宮公主將在這里舉行日式婚禮儀式，和現年40歲的東京都政府城市規劃員黑田慶樹完婚。
紀宮公主原先是兼職鳥類研究員，婚后她將成為全職家庭主婦。
下午晚些時候，已經成為平民的紀宮公主將穿上母親曾經穿過的和服參加一個招待會，將有150名貴賓參加招待會，其中包括她的父母，她將在招待會上高舉香檳，以示慶賀。
紀宮公主是明仁天皇和皇后美智子最小的孩子，也是他們三個孩子中最后結婚的一個。在日本最近歷史上，皇室中還沒有一位女性成員直到30多歲才結婚的。但是在日本，隨著女性要同時處理生活方式和職業生涯，她們結婚也越來越晚。
日本不允許女性繼承王位，因此，紀宮公主嫁給黑田慶樹后必須離開皇室，黑田慶樹是她哥哥兒時的朋友。
面對一系列危機，日本皇室正在研究允許女性繼承天皇王位，并允許女性在婚后仍然保留皇室身份。但對于紀宮公主來說，無論什么樣的改革都太晚了。
紀宮公主已經開始為即將到來的東京中產階級生活做準備了，她不僅參加了駕駛課程，還接受了日本政府特別撥出130萬美元的一次性補助，確保她成為平民后生活無憂。
(中國日報網站薛曉文編譯) |
Updated: 2005-11-16 08:51
