On a cool autumn day, in a palace sequestered behind silver birches and surrounded by a large moat, Japan’s Princess Mako began preparing for her long-awaited wedding. Four lonely years had passed since she announced her engagement to her college sweetheart, Kei Komuro, and in that time the first flush of public jubilation had turned into criticism, bullying and scandal. The couple was separated for three whole years, and the marriage delayed time and again. But the beautiful young royal never wavered in her devotion to the man she loves, and after many nights of distress and longing, she was finally going to become his wife and relinquish her royal title. As she arranged her shiny black hair into a simple chignon, her face was set in an expression of determination.
“To me he is irreplaceable,” she would tell the world. “Our marriage is a necessary step for us to be able to protect our hearts in a cherishing way. We, the two of us, will start our new life. I guess there will be different types of difficulties, but we want to live together by working together.”
The “difficulties” she refers to include the savage public reaction to her romance, egged on by the tabloid press, a mouthpiece for the conservatives who guard the reputation of Japan’s monarchy. Commentators have likened the media storm to the controversy that engulfed Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Mako’s beloved was deemed “unworthy” after the media published details of a financial dispute involving his mother, putting immense pressure on the bride.
That Princess Mako stared down the criticism is a testament to her courage, her loyalty and her love for the young lawyer who stole her heart, says Japan correspondent Julian Ryall.
この記事は Australian Women’s Weekly NZ の January 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Australian Women’s Weekly NZ の January 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
PRETTY WOMAN
Dial up the joy with a mood-boosting self-care session done in the privacy of your own home. It’s a blissful way to banish the winter blues.
Hitting a nerve
Regulating the vagus nerve with its links to depression, anxiety, arthritis and diabetes could aid physical and mental wellbeing.
The unseen Rovals
Candid, behind the scenes and neverbefore-seen images of the royal family have been released for a new exhibition.
Great read
In novels and life - there's power in the words left unsaid.
Winter dinner winners
Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of budget-concious recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.
Winter baking with apples and pears
Celebrate the season of apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the cold weather blues away.
The wines and lines mums
Once only associated with glamorous A-listers, cocaine is now prevalent with the soccer-mum set - as likely to be imbibed at a school fundraiser as a nightclub. The Weekly looks inside this illegal, addictive, rising trend.
Former ballerina'sBATTLE with BODY IMAGE
Auckland author Sacha Jones reveals how dancing led her to develop an eating disorder and why she's now on a mission to educate other women.
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
When Alexei Navalny died in a brutal Arctic prison, Vladimir Putin thought he had triumphed over his most formidable opponent. Until three courageous women - Alexei's mother, wife and daughter - took up his fight for freedom.
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO START
Responsible for keeping the likes of Jane Fonda and Jamie Lee Curtis in shape, Malin Svensson is on a mission to motivate those in midlife to move more.
