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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(xiàn)年36歲的紀(jì)宮公主今天將下嫁給一位平民，從此離開(kāi)這個(gè)世界上最古老的皇室家族，成千上萬(wàn)祝福者前來(lái)向她表示問(wèn)候和祝愿。
紀(jì)宮公主今年36歲，她身穿簡(jiǎn)樸的西式白色長(zhǎng)裙，帶著一長(zhǎng)串珍珠項(xiàng)鏈，坐進(jìn)皇太子的黑色豪華轎車(chē)?yán)铮渌┲降幕适艺写齻兩钌畹叵蛩狭艘还橐哉坡暋?
豪華轎車(chē)緩緩駛向附近的帝國(guó)飯店，紀(jì)宮公主微笑著向馬路兩邊成千上萬(wàn)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(jì)宮公主將在這里舉行日式婚禮儀式，和現(xiàn)年40歲的東京都政府城市規(guī)劃員黑田慶樹(shù)完婚。
紀(jì)宮公主原先是兼職鳥(niǎo)類(lèi)研究員，婚后她將成為全職家庭主婦。
下午晚些時(shí)候，已經(jīng)成為平民的紀(jì)宮公主將穿上母親曾經(jīng)穿過(guò)的和服參加一個(gè)招待會(huì)，將有150名貴賓參加招待會(huì)，其中包括她的父母，她將在招待會(huì)上高舉香檳，以示慶賀。
紀(jì)宮公主是明仁天皇和皇后美智子最小的孩子，也是他們?nèi)齻€(gè)孩子中最后結(jié)婚的一個(gè)。在日本最近歷史上，皇室中還沒(méi)有一位女性成員直到30多歲才結(jié)婚的。但是在日本，隨著女性要同時(shí)處理生活方式和職業(yè)生涯，她們結(jié)婚也越來(lái)越晚。
日本不允許女性繼承王位，因此，紀(jì)宮公主嫁給黑田慶樹(shù)后必須離開(kāi)皇室，黑田慶樹(shù)是她哥哥兒時(shí)的朋友。
面對(duì)一系列危機(jī)，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(duì)于紀(jì)宮公主來(lái)說(shuō)，無(wú)論什么樣的改革都太晚了。
紀(jì)宮公主已經(jīng)開(kāi)始為即將到來(lái)的東京中產(chǎn)階級(jí)生活做準(zhǔn)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(wàn)美元的一次性補(bǔ)助，確保她成為平民后生活無(wú)憂(yōu)。
(中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站薛曉文編譯) |
Updated: 2005-11-16 08:51
