by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2019
Credit – By Andrew Smith Lewis – Princess TakamadoUploaded by Dɐ, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30674444
The widow of Prince Takamado of Mikasa, Hisako Tottori was born in Tokyo, Japan on July 10, 1953. She is the elder of the two daughters of Shigejiro Tottori, an industrialist employed by Mitsui & Co., Ltd. Hisako attended primary and secondary school at the Sacred Heart School, a Roman Catholic all-girls school in Tokyo, until her father was transferred to the United Kingdom for his job. Living in the United Kingdom, Hisako became fluent in English. She attended Girton College, Cambridge University, graduating in 1975 with a Bachelor’s degree in anthropology and archaeology.
After her university graduation, Hisako returned to Japan where she worked as a translator for a translation company. However, she returned to the United Kingdom for training regarding legal terminology used for laws and statutes and received a Master’s degree from the University of Cambridge in 1979. Later in her life, in 2012, Hisako received a Ph.D. in Arts and Culture from the Osaka University of Arts in Osaka, Japan
In 1982, Hisako was hired as an interpreter and assistant to Prince Mikasa, her future father-in-law, at the 31st International Asian-North African Cultural Symposium. Two years later, on April 23, 1984, Hisako met Prince Mikasa’s youngest son Prince Takamado at a reception at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo. Prince Takamado’s father Prince Mikasa was the youngest son of Emperor Taishō, the youngest brother of Emperor Hirohito (Shōwa), and the uncle of Emperor Akihito. Prince Tomohito was called “of Mikasa” because his father was given the authorization to form a new branch of the Imperial Family by Emperor Hirohito (Shōwa).
The prince proposed to Hisako on May 20, 1984, and then the Imperial Household Council announced the engagement on August 1, 1984. On September 17, 1984, the formal engagement ceremony was held and the couple was married on December 6, 1984. After her marriage, Hisako was styled Her Imperial Highness The Princess Takamado.
Prince and Princess Takamado had three daughters:
- Princess Tsuguko (born 1986)
- Princess Noriko (born 1988), married Kunimaro Senge, gave up her imperial title and left the Imperial Family as required by 1947 Imperial Household Law and is now known as Noriko Senge
- Princess Ayako (born 1990), married Kei Moriya, gave up her imperial title and left the Imperial Family as required by 1947 Imperial Household Law and is now known as Ayako Moriya
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Prince and Princess Takamado at the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea-Japan (soccer)
Prince and Princess Takamado were the most widely traveled couple in the Japanese Imperial Family, representing Japan in 35 countries together over 15 years. One of their most important visits was to the Republic of Korea (South Korea) from May to June 2002 to attend the opening ceremony and games of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea-Japan (soccer). This was the first visit of members of the Japanese Imperial Family to South Korea since World War II and it was an important step in the promotion of friendly relations between the two countries.
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Princess Takamado at the funeral of her husband
On November 21, 2002, while playing squash with the Canadian ambassador Robert Wright at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo, Prince Takamado collapsed due to ventricular fibrillation. He was immediately taken to Keio University Hospital but was already in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest. He was resuscitated but his condition then worsened and soon there was no hope that he would survive. With the consent of his wife, Prince Takamado was removed from life support and died at the age of 47.
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Princess Takamado presents a trophy at the 2018 Prince Takamado Cup, Japan’s national youth football (soccer) cup tournament, named after her husband
Although Princess Takamado was left a widow with three children, she continued her husband’s efforts to foster international goodwill. She has been extremely active with a large number of charitable organizations involving sports, cultural exchange, and the environment, taking on all of the positions formerly held by her late husband, as well as many new positions. Princess Takamado has traveled throughout Japan and all over the world on behalf of the organizations. She often represents the Japanese Imperial Family at royal events in other monarchies.
Princess Takamado attending the wedding of Princess Madeleine of Sweden; Credit – By Frankie Fouganthin https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26670920
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Works Cited
- En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Hisako, Princess Takamado. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hisako,_Princess_Takamado [Accessed 31 Jan. 2019].
- Ja.wikipedia.org. (2019). 憲仁親王妃久子. [online] Available at: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%86%B2%E4%BB%81%E8%A6%AA%E7%8E%8B%E5%A6%83%E4%B9%85%E5%AD%90 [Accessed 31 Jan. 2019].
- Kunaicho.go.jp. (2019). Their Imperial Highnesses Prince and Princess Mikasa and their family – The Imperial Household Agency. [online] Available at: http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/e-about/activity/activity05.html [Accessed 29 Jan. 2019].