Modern Women vs. Imperial Tradition in Japan

Nov. 30, 2004 — -- A lovely commoner marries the heir to the throne and charms the entire nation. But life in the palace tends to be a lot more restrictive than the new princess imagined. She's having trouble adjusting, and the strain is showing. People are beginning to talk.

It might sound familiar, but it's not the saga of Diana, Princess of Wales. It's the unfolding drama surrounding Masako, crown princess of Japan.

The scandals surrounding Diana's failed marriage to Prince Charles rocked the British monarchy, but they're not likely to be repeated in Japan, since the imperial family is much more reserved than the Windsors.

But Japan does have a twofold princess problem: Masako, who is under so much stress that she has all but retreated from public life, and her daughter, Aiko, whose future remains a question mark as officials puzzle over what to do about the succession.

"It really is a much wider societal question about the changing status of women, which is changing pretty rapidly," said Michael A. Schneider, chairman of the history department and co-director of the Center for Global Studies at Knox College in Illinois. "People look at Masako as someone who could be a sort of symbol of the modern Japanese woman."

The immediate problem: In 11 years of marriage, Masako, the Harvard-educated wife of Crown Prince Naruhito, has borne a daughter, Princess Aiko, who turns 3 on Wednesday — but no son. And as Masako approaches her 41st birthday, it appears less likely that she will have more children.

Japan has had reigning empresses before, but the last one was in the 18th century. Women are currently barred from ascending the Chrysanthemum Throne.

Naruhito has a younger brother, Prince Akishino, but he and his wife have two daughters. And even if you stretch over a few branches on the imperial family tree, all the children are female. So Japan has to consider whether it might be time to change the rules.

The Japanese people aren't against the idea of a princess inheriting. It's the right wing.

"The current prime minister has said he is not opposed to revising the law. For what they're worth, popular opinion polls show most people want a revision to the law," said Schneider. But "I have no doubt that the right wing in Japan will very staunchly oppose the passage of such a law. There could be a real political battle over this and it could be ugly."

What's their hang-up? For one, modern Japan has "zero tradition" of women rulers, said Kenneth Ruoff, director of the Center for Japanese Studies at Portland State University in Oregon.

There is also a belief among traditionalists that the imperial bloodline cannot be continued through a woman, he said. After all, when Japanese princesses marry, they relinquish their titles and their place in the official family.

If a reigning empress were to marry, the Imperial Household Agency would have to change the rule. And other princesses, if no longer excluded from the succession, would no longer expect to give up their status upon marrying, Schneider said. Supporting them, their husbands and children would prove very expensive for the Imperial Household.

Japan's Imperial Household Agency seems to wield a lot more power than the courtiers at Buckingham Palace. It is believed to be the main force putting pressure on Masako to produce an heir.

The main part of a royal wife's job description has always been to provide the proverbial heir and the spare. "Historically, the onus is on her," said Ruoff, author of the book "The People's Emperor: Democracy and the Japanese Monarchy, 1945-1995."