Masako Owada - From a commoner to a Japanese empress suffering from depression because of the pressure to have a son

Masako is the second female commoner, after her mother-in-law (former Empress Emerita Michiko), to marry a member of the Japanese royal family.

However, her time in the palace was never a good one for her. Masako has always struggled to adapt to the rigid ideologies of one of the world's oldest monarchies.

From a commoner to the Empress of Japan

Masako Owada was born at Toranomon Hospital in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. She is the eldest daughter of Mr. Owada Hisashi, a judge of the International Court of Justice, a former official of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Egashira Yumiko, who worked as the secretary general of Air France Far East before their marriage. . After his birth, Masako and his family resided in the Sakurajōsui district, Setagaya, Tokyo under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Masako was a global citizen before even going to school. Due to the demands of his father's work, Masako spent his childhood in Moscow and New York before returning to Tokyo. She then attended elementary, middle and high school at Futaba Catholic Girls' School, Denenchofu, Tokyo. In 1979, the Masako family returned to the United States again, after her father was sent to the Japanese Embassy in Washington, and was invited to Harvard as a visiting professor of International Law.

After graduating from high school in the United States, the Empress went on to major in international economics at Harvard and then attended the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Law, to study politics before passing the entrance exam of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She was assigned to the United Kingdom as a trainee diplomat in the Japanese Embassy in Japan in 1986. In 1988, she was assigned to the role of an apprentice diplomat in the United Kingdom in the Japanese Embassy in London and studied at Oxford El Balliol University for two years. Due to her fluency in three languages: English, French and German, the Empress was allowed to participate in negotiations to resolve the commercial dispute between Japan and the United States, after returning to Japan. Empress Masako is also known to be good at softball, skiing and tennis. It can be said that the title "complete talent" is to talk about Empress Masako.

She first met Crown Prince Naruhito in October 1986, at a party to welcome Princess Elena of Spain on her visit to Japan. At that moment, the Crown Prince fell in love with Masako. After 6 years of pursuing with two rejections, finally, on the third marriage proposal, December 1992, Masako accepted Naruhito's invitation. The reason Masako agreed was because the Crown Prince had honestly shared his concerns with her. The Crown Prince initially promised to protect Masako with all his might for the rest of his life. But this time, the Crown Prince wondered if he should propose to her again or not. Because he was afraid that he could not fulfill the promise he made to her in the past.

Suffering from depression because he can't have a son

Their engagement took place officially in January 1993 and then married in June of the same year. Some 190,000 people looked forward to welcoming the newlyweds during a parade in downtown Tokyo. Because for much of the general public, she would be the one with the potential to break with the 2,600-year-old tradition of the royal family.

Over the next several decades, however, the restrictive traditions and overwhelming expectations of the royal family brought her to the brink of collapse. The royal life of Empress Masako has never been completely happy, due to pressure from royal life rules and having to give birth to a male prince (she only gave birth to Prince Aiko). Since December 2003, she has been unable to continue participating in diplomatic activities as a Crown Princess, despite being protected and loved by the Crown Prince by her side.

The line of succession to the Japanese imperial throne is based on the Imperial Family Law, currently, only men are allowed to ascend the throne. There has been debate over whether to allow women of the royal family to inherit the throne. But no significant changes have been made yet. The couple has only one daughter, Princess Aiko, born in 2001. Aiko is currently a third year student at Gakushuin Girls High School, in Tokyo.

After giving birth to her first daughter, Masako continued to face pressure from the royal family when she was forced to give birth to a son. And she has been receiving treatment for physical and mental illnesses since 2003. In 2004, the Royal Family revealed she had been diagnosed with adjustment disorder, a mental illness linked to depression. prolonged feeling or pressure. As a result, Masako is often absent from important events and is unable to fulfill his responsibilities.

Two months before that announcement, then Crown Prince Naruhito honestly shared in a press conference that it was the pressure from the Imperial family and the suffering of being banned from going abroad that made Empress Masako exhausted. . However, in the last few years, the Empress has gradually returned to her activities. This includes visiting children in welfare facilities and learning about methods of using animals to treat sick children.

Empress Masako said on her birthday: "I want to devote my energy and time for the happiness of all Japanese people. So I myself am trying my best to achieve that. I'm happy that I'm able to do more and more tasks." At the same time, Masako also said that he understands the pain of mentally ill children. Because she herself has suffered through a long struggle with adjustment disorder.

Crying at the public's love

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At 3 pm (local time), on November 10, 2019, the parade of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako to the public was held over a distance of 4.6km. Security was tightened, but that did not reduce the excitement and cheers of the Japanese people. Emperor Naruhito and his wife both wore suits, and Empress Masako with a diamond tiara was seen sitting in a special car, leaving the Imperial Palace to begin the procession. The car moved slowly about 10km/h so that people could clearly see the Emperor and Empress Masako.

Thousands of people gathered on both sides of the road, holding the national flag and waving to the Emperor and their Empress. In response to the love of the people, Emperor Naruhito and his wife waved repeatedly and smiled brightly towards the people on both sides of the road. In particular, there is a moment that has attracted the attention of the media and public opinion, which is the image of Empress Masako with red, watery eyes. She was seen quietly wiping her tears and continuing to smile and wave to the people. This moment immediately became the center of attention.

Many news sites said that Empress Masako was very touched by the love of the people for her and her husband, making the Empress of Japan moved to tears. This is a rare occasion for Japanese and international people and media to witness this close and genuine moment of an Empress.

In a survey, Emperor Naruhito and his wife were very popular with Japanese people. They expect this royal couple to bring a new breeze and bring the image of the Japanese royal family to the world. Empress Masako is considered as one of the important factors in achieving that goal as she can speak many foreign languages and has natural diplomatic talent. Her simplicity is also something that Japanese people love very much.

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