Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito married commoner Masako Owada in 1993.

The elder son of Emperor Akihito and the Empress Michiko, Prince Naruhito was officially named Crown Prince and heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne in 1991. Two years later, at the age of 33, he married Masako Owada in an elaborate Shinto ceremony. Their wedding day was declared a national holiday in Japan, and television stations had live coverage of the event. Before becoming Princess, Owada, graduate of the Faculty of Economics of Harvard University and daughter of the former vice foreign minister of Japan, was a career diplomat. As Crown Princess, Owada was required to give up both her career and her right to vote.

In 2001, eight years after their wedding and amid fears that the world’s oldest monarchy would end with Prince Naruhito, the Princess gave birth to a daughter, Aiko (Princess Toshi). At the birth of their daughter, Prince Naruhito became the first Crown Prince of Japan to enter the delivery room. Aiko’s birth led to much debate in Japan about the laws of succession to the Japanese throne. Before the 19th century, women could succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne, but this was outlawed during the Meiji Restoration. In early 2005, in hopes of avoiding an inheritance crisis, the Japanese government appointed a panel of experts to explore the possibility of letting their Imperial Majesties adopt a boy from former royals who lost their imperial titles after World War II.

ReadWriteThink
Tales of princesses and princes have always captured our imaginations. In Promoting Diversity in the Classroom and School Library through Social Action (6–8), students explore stereotypes in children’s picture books, such as Disney’s Princess Collection, in order to identify the limited view established in these fictional worlds. They then compare these representations to more diverse portrayals in matching texts, such as The Paper Bag Princess or Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters.

ARTSEDGE
The story of Cinderella is one of the best known tales of a common girl marrying a handsome prince. In Cinderella Trilogy (K–4), students compare and contrast three culturally distinct variations of the Cinderella folktale: Rhodopis, the Egyptian version; Yeh-Shen, the Chinese version; and The Hidden One, a Native American story.

A country rich in cultural history and with the oldest existing monarchy, Japan is also well-known for it arts. Japanese Woodblock Prints (9–12) explores the history and evolution of the Japanese woodblock print.

EDSITEment
Woodblock prints are used as a means to examine changes in Edo period Japan in Life in the Floating World: Ukiyo-e Prints and the Rise of the Merchant Class in Edo Period Japan (9–12).