Misplaced Pages

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (December 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Atsuko Ikeda
Atsuko Ikeda, c. 1952
Born	Atsuko, Princess Yori (順宮厚子内親王) (1931-03-07) 7 March 1931 (age 93) Tokyo Imperial Palace, Tokyo City, Empire of Japan
Spouse	Takamasa Ikeda ​ ​(m. 1952; died 2012)​
Children	Motohiro Ikeda (adopted)
Parents	Emperor Shōwa (father) Princess Nagako Kuni (mother)
Relatives	Imperial House of Japan Ikeda clan

Atsuko Ikeda (池田 厚子, Ikeda Atsuko, born 7 March 1931), formerly Atsuko, Princess Yori (順宮厚子内親王, Yori-no-miya Atsuko Naishinnō), is the fourth daughter of Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun. As such, she is the older sister of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and paternal aunt of Emperor Naruhito. She married Takamasa Ikeda on 10 October 1952. As a result, she gave up her imperial title and left the Japanese Imperial Family, as required by law. Later, she served as the most sacred priestess (saishu) of the Ise Grand Shrine between 1988 and 2017. In April 2024 the former princess adopted Motohiro Nozu CEO of Kabaya.

Biography

Princess Atsuko was born at the Tokyo Imperial Palace on 7 March 1931, her father is the Emperor Showa (Hirohito), her mother is the Empress Kōjun. Her childhood appellation was Yori-no-miya (順宮). She had three elder sisters, the Princess Shigeko Teru-no-miya, the Princess Sachiko Hisa-no-miya (died as a baby) and the Princess Kazuko Taka-no-miya.

As with her elder two sisters, she was not raised by her biological parents, but by a succession of court ladies at a separate palace built for her and her elder sisters in the Marunouchi district of Tokyo. She graduated from the Gakushūin Peer's School, and was also tutored along with her siblings in English language by an American tutor, Elizabeth Gray Vining, during the Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. She graduated from Gakushuin University Women's College in March 1952.

On 10 October 1952, Princess Yori married Takamasa Ikeda (池田 隆政, Ikeda Takamasa, 21 October 1926 – 21 July 2012), the eldest son of former Marquis Nobumasa Ikeda and a direct descendant of the last daimyō of Okayama Domain, whom she had met at a Japanese tea ceremony at Kōraku-en gardens. The couple were engaged after only six months, but wedding plans had to be postponed due to the death of her grandmother Empress Teimei in 1951 and subsequent period of mourning. Upon her marriage, Princess Yori became the second daughter of an emperor to relinquish her status as a member of the Japanese imperial family and become a commoner upon marriage, in accordance with the 1947 Imperial Household Law. She also gave up an annual imperial allowance worth ¥650,000 ($1,800) at the time. The groom's father and the bride's mother, the Empress, were first cousins, making the couple second cousins.

The former princess relocated to Okayama Prefecture, where her husband, a wealthy cattle rancher, served as director of the Ikeda Zoo outside of Okayama city for over fifty years.

In 1965, she was hospitalized with sepsis, which was a cause of great concern for the Imperial Family, as her elder sister Shigeko Higashikuni had already died of stomach cancer.

In October 1988, Ikeda succeeded her ailing elder sister, Kazuko Takatsukasa, as the most sacred priestess (saishu) of the Ise Grand Shrine. She served in that capacity until 19 June 2017, whereupon she was succeeded by her niece, Sayako Kuroda. She also served as the Chairperson of the Association of Shinto Shrines until June 2017.

The former princess adopted Motohiro Nozu CEO of Kabaya in April 2024. About 10 years earlier she and her husband were already having talks about adopting someone to continue the Ikeda line. However, the adoption does not solve the Ikeda family's survival because Motohiro and his wife have no children. Motohiro and his wife also changed their last name to Ikeda.

Honours

National honours

• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown

Ancestry

Gallery

• Emperor Showa's family in 1941
• Emperor Shōwa's daughters
• Japanese cherry blossoms, Prunus serrulata, designated imperial personal emblem of Atsuko
• Princess Atsuko with her younger brother and sister, Prince Akihito and Princess Takako, in September 1950
• Princess Atsuko in 1951
• Atsuko Ikeda at the Ise Grand Shrine in Ise City, Mie Prefecture, in November 2009

Sources

• Foreign Affairs Association of Japan, The Japan Year Book (Tokyo: Kenkyusha Press, 1939–40, 1941–42, 1944–45, 1945–46, 1947–48).
• Takie Sugiyama Lebra, Above the Clouds: Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992).
• "Hirohito's Daughter Wed: Princess Yori Married to Tokyo Commoner by Shinto Rites," New York Times 10 October 1952.
• Bix, Herbert P. (2001). Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan. Harper Perennial. ISBN 0-06-093130-2.

References

1. "Milestones, Oct. 20, 1952". Time. 20 October 1952. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
2. "池田氏（備前岡山藩） (Okayama-Ikeda genealogy)". Reichsarchiv (in Japanese). Retrieved 3 September 2017.
3. Japan Times
4. ^ "上皇さまの姉・池田厚子さん カバヤ・オハヨーHDの野津基弘CEO夫妻と養子縁組 グループは開園時から池田動物園を支援 岡山 | KSBニュース | KSB瀬戸内海放送". KSB (in Japanese). 12 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
5. ^ "「"爵位が欲しい"とよく言っていた」 上皇陛下の姉君・池田厚子さんと菓子メーカー「カバヤ」代表の養子縁組の裏側（全文）". デイリー新潮 (in Japanese). 20 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
6. 小松大秀監修 (2018). 明治150年記念 華ひらく皇室文化 −明治宮廷を彩る技と美−. 青幻社. pp. 6–7. ISBN 978-4861526442.

v t e Japanese princesses
The generations indicate descent from Emperor Meiji, who founded the Empire of Japan.
1st generation	Shizuko, Princess Hisa (ja) Masako, Princess Tsune Fusako, Princess Kane* Nobuko, Princess Fumi Toshiko, Princess Yasu* Takiko, Princess Sada (ja)
2nd generation	None
3rd generation	Shigeko, Princess Teru* Sachiko, Princess Hisa Kazuko, Princess Taka** Atsuko, Princess Yori** Takako, Princess Suga** Princess Yasuko of Mikasa** Princess Masako of Mikasa**
4th generation	Sayako, Princess Nori** Princess Akiko of Mikasa Princess Yōko of Mikasa Princess Tsuguko of Takamado Princess Noriko of Takamado** Princess Ayako of Takamado**
5th generation	Aiko, Princess Toshi Princess Mako of Akishino** Princess Kako of Akishino
* Reduced to commoner status with the abolition of titles of nobility by the American occupation authorities. ** Lost the title upon her marriage.

• 1931 births
• Living people
• 20th-century Japanese people
• 21st-century Japanese people
• 20th-century Japanese women
• 21st-century Japanese women
• Japanese Shintoists
• 20th-century Shintoists
• 21st-century Shintoists
• People from Chiyoda, Tokyo
• Ikeda clan
• Kannushi
• Grand Cordons (Imperial Family) of the Order of the Precious Crown
• Children of Hirohito
• Daughters of Japanese emperors