'', designated imperial personal emblem of Sayako On 30 December 2004, the
Imperial Household Agency announced the
engagement of the 35-year-old Princess Nori to the 39-year-old Yoshiki Kuroda (黒田慶樹
Kuroda Yoshiki). Born in
Tokyo on 17 April 1965, he is an
urban designer with the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government and a longtime friend of
Prince Akishino. The announcement of the engagement was postponed twice following the
2004 Chūetsu earthquake and the death of
Princess Takamatsu. Upon her marriage, which took place at the
Imperial Hotel, Tokyo on 15 November 2005, Princess Nori left the
Imperial Family, taking the surname of her husband; he became the first non-
aristocratic commoner to marry an Imperial princess. This change in her status is mandated by the
Imperial Household Law that requires females of the imperial family who marry to relinquish their title, official membership in the imperial family, and
allowance from the state. She became the sixth female member born into the
Japanese imperial family to marry a commoner since the passage of the Imperial Household Law in 1947, and the first member of the family to lose royal status since the marriage of
Princess Masako of Mikasa, one of Emperor Akihito's cousins, in 1983. Sayako's parents, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko were in attendance at her wedding, as were other members of the imperial family. About 30 people attended the ceremony, and some 120 guests attended the reception including the
Governor of Tokyo Shintaro Ishihara. Thousands of well-wishers lined the streets between the royal palace and the city hotel where the half-hour marriage rite took place. To prepare for her change of lifestyle, Princess Sayako reportedly took driving lessons and practiced shopping at the
supermarket. ==After marriage==