Princess Tomohito of Mikasa

Nobuko, a Catholic, was born on 9 April 1955 in Tokyo. She is the third daughter and youngest child of , the chairman of the Asō Company (best known originally for its activities in the development of coal mines and metallurgy, but today mainly specializing in cement making, as well as being in the medical, environmental and real estate business) and a member of the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1955. He was also a close associate of Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka. Her mother, , was the daughter of Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida. Her elder brother is the former prime minister Tarō Asō. Through her paternal grandmother, she descends from a younger branch of the feudal Ichinomiya clan. She is the great-granddaughter of the diplomat Count and the great-great-granddaughter of the samurai Ōkubo Toshimichi, famous for having been the cause of the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877. She studied in England and graduated from Rosslyn House College in 1973. After returning to Japan, she taught English in Shoto kindergarten in the district of Shibuya, Tokyo. == Marriage and children ==

Whilst in the UK she met her future husband, Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, himself a student at Oxford University. His first marriage proposal was rejected in 1973 because of Nobuko's young age. The Imperial Household Council announced the engagement of Prince Tomohito of Mikasa and Nobuko Asō on 18 April 1980 and the engagement ceremony was held on 21 May 1980. The wedding ceremony took place on 7 November 1980 and she became Princess Tomohito of Mikasa. As tradition dictates, upon her entry into the imperial family and like other members, she received a personal emblem (): the flower of prunus persica (). Born a Catholic, she is not the first Christian to enter the imperial family (Empress Michiko also comes from a Catholic family and was raised in Christian religious institutions), but she is the first to be baptized. The couple had two daughters: • • The family lived in a compound within the Akasaka Estate complex, in Moto-Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo. In October 2009 and amid her illness, she separated her residence from her husband and children. In a 2015 article for the Japanese Huffington Post, her daughter Akiko referred to the "long-standing discord" between her parents and added that since her mother left the household for treatment she had "not been able to properly speak with her for over ten years". The Princess became a widow on 6 June 2012, upon the death of her husband. Nobuko did not appear publicly during the mourning period, and their daughter Princess Akiko acted as the chief mourner. In June 2013 in a statement about the Prince's household, it was announced by the Imperial Household Agency that "it [had] reduced the number of households in the Imperial family by one", integrating it into the household led by his father. A separate household was established for Nobuko, marking the first time a royal household had been created for a princess by marriage since 1889. == Official duties ==

'', designated imperial personal emblem of Nobuko The Princess accompanied her husband on various missions abroad to charity and welfare events, especially those concerning health issues. She is engaged in various welfare organisations and holds positions as president and vice-president. In 1990, the Prince and Princess visited Turkey to attended the celebrations held for the 100th year of relations between Japan and Turkey. In December 1992, the couple visited the cancer ward at New York Medical College. In May 1994, they went to Hawaii mainly to attend a charity dinner held for the reconstruction of Kuakini Hospital. In February 1994, the Prince and Princess attended the Lillehammer Winter Olympics in Norway. Princess Nobuko attended the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on 27 September 2022 in Tokyo with her eldest daughter, Princess Akiko. == Other interests ==

Princess Tomohito is usually presented by her family as an excellent chef, and has published two books of recipes titled: • Published in May 1992: . Kōbunsha Publishing Co., Ltd. () • Published in October 2013: . Magazine House () The second book features recipes and ingredients common in Fukushima Prefecture. == Health ==

Princess Nobuko suffered from brain ischemia in May 2004, which forced her to withdraw for a while to the villa of Sōma family in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, for medical treatment and rest. She continued her rest due to menopause, In 2008, she suffered from asthma and was repeatedly in and out of the hospital. She underwent long-term medical treatment at the villa of her older siblings, and even after returning to Tokyo, she did not return to the imperial residence, but instead lived in the official residence of the Commissioner of the Imperial Household Agency. In October 2009, she moved from the hospital where she was hospitalized to the Imperial Household Agency building for medical treatment. On the night of 8 September 2019, Princess Nobuko fell at her home in Tokyo. The next morning, due to persistent pain, the Princess went to Keio University Hospital in Tokyo, where she was diagnosed with a first lumbar vertebral fracture. She was prescribed a total recovery period of 3 months. Princess Nobuko was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer in November 2022. Doctors expressed no concern about her case, as she had no obvious symptoms of cancer. The Princess was admitted to Keio University Hospital on 16 November for further examinations, and her surgery to remove the tumor was held on 19 November. After undergoing the surgery, which lasted 2 hours, it was discovered that her breast cancer was at stage 0, and not at stage 1. The Princess was discharged from the hospital on 24 November, after doctors confirmed that her recovery was going well and that the chances of cancer recurrence were very low. She received radiation therapy over 25 sessions at Keio University Hospital between 23 January and 27 February 2023. On 4 March 2024 the Princess underwent surgery for primary angle-closure and cataracts at Keio University Hospital. == Titles and styles ==

Since her marriage, Nobuko is styled as Her Imperial Highness Princess Tomohito of Mikasa. == Honours ==

National honours • : Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown. • : Dame of the Decoration of the Red Cross. • : Recipient of the Red Cross Medal. Foreign honours • : Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav (26 March 2001). Honorary Positions • President of the Tokyo Jikeikai • Honorary President of the Japan Rose Society • Honorary President of the Doyo Society of Japan • Honorary President of the Japan Building Maintenance Association • Honorary President of the Women's Healthcare Awareness & Menopause Network Society • Honorary Vice-President of the Japanese Red Cross Society • International Judo Federation Ambassador == Ancestry ==

)'', The mon of the Asō clan Princess Tomohito is a patrilineal descendant of the Asō clan and is maternally descended from Ōkubo Toshimichi through his son Count Makino Nobuaki. Through her paternal grandmother the Hon. Kanō Natsuko, she is descended from the Tachibana clan of the Miike Domain and from a cadet branch of the Ōkubo clan, who ruled the Odawara Domain. Through her link to the Ōkubo clan, she is an eighth cousin of her late husband and of the present Emperor; all three are seven-times-great-grandchildren of the sixth lord of Hirado, Matsura Atsunobu (1684–1757). They are also tenth cousins by virtue of their descent from Seikanji Hirofusa (1633–1686), a senior palace courtier who held the rank of dainagon in the late-17th century. == Notes ==