Sayako Kuroda

Sayako Kuroda(黒田 清子,Kuroda Sayako, born 18 April 1969), formerlySayako, Princess Nori(紀宮清子内親王,Nori-no-miya Sayako Naishinnō), is the youngest child and only daughter ofEmperor EmeritusAkihitoandEmpress Emerita Michiko, and the younger sister of the current Emperor of Japan,Naruhito. She is an imperialShintopriestess of theIse Grand Shrine, currently serving as the Supreme Priestess.
Kuroda held the appellation "Nori-no-miya"  (Princess Nori),until her marriage to Yoshiki Kuroda on 15 November 2005. As a result of her marriage, she gave up her imperial title and left theJapanese Imperial Family, as required by the Article 12 of theImperial Household Law, and received a payment of approximatelyUS$1,000,000.
Princess Sayako was born on 18 April 1969 at the Imperial Household Agency Hospital inTokyo Imperial Palace, Tokyo. Her mother,Empress Emerita Michiko, is an alumna of theUniversity of the Sacred Heartand a convert toShintofromRoman Catholicism. She studied at and graduated from the Department of Japanese Language and Literature, Faculty of Letters,Gakushuin University, with theBachelor of Lettersdegree inJapanese languageandliteraturein 1992. Later in the year, she was accepted asresearch associateat theYamashina Institute for Ornithology, where she specialized in the study ofkingfishers.In 1998, she was appointedresearcherat the same institute.
Apart from her research, Sayako has traveled extensively abroad and within Japan, as a representative of the Imperial family.
On 30 December 2004, theImperial Household Agencyannounced theengagementof the 35-year-old Princess Nori to the 39-year-old Yoshiki Kuroda (黒田慶樹Kuroda Yoshiki). Born inTokyoon 17 April 1965, he is anurban designerwith theTokyo Metropolitan Governmentand a longtime friend ofPrince Akishino.The announcement of the engagement was postponed twice following the2004 Chūetsu earthquakeand the death ofPrincess Takamatsu.Upon her marriage, which took place at theImperial Hotel, Tokyoon 15 November 2005, Princess Nori left theImperial Family, taking the surname of her husband; he became the first non-aristocraticcommoner to marry an Imperial princess. This change in her status is mandated by theImperial Household Lawthat requires females of the imperial family who marry to relinquish their title, official membership in the imperial family, andallowancefrom the state. She became the sixth female member born into theJapanese imperial familyto 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 ofPrincess 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 theGovernor of TokyoShintaro Ishihara.Thousands of well-wishers lined the streets between the royal palace and the city hotel where the half-hour marriage rite took place.
Kuroda resigned from her job as anornithologistto focus on her family life. While she is no longer entitled to an imperial allowance, she received a wedding gift worthUS$1,200,000 from the Japanese government.To prepare for her change of lifestyle, Princess Sayako reportedly took driving lessons and practised shopping at thesupermarket.
In April 2012, Kuroda was appointed as a high priestess of theIse Grand Shrineto assist her aunt,Atsuko Ikeda, Chief Priestess of the shrine,who was also subjected to the conditions of the Imperial Household Law upon marriage. She was among the guests during a banquet held at the Tokyo Imperial Palace in honour ofKing PhilippeandQueen MathildeofBelgiumin October 2016.Since her marriage, Kuroda has continued to appear on some formal occasions with other members of the Imperial Family.She officially replaced Atsuko Ikeda as the supreme priestess of Ise Shrine on 19 June 2017.
For the coming-of-age of her niece,Aiko, Princess Toshi, the daughter of EmperorNaruhitoandEmpress Masako, Kuroda lent Aiko the tiara that was presented to Kuroda for her own coming-of-age in 1989. 
Princess Aiko wore Kuroda’s tiara for the celebration of her coming-of-age on 5 December 2021.