Princess Kako: Long black hair cut off! The “determination” behind the makeover

A change of image may be a change of “state of mind

Kako, 30, the second daughter of the Akishino family, bends down in front of a flower bed and looks at an arrangement of pansies with a butterfly motif. Right next to her, Prince and Princess Akishino were also smiling as they admired the artistic arrangement of flowers.

On January 31, the Akishino family visited the Kanto Tokai Flower Exhibition. Aside from the official duties performed by all three members of the family, what attracted the most attention was Kako’s hairstyle. Her long black hair had been cut to a shoulder-length bob.

A reporter for the Imperial Household Agency believes that Kako’s image change may have been due to a change in her state of mind.

Kako celebrated her 30th birthday in December of last year, and the topic of conversation was her “X-Day of Marriage. Her sister Mako Komuro (33) got married when she was 30, so she and those around her must be aware of it. Now that her younger brother Eugene (18) has decided to enter Tsukuba University and the family’s concerns have been settled, there is a good chance that talks will proceed toward marriage this year.

Kako’s official duties have also changed. One of the important official duties she took over from her mother, Noriko (58), in 2008 was the absence this year of a meeting to honor mothers and families who raised hearing-impaired children. Shinji Yamashita, a commentator on the Imperial Household, explains the significance of this decision.

In a release sent to the media by the Association for Education and Welfare of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, which sponsors the “Praise Meeting,” it is stated that “Her Imperial Highness Princess Kako will not be attending this year’s meeting. The Imperial Household Agency has not given us any detailed explanation about this matter, but only informed us that Her Imperial Highness Princess Kako would not be attending the meeting. It was reported that Her Imperial Highness Princess Kako felt uncomfortable with the idea of “mothers raising children,” which is indicated by the name of the meeting. The fact that the organizers dared to tell His Imperial Highness Prince Kako that she would not be attending the meeting can only be interpreted as a hint that there was some kind of discrepancy between them and the Imperial Household Agency. They must have had something in mind for Her Imperial Highness Princess Kako.

Mr. Yamashita points out, “More than Kako’s official duties, Prince Hisahito of Akishino’s entrance into university will bring about changes in the Akishino family.

It is said that the University of Tsukuba is ‘not too far from the residence,’ but considering the human and budgetary burden of security, I think it would be impossible. He will probably live in the vicinity of the university. Without his younger brother at the main residence, there will be fewer opportunities for His Imperial Highness Princess Kako to visit the main residence, and at the same time, she may have fewer opportunities to meet with her parents.”

Mako, the eldest daughter, has not returned home once since her marriage, and Kako continues to live alone. With the winds said to be blowing, there is a danger that the family’s relationship will cool even further if Princess Eugene leaves home.

Is cutting off his hair a sign of “determination”? Despite the smiles on the faces of father and son, a turbulent year is about to begin for the Akishino family.

From the February 21 and 28, 2025 issue of FRIDAY