<figure id="attachment_464183" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-464183" style="width: 6048px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="94df398d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/17c0a9d939009ffea84e9559d729694c.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-464183" class="wp-caption-text">Princess Noriko (center) and Princess Kako (left) viewed the Yamamura Goryu Ikebana Exhibition on April 8. Iemoto&#8217;s pupil is on the right.</figcaption></figure>
<p> The two looked interested as they listened to the Iemoto&#8217;s explanation and admired the flowers. Princess Noriko Akishino, 59, is dressed in a springtime pale pink outfit, and her second daughter Kako, 31, is wearing a pale blue outfit.</p>
<p> On April 8, they visited the &#8220;Yamamura Goryu Ikebana Exhibition&#8221; at the Nihombashi Takashimaya Department Store (Chuo-ku, Tokyo). Enshoji Temple, located in Nara City, Nara Prefecture, is a temple with a nun as its abbess and has close ties to the imperial family.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> It is said that Ensho-ji Temple began when the first daughter of Emperor Gosui, who reigned in the early Edo period, became an ordained priestess and opened a hermitage. Since then, women from the imperial family and court nobles have served as chief priests. It is one of Nara&#8217;s &#8216;Yamato Sanmonzeki Nun-in,&#8217; and successive generations of monzeki (abbesses and temples of the imperial family and court nobles) have served as the head of the Yamamura Goryu (flower arrangement) school,&#8221; said a reporter on the Imperial Household at a national newspaper.</span></p>
<p> Let us return to the scene at the beginning of this article. Princess Noriko and Princess Kako saw approximately 70 works created by Iemoto Michihide Hagiwara. Among them were a vase made of Ohori Soma-yaki, a traditional craft from the town of Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, which was devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake, with horse chestnut and peony flowers arranged in it, and a &#8220;Welcoming Flowers&#8221; vase made of Tamasu-yaki from Pearl Island, Ishikawa Prefecture, which was damaged in the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, with tepou lily and kiri decorated in it.</p>
<h2> I have the impression that you have made a step toward us.</h2>
<figure id="attachment_464186" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-464186" style="width: 6048px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a98eab83"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/c2a9f09953791d642c49c1909528c58d.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-464186" class="wp-caption-text"> The two listen attentively to Iemoto&#8217;s explanation</figcaption></figure>
<p> After viewing the exhibition, the couple responded to the press as follows.</p>
<p> Noriko <span class="strongInContent">said, &#8220;It was a warm and peaceful space.</span></p>
<p> Kako <span class="strongInContent">: &#8220;The flowers and the vessels were in harmony, creating a very beautiful space.</span></p>
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<p> While there have been many occasions when the father, Prince Akishino, has been with the couple, it is rare for Noriko and Kako to be seen together as mother and son on official business. At one time, there were rumors that their relationship was strained over the marriage of their eldest daughter, Mako, to Kei Komuro. Yuji Odabe, a professor emeritus at Shizuoka University of Social Welfare, tells us.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> It is said that the two of them did not agree on Mako&#8217;s marriage. It is said that Princess Noriko was against the idea of Mako and Kei Komuro getting together. Kako, who attended ICU (International Christian University) with Mako and was a close friend of Mako&#8217;s, must have been uncomfortable with her parents interjecting their opinions into her sister&#8217;s marriage.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> However, the delicate relationship could not continue indefinitely. Recently, I have the impression that Kiko has come to terms with the situation. With Kako&#8217;s own marriage coming up in the near future, it would be natural for the two of them to keep in step in dealing with official duties and family matters.</span></p>
<p> Princess Noriko and Princess Kako leave the Yamamura Goryu Ikebana Exhibition with smiles on their faces. It seems that the aim of &#8220;mother and child on official business&#8221; is certainly bearing fruit.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Photo of Princess Noriko and Princess Kako, Mother and Son in Two Shots"></div>
<figure id="attachment_464189" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-464189" style="width: 6048px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="1e0bfd83"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/4bfc7cd8bf26d6513741b1a38b17b813.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-464189" class="wp-caption-text">Kako&#8217;s beautiful smile</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_464192" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-464192" style="width: 4024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a375e94e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/717577fb729cb0a5ece5a497ab5bfb1c-rotated.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-464192" class="wp-caption-text"> Her dress has a spring-like atmosphere</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_464194" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-464194" style="width: 5466px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="c90f7dfa"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/c86d6b2bbae8b062afab82946163b3e8.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-464194" class="wp-caption-text"> About 70 works of art</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_464196" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-464196" style="width: 4024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="d7d7791b"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/c4ec938522aeb6b36100a1cb9b49b3af-rotated.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-464196" class="wp-caption-text"> Enshoji Temple has a strong connection with the Imperial Family.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_464200" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-464200" style="width: 4024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="0c7e6f37"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/5801f92849be4b3a5b80f11e152e04d4-rotated.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-464200" class="wp-caption-text"> Listening intently to the explanation</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_464201" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-464201" style="width: 4024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b178b40c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/e75518715d3df8643c70138d91b0288d-rotated.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-464201" class="wp-caption-text"> Iemoto and Kako greet each other politely.</figcaption></figure>


 JMPA

 Princess Noriko and Princess Kako of Akishino no Miya visited the Yamamura Goryu Ikebana Exhibition. It is rare for a mother and child to be seen together on official business. Their relationship is rumored to have become strained after the marriage of their eldest daughter, Mako. The following is a report on how the two were able to see an exhibition of ikebana together.

Despite the delicate relationship due to Mako&#8217;s marriage, Princess Noriko and Princess Kako Akishino&#8217;s &#8220;rare &#8216;mother and son in two shots&#8217; on official business&#8221; is aimed at&#8230;

Despite the delicate relationship due to Mako’s marriage, Princess Noriko and Princess Kako Akishino’s “rare ‘mother and son in two shots’ on official business” is aimed at…

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