Not everyone approves of this princess' wedding. She's going ahead with it anyway
It had all the makings of a modern royal fairytale: the marriage of an aspiring lawyer to a real-life princess who was prepared to leave her Tokyo palace for a new life in New York.
But since Japan's Princess Mako and Kei Komuro announced
their engagement in 2017, their union has been mired in scandal, public
disapproval and tabloid frenzy.
Some Japanese don't consider the commoner son of a single
parent to be worthy of a princess. Their disdain was confirmed last month when
he arrived in Japan for their October 26 wedding sporting long hair tied in a
ponytail.
Tabloids ran photos of 30-year-old Komuro's ponytail from
every angle, with some comparing it to a samurai's top knot. On social media,
some tweeted support for his new look, while others said it was unsuitable for
the groom of a royal bride.
A ponytail may not cause a stir in the West, but people in
Japan are expected to reflect their status and role through their actions and
words. People saw the ponytail as a sign Komuro wasn't conforming to social
expectations, according to Hitomi Tonomura, a women's and gender studies
professor at the University of Michigan.
"If he were a singer or artist, it would be fine, but
people think he is not 'lawyer-like' nor looking appropriate for a person who
will wed a royal woman," she added.
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