The Japan Imperial Family continues to shrink; as of October 2025, it only has 16 members, as women in the family lose their royal status should they marry a commoner. There are currently eight living former imperial princesses; women who were born royal but lost their status upon marriage to a non-royal, like former Princess Mako.
In fact, the line of succession to the Chrysanthemum throne in Japan is just three men: Crown Prince Fumihito, his 19-year-old son Prince Hisahito, and Emperor Emeritus Akihito’s younger brother, 89-year-old Prince Hitachi. Only male descendants in the male line are eligible to inherit the throne.
Here, a guide to Emperor Naruhito’s family, the current Japanese royal family tree—including two women who no longer have their princess title:
Design by Michael Stillwell
The Japanese royal family tree.
Emperor Emeritus Akihito
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Akihito in 2014.
b. 1933
Akihito, the eldest son of Emperor Hirohito (b. 1901, d. 1989) and Empress Nagako (b. 1903, d. 2000) is currently the longest-living Japanese emperor in verifiable history. He abdicated in 2019, the first Japanese emperor to abdicate the Chrysanthemum Throne in over two centuries.
Empress Emerita Michiko
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An undated portrait of Michiko.
b. 1934
Michiko Shōda is the second child of Hidesaburō Shōda (b. 1903, d. 1999) and Fumiko Soejima (b. 1909, d. 1988). In 1957, she met then-Crown Prince Akihito on a tennis court, and the couple got engaged in 1958 and married in 1959. She was the first commoner to marry into the Imperial Family. Akhitio and Michiko have three children: Naruhito, Fumihito, and Sayako (see below for all three).
Emperor Naruhito
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Emperor Naruhito in 2020.
b. 1960
The eldest son of Akihito and Michiko, Naruhito acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019 following his father’s abdication. He is the current Emperor of Japan.
He met Masako Owada (see below) in 1986; they got engaged in 1993 and married later that year. They have one daughter, Aiko, Princess Toshi (see below).
Empress Masako
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Empress Masako in 2024.
b. 1963
Masako Owada is the daughter of Yumiko Egashira (b. 1938) and Hisashi Owada (b. 1932), former president of the International Court of Justice. She has two younger sisters, twins Setsuko and Reiko (b. 1966). She attended Harvard for undergrad, and studied law at University of Tokyo and international relations at Oxford University. After graduating, she worked as a diplomat for Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Upon her marriage, she became the Crown Princess, and upon her father-in-law’s abdication, she became Empress Masako.
Princess Aiko
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Princess Aiko in 2021.
b. 2001
Aiko, Princess Toshi is the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako. She currently carries out royal duties while working at the Red Cross. After graduating from Gakushūin University in March 2024, Princess Aiko stated that she will “strive to balance my official duties and work with awareness and responsibility as a member of society so that I can contribute to society as much as possible, while fulfilling my duties as a member of the Imperial Family.”
Fumihito, Crown Prince Akishino
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The Crown Prince last year.
b. 1965
Prince Akishino, the younger brother of Emperor Naruhito and the younger son of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, is the current heir to the throne. His investiture as Crown Prince was held in 2020, and he is a working member of the Imperial Family.
In 1990, he married Kiko Kawashima (see below), and they have three children: Mako, Kako, and Hisahito (see below for all three). He often represents his brother abroad, including at the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Related StoriesKiko, Crown Princess Akishino
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Princess Kiko in February 2025.
b. 1966
Kiko Kawashima is the daughter of Tatsuhiko Kawashima (b. 1940, d. 2021) and Kazuyo Sugimoto (b. 1942). She became a princess upon her 1990 marriage to Fumihito.
Mako Komuro
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Then-Princess Mako in 2019.
b. 1991
The eldest child of Kiko and Fumihito, Mako graduated from the International Christian University (ICU) in 2014, and then studied art history at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Leicester. While a student at ICU, she met Kei Komuro (see below), and the two got engaged.
Their 2018 wedding was postponed to 2021, and Mako lost her royal status. She refused the Japanese government’s taxpayer-funded payment $1.3 million, becoming the first woman from the Imperial Family to forgo the gift. In 2021, Mako moved to New York City, and in 2025, she and Kei welcomed their first child.
Kei Komuro
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Kei Komuro leaves his New York City home, April 2022.
b. 1991
Mako’s husband Kei Komuro is a lawyer. He graduated from Fordham University School of Law in New York in 2021, and passed the bar in 2022. He now works as Associate in the Global Trade & National Security group at Lowenstein Sandler.
Princess Kako
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Princess Kako earlier this year.
b. 1994
Kiko and Fumihito’s second child, Princess Kako, is a working member of the Imperial Family. She graduated from International Christian University in 2019. She now is is part-time employee at the Japanese Federation of the Deaf, and honorary patron of the Japan Tennis Association, among other roles.
Prince Hisahito 
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Prince Hisahito attends his coming-of-age ceremony, Choken-no-Gi, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on September 6, 2025.
b. 2006
The youngest member of the Imperial Family, Prince Hisahito is second in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne. His coming-of-age ceremony was held in September 2025. He is currently a student at the University of Tsukuba.
Related StorySayako Kuroda 
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Sayako Kuroda, right, a news conference with her husband, Yoshiki Kuroda, following their wedding ceremony, November 2005.
b. 1969
The youngest child and only daughter of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko, Sayako lost her royal status upon her November 2005 marriage to Yoshiki Kuroda. She is currently the supreme priestess of Ise Shrine, a role she was appointed to in 2017. “The post of supreme priest or priestess leads Shinto priests at the religion’s holiest shrine. It has been assumed by current or former female Imperial family members since the end of World War II,” per the Japan Times.
Other living members of the Japanese Imperial Family
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Prince and Princess Hitachi in 2018.
Prince Hitachi (b. 1935), the second son of the Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kojun, and his wife Hanako, Princess Hitachi (b. 1940). The couple have no children.Nobuko, Princess Tomohito of Mikasa (b. 1955), the widow of the late Prince Tomohito (b. 1946, d. 2012). She has two daughters, Princess Akiko (b. 1981) and Princess Yōko (b. 1983), neither of whom are married.
Hisako, Princess Takamado (b. 1953), the widow of Norihito, Prince Takamado (b. 1954, d. 2002). She has three daughters, but only one remains a member of the Imperial Family: Princess Tsuguko (b. 1986).
Both Princes Tomohito and Takamado were first cousins once removed of Emperor Naruhito.
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, celebrities, the royals, and a wide range of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
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