A tennis match with Mr. Akihito in 1957 made Ms. Michiko the first commoner to become empress of Japan.
In August 1957, Akihito, then Crown Prince of Japan, met Michiko Shoda on the tennis court at Karuizawa, a resort north of Tokyo. Ms. Michiko along with Bobby Doyle, her 12-year-old teammate, defeated Crown Prince Akihito’s team with a score of 7-5, 6-3, according to NY Times.
The Crown Prince then pursued her with phone calls and tennis appointments. She was officially approved by court officials as the most likely person to become the Crown Prince’s life partner.
The Shoda family is described as having samurai roots from Tatebayashi, a rural area about 80 kilometers north of Tokyo. Michiko has excellent English skills, she can communicate very well without an interpreter.
The royal family officially approached the Shoda family a year later, but because of their commoner background, the Shoda family repeatedly refused.
Ms. Michiko then suddenly left Japan to travel to Europe, the family arranged this trip to reduce the attention of reporters constantly chasing her. Two days before her departure, she received a letter from Crown Prince Akihito, who was in Karuizawa.
When she returned from Europe, a friend reported her as saying, “For that European trip, I spent all the money I had saved to get married. I wondered if anyone would be willing.” marry a girl with nothing but an empty suitcase.”
And reality proves that there is. Immediately after returning to Japan, Ms. Michiko received a call from Crown Prince Akihito. In November 1958, the Crown Prince’s engagement to her was approved and officially announced.
On April 10, 1959, the two celebrated their marriage ceremony. More than 500,000 people poured into the streets to celebrate this event. The Crown Prince and Princess have three children: Prince Naruhito, Prince Fumihito and Princess Sayako. Different from previous court practice, the Crown Prince and Princess decided to keep their children with them. Although busy, the Princess still takes care of the children herself. She exclusively breastfed her children and when they reached school age, she prepared their children’s lunch boxes herself every morning.
Crown Prince Akihito ascended the throne on January 7, 1989, and Michiko was the first female commoner to become Japanese queen. Japanese media often refer to their first meeting as a “real fairy tale” or a “love story on the tennis court”.
