is a member of the Imperial House of Japan, paternal second cousin of Emperor Naruhito and the eldest daughter of Norihito, Prince Takamado, and his wife Hisako, Princess Takamado.
Biography Childhood and education
Princess Tsuguko was born on 8 March 1986 at Aiiku Hospital in Minami-Azabu, Tokyo as the first daughter and child of Norihito, Prince Takamado and his wife Hisako, Princess Takamado (née Tottori). She has two younger sisters: Noriko (born 1988) and Ayako (born 1990), both of whom are no longer members of the Japanese Imperial Family.
She graduated from Gakushuin Primary School, Gakushuin Girls' Junior and Senior High School. After that, she entered the Faculty of Intercultural Studies of Gakushuin Women's College, but dropped out in March 2005. She attended the University of Edinburgh in Scotland from 13 April 2004 to 1 July 2008, where she studied criminal psychology and sociology, but dropped out.『天皇・皇族の外国ご訪問一覧表（平成11年〜平成20年）』 Imperial Household Agency『憲仁親王妃久子殿下（高円宮）』 Imperial Household Agency『承子さま、留学からご帰国 - MSN産経ニュース』 Sankei Digital July 1, 2008
In March 2013, Princess Tsuguko graduated from the School of International Liberal Studies at Waseda University with a bachelor's degree. She works at the Japan Committee for UNICEF from April 2013.
Public life and duties
2006–2010 Princess Tsuguko participates frequently in the activities of the Imperial family: she came of age on 8 March 2006, when she turned 20. To mark the occasion, she was awarded the 2nd class of the Order of the Precious Crown and attended a press conference in her honor. Since then, she has been able to take part in activities on behalf of the Imperial Family. In 2006, Princess Tsuguko represented the Imperial family at the Silver Wedding anniversary celebrations of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg.
2011–2013
In August 2011, she attended the "28th Tokyo Disabilities Comprehensive Art Exhibition" held in the main store of the Seibu Department Stores located in Ikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo, with her mother Hisako.
In February 2012, she and her mother, as well as Takako, former Princess Suga (a sister of Emperor Emeritus Akihito) attended the Japan Grand Prix International Orchid Festival 2012 in Tokyo and met with members of the Oman Embassy in Japan. On 8 April 2012, Princess Tsuguko visited and toured the Arab Charity Bazaar organized by the "Society of the Wives of the Arab Ambassadors in Japan (SWAAJ)" in Tokyo.
In August 2013 she paid an unofficial visit to Sri Lanka at the invitation of the then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa: on 20 August 2013, she met the president for a courtesy call; on the same day, she met the also visiting Princess Sirindhorn of Thailand and together they toured the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy and attended the local Kandy Esala Perahera Festival. Princess Tsuguko visited the Malwathu Maha Viharaya Monastery in Kandy; on 22 August 2013, she took a helicopter tour of the Minneriya National Park in North Central Province and of the historical city of Anuradhapura; In September 2013, she attended the final of the Grass Ski World Championships in Shichikashuku, Miyagi Prefecture.
2014–2019 On 14 February 2014 Princess Tsuguko attended the Japan Grand Prix International Orchid Festival 2014 at the Tokyo Dome, in Tokyo. On the occasion, she met Wasantha Karannagoda, then-Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Japan. On 13 December 2014, The Princess attended the finals of the 94th Emperor's Cup All-Japan Soccer Championship Tournament at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, awarding the winning team.
In March 2015, the Princess and her mother met Crown Prince Frederik and his wife Crown Princess Mary of Denmark during their state visit to Japan and attended some official events with them. In May 2015, she visited Watari Town, Watari District, Miyagi Prefecture, which had been damaged because of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, with her mother Hisako. She visited and inspected the 2nd Regional Coast Guard Headquarters of the Japan Coast Guard. After that, she also visited the Marine Rescue Miyagi, the regional organization of Marine Rescue Japan (her mother Hisako officiates as honorary president), laid flowers to the victims and gave a message of sympathy to the members. Between 1 August and 2 August 2015, Princess Tsuguko visited Ishikawa Prefecture to attend the 43rd All Japan Amateur Orchestra Festival.
In January 2018, she succeeded her mother as "Honorary President of the All Japan Archery Federation" and the following month, in February, she became "Honorary Chairman of the Japan Squash Association".
On 22 March 2018, she attended a ceremonial reception at the Delegation of the European Union to Japan in Minato, Tokyo on the occasion of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Croatia and Japan. On 22 May 2018, Princess Tsuguko attended a "Panel for Life" event held at Haneda Airport, Tokyo, and gave a speech about her experience with animals. The Princess attended the "60th All Japan Hospital Association conference" on 6 October 2018 at Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba, Tokyo. On 25 November 2018, Tsuguko attended the "47th All Japan Squash Championships Final" in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Princess Tsuguko attended the "Japan Grand Prix International Orchid and Flower Show" at the Tokyo Dome stadium, Tokyo on 15 February 2019. On 28 April 2019, she attended a ceremony to unveil the completion of the "Yume no Shima Park" archery range in a Tokyo district. On 10 August 2019, Princess Tsuguko visited Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, to attend the "Archery finals of the Inter-High School General Sports Championships". On 4 and 5 October 2019, Princess Tsuguko visited Kasama, Ibaraki Prefecture to attend the "74th National Sports Festival". On 17 November 2019, Princess Tsuguko attended the "48th All Japan Squash Championships Final" at Tressa Yokohama Mall in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, as Honorary President of Japan Squash Association. On 21 November 2019, The Princess and her mother attended the opening and reception of the "Nuns Healing Hearts" photo exhibition at Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum in Tokyo. The exhibit was connected to the 2019 visit of Pope Francis to Japan. On 5 December 2019, Tsuguko visited the National Art Center in Minato, Tokyo for the exhibition "Treasures from Budapest: European and Hungarian Masterpieces from the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest and the Hungarian National Gallery" together with the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán.
2021–2023 On 27 and 28 February 2021, Princess Tsuguko attended the "Kyoto Congress Youth Forum", in Kyoto. On 21 August 2021, Princess Tsuguko virtually attended the awards and closing ceremony of the archery competition of the "Inter-High School Championships" in Fukui Prefecture, as Honorary President of the All Japan Archery Federation. The Princess attended the "1st Global Youth Forum for a Culture of Lawfulness" in Tokyo on 9 and 10 October 2021.
Princess Tsuguko, as Honorary President, attended the "2022 Inter-High School Archery Competition" in Marugame, Kagawa Prefecture, on 10 August 2022. On 21 September 2022, Princess Tsuguko attended the "Peace Symposium Tokyo 2022" in Tokyo. Later that same day, she attended a reception with Rahm Emanuel, United States ambassador to Japan. Princess Tsuguko attended the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on 27 September 2022 in Tokyo with her mother, Hisako, Princess Takamado. On 4 October 2022, Princess Tsuguko opened the "Yamanashi Jewelry Exhibition" at the Embassy of Oman in Tokyo, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Oman and Japan. From 8 to 9 October 2022, Princess Tsuguko visited Tochigi Prefecture for the "77th National Sports Festival". The Princess attended the "2nd Global Youth Forum for a Culture of Lawfulness" in Kyoto on 3 and 4 December 2022. On 18 December 2022, she attended the "2022 Empress's Cup All Japan Volleyball Championship Final" at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in Shibuya, Tokyo.
On 5 March 2023, Princess Tsuguko attended the celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Croatia and Japan at the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Shibuya, Tokyo. On 11 April 2023, the Princess and her mother Hisako, Princess Takamado met King Abdullah II and Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan during their state visit in Japan from 7 to 12 April. On 11 May 2023, Princess Tsuguko joined the rest of the Imperial Family with her mother to attend the first Spring Garden Party of the Reiwa era at the Akasaka Imperial Gardens, Tokyo. From 29 May to 3 June 2023, Princess Tsuguko and her mother paid an official visit to Jordan to attend the wedding of Hussein, Crown Prince of Jordan, and Rajwa Al Saif. On 30 May 2023, Tsuguko visited a Palestinian refugee camp in Amman, the capital of Jordan, together with her mother. Tsuguko and her mother also visited "UNICEF supported Makani centre" in Amman. On 31 May 2023 Tsuguko attended the ceremony to announce the creation and establishment of the Jordanian-Japanese Friendship Association at the Four Seasons Hotel in Amman. At the event, she met Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, his wife Princess Sarvath El Hassan, their daughter Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan and Princess Wijdan Al Hashemi; on the same day, Tsuguko visited "BirdLife International Middle East" at The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, the partner of BirdLife in Jordan; on 1 June 2023, Princess Tsuguko and her mother attended the wedding of Crown Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa at Zahran Palace. On 2 June 2023, Tsuguko and her mother visited a Japanese complementary school in Jordan, on 3 June 2023, Princess Tsuguko and her mother returned to Japan. This was her first official visit abroad, as previous visits to foreign countries by the Princess have been considered private by the Imperial Household Agency.On 10 August 2023, Princess Tsuguko attended the "2023 National High School (Inter-High) Archery Competition" in Obihiro, Hokkaido Prefecture, as patroness of the "All Japan Archery Federation". On 30 September 2023, Princess Tsuguko attended the "FIVB Paris Olympic Qualifier/World Cup Volleyball 2023 Men's Japan vs Finland" match at Yoyogi National Gymnasium, in Tokyo. From 13 to 15 October 2023, the Princess visited Kagoshima Prefecture for the special National Sports Festival. She visited the cities of Hioki, Makurazaki and Amami.
2024–present