This year marks the 30th wedding anniversary of Their Imperial Majesties Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako. The first step of this marriage was to have it approved by the Imperial House Council, whose mandate covers the marriage of male members of the imperial family, and this occurred on Jan. 19, 1993. This was followed by the Nosai no Gi engagement ceremony on April 12 and the wedding at the Imperial Shinto Hall in Tokyo on June 9.
The couple met at a tea for Spain’s Infanta Elena in November 1986, when the emperor was still crown prince and the empress was working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a diplomat. Together they have one daughter, Aiko. Following the abdication of the Emperor Emeritus Akihito in 2019, the emperor ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1 that same year, beginning the Reiwa Era.
Emperor Naruhito studied at Gakushuin schools before moving on to Gakushuin University’s Department of History for his postsecondary education. He would go onto pursue a Ph.D. in 1983 at Oxford University, researching the history of the River Thames. These academic pursuits would lead into an extended interest in water conservation, water transportation policies and other environmental issues, which have become lifelong passions.
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