[Yuzuru Hanyu] Don't Grieve When the Flowers Fall, Their Red Blossoms Will Fill the Branches Again Next Year

In 2022, a few months after the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Japanese Imperial Family, whose princess had quietly married the previous year, announced through the Imperial Household Agency that Ryoko, Princess Kinomiya of the Hayakawa House, would marry her fiance, introduced by an elder, on the auspicious date of August 13. She would marry without an imperial title and leave the Imperial Family.

The princess and her fiance had been introduced by Her Majesty Empress Masako. They had known each other for five years and become engaged six months ago. For the first time, the Imperial Household Agency would not publicly disclose the identity of a princess's husband. At the princess's request, there would be no wedding ceremony, and the agency's Grand Steward would hold a press conference in her place.

The Japanese public worried that keeping the identity of her future husband secret would lead to a situation like that of Princess Mako, who had married not long before. Princess Ryoko was the only person in modern times to receive the title of princess despite belonging to a collateral branch of the Imperial Family. (Female royals from collateral branches are titled princesses.) She had always maintained a friendly, approachable image in the public eye.

She also seemed to be one of the few royals who didn't give the Imperial Household Agency too much cause for concern. Much of this was because her mother's family was powerful and descended directly from the Tokugawa clan, giving her the confidence to refuse the agency's arrangements. So, from elementary school onward, Ryoko studied outside Tokyo, simply so she could grow up without the agency's close surveillance. She got into university on her own merits, as the Imperial Family no longer enjoyed any real privileges, and was eventually accepted into Waseda University's program in classical literature.

Behind her glamorous image, Ryoko was unhappy. As soon as she came of age, she had to put up with all sorts of bizarre schemes from her aunt, Princess Kiko, who introduced her to men from her own family so that Ryoko could help Prince Hisahito after marrying out. In 2017, it was decided that she would represent the Japanese Imperial Family at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. It was thanks to Her Majesty the Empress's arrangements that she met Yuzuru Hanyu, a man who would give his life for figure skating. When she suffered from depression and anxiety, he gave her warmth and encouragement.

Every day, she smiled, but never knew why. It was because the Imperial Household Agency had arranged it. Every day, she gazed into the distance, but could never see beyond it. The palace walls blocked all her freedom.

On the day Princess Ryoko married, there was no ceremony. She emerged in a silk dress. Because of the pandemic, she couldn't remove her mask. After bowing to the media, she got into a car and left the Hayakawa residence.

The Sendai City Hall had accepted Yuzuru Hanyu and Princess Ryoko's marriage application in advance. The Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Agency opened the register of the Imperial Family and added a line to the page recording Princess Ryoko's details: In the third year of the Reiwa era, Princess Kinomiya Ryoko married Mr. Yuzuru Hanyu. From this day forward, she leaves the Imperial Family and takes the name Ryoko Hanyu.

Theme: They met, and so they fell in love.