Takako Shimazu

, born , is a former member of the Imperial House of Japan. She is the fifth and youngest daughter of Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun, the youngest sister of the Emperor Emeritus of Japan, Akihito, and the paternal aunt of the current Emperor of Japan, Naruhito. She married Hisanaga Shimazu on 3 March 1960. As a result, she gave up her imperial title and left the Japanese imperial family, as required by law.

Biography

Princess Takako was born at the Tokyo Imperial Palace. Her childhood appellation was .

As with her elder sisters, she was not raised by her biological parents, but by a succession of court ladies at a separate palace built for her and her sisters in the Marunouchi district of Tokyo. She found life within the palace extremely restrictive, but did not oppose the rules, stating "I used to think what's the use of making a fuss, since I can't change things any way". The couple were introduced by common acquaintances at the Gakushuin where Hisanaga was a classmate of Crown Prince Akihito. The marriage was an arranged one, to which Takako agreed on the condition that if they decided they were incompatible during their courtship they would call off the wedding. Takako and her husband had one son, Yoshihisa Shimazu,