Ever since it was revealed more than a year ago that Princess Nori would marry civil servant Yoshiki Kuroda, the media have expressed mild concern about her future as a commoner, implying that it might be difficult for her to adjust to life in the real world.
The 152 million yen she received as royal severance pay generated coverage that gives the impression it is meant to cushion her fall into the world of household cleaning products and mortgage payments.
Though the weeklies are already discussing the couple's honeymoon, I doubt that cameramen will start stalking the ex-royal at her local Family Mart. Since last Tuesday she's been Mrs. Sayako Kuroda and, thus, theoretically, fair game, but once a princess always a princess. As all the experts have told us, the Japanese imperial line is unique, having continued unbroken for more than 2,600 years, meaning the blood of all its members is still "pure."