Many things about Crown Princess1 Masako are unusual, especially for a Japanese woman. The daughter of one of that country's top diplomats2, Hisashi Owada, she was born in Tokyo on December 9, 1963, but would grow up in cities around the world, wherever her father was posted. Along with her twin3 sisters, she attended kindergarten in Moscow, elementary4 school in New York and Tokyo, and high school in Boston. After earning a degree in economics5 from Harvard, Masako went back to Tokyo for law school, and later to Oxford for special training in diplomacy6.
Bright, charming, and skilled at picking up foreign languages (she speaks fluent Japanese, English, French, German, and a bit of others), Masako adapted7 easily wherever she went. She appeared equally at ease8 playing on a softball9 field in the U.S, or chatting with heads of state at a formal embassy10 reception in Europe. Romantic11 legend has it that Crown Prince Naruhito fell in love at first sight, after spying the attractive young beauty at a tennis party back in 1986.
They dated briefly at the time, but five more years would pass before Naruhito would begin to pursue12 Masako seriously. In the meantime, the prince courted numerous13 women in an attempt to find the perfect princess. Though under great pressure from both his family and the public to settle down, Naruhito seemed determined to marry for love.
Masako, meanwhile, was busy preparing for her position as a diplomat. In April 1987, she entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Then, in 1990, after completing her advanced training at Oxford, she took on a post in the North American Affairs Bureau14 of the ministry, where she specialized in negotiating15 sensitive16 trade agreements with the United States.
When Haruhito did come calling again, Masako had some doubts. Already on the fast track at a job she loved, friends disclose that she worried about her ability to adapt to life inside the royal17 family—one of the most conservative18 institutions in a conventional19 country. After months of phone calls and secret meetings (reportedly three proposals20), Masako's strong sense of patriotic21 duty and growing love for the Crown Prince convinced22 her to say yes. The engagement23 was announced to a delighted public in January 1993.
From the beginning, it hasn't been easy for Masako. Her very first official appearance as royal fiancée24 is a case in point. To Western observers25, including reporters from the Washington Post, she appeared “shy and deferential26,” as she answered questions in a soft voice with her head bowed27. But to many older Japanese she seemed shockingly shameless when she expressed her own opinions and spoke for seven seconds longer than her future husband.
On June 9, 1993, Masako and Naruhito exchanged28 their vows29 in a strictly traditional30 wedding ceremony31 that has remained mostly unchanged for a thousand years. The groom32 was striking in a fine dark kimono33, but the bride34 appeared truly splendid in an extraordinary $300,000 costume35. It was sewn in the style of an 8th-century kimono from 12 layers36 of lavishly37 decorated38 blue silk. Weighing at least 30 pounds, Masako's dress may have accidentally symbolized39 weight of the lifestyle40 that was about to rest on her shoulders.
Many Japanese women who had followed the long courtship were surprised and even disappointed. They had admired her independence and the expectation she stood for to change the traditional status of women in Japanese society. They still believed that her presence in the royal family would be an opportunity41 for more progressive changes within the rigid42 Imperial43 Palace. However, these hopes seem to have met with few encouraging signs from the Crown Princess. The outgoing woman-of-the-world almost vanished44 and in her place an obedient45 young princess. She appeared to accept willingly a tradition in which women are only occasionally46 seen— walking two paces47 behind their husbands—and even more rarely heard.
The most crucial48 requirement of Masako's new position was clear: she was expected to produce an heir49 to the 2600-year-old throne50. But, as over eight years passed with no royal birth, the Japanese people began to worry. Their concerns51 grew after the crown princess suffered a much-publicized miscarriage52 in 1999. It was blamed on the pressure caused by her responsibilities53 and intense54 media55 interest in her pregnancy56.
Then, this past December 1, just over a week before her 38th birthday, Crown Princes Masako gave birth to a healthy baby. There was only one problem. The newborn was a girl, and only males are permitted to receive the Chrysanthemum57 throne. And since the crown prince's only brother, Prince Akishino, also has no sons (he's the father of two girls), the only hope for the future of the world's oldest monarchy58 may be a change in the laws regarding succession59.
Shortly after three years of marriage, she appeared to show some frustration60 with her situation when she admitted in a rare press conference: “At times I experience hardship in trying to find the proper point of balance between traditional things and my own personality.” Nevertheless, she found time for recreation61: playing tennis, practicing flute62, biking, and cooking dinner for her husband. Although the woman she once was is far behind her, she still keeps in touch with old friends through e-mails, and makes visits in disguise63 to her parents' home in a rich Tokyo suburb64.
皇太子妃雅子有许多经历不同寻常，对一个日本女人来说更是如此。身为该国最优秀的外交官之一小和田恒的女儿，雅子于1963年12月9日在东京出生，却因父亲外交岗位变更，其成长足迹遍及世界各地的城市。她与孪生妹妹一道，在莫斯科上幼儿园，在纽约和东京念小学，在波士顿上中学。在哈佛获得经济学学位之后，雅子回到东京读法学，后来又到牛津大学接受特殊的外交训练。
雅子聪慧、迷人、擅于学习外语（她能说一口流利的日语、英语、法语、德语，其他语种也略知一二），无论到哪儿雅子都可应付自如。当她在美国某个垒球场上玩垒球，或在驻欧洲使馆的正式招待会上与政府首脑们侃侃而谈时，都同样显得那么怡然自得。据一浪漫传说，皇太子德仁早在1986年的一次网球聚会上“窥视”到这位年轻妩媚的美人时，就对她一见钟情了。
那段时间他们有过短暂的约会，但直到五年以后德仁才开始认真地追求雅子。同时皇太子也在向众多女子献殷勤，以期找到完美的太子妃。尽管面临家庭和公众希望他收心的巨大压力，德仁似乎决意要为爱而结婚。
与此同时，雅子在忙着为做一名外交官作准备。1987年4月，她进入日本外务省。1990年，完成在牛津的高级培训之后，她在外务省北美事务局供职，专门与美国就敏感的贸易协定进行谈判。
当德仁再次以电话联络她时，雅子心存疑虑。因有一份自己喜爱的工作，且已轻车熟路，朋友们透露说她担心自己能否适应皇室的生活——皇室是这个因循传统的国家里最保守的机构之一。经过数月的电话传情和秘密约会（报道称皇太子求了三次婚），强烈的爱国责任心和对皇太子德仁与日俱增的爱终于使雅子颌首应允。订婚的消息于1993年1月正式宣布，公众欢欣鼓舞。
雅子的生活从一开始就不轻松。作为皇室未婚妻的第一次公开亮相便是明证。在西方观察家看来，包括在《华盛顿邮报》记者们眼里，她低着头轻言细语地回答问题的样子，显得“羞怯和恭顺”。而在许多较年长的日本人看来，其厚颜无耻令人惊讶，因为她竟然发表自己的见解，而且讲话的时间比未婚夫长了7秒种。
1993年6月9日，雅子和德仁在一个绝对传统、历经千年而几乎一成不变的婚礼上宣誓相互忠诚。新郎身着一件精美的深色和服，引人注目；而新娘看上去真可谓光彩四射：她穿的一套价值30万美元的特别礼服，是根据8世纪的一种和服式样、用12层装饰华美的蓝色丝绸缝制而成。这套至少重30 磅的和服也许无意中象征着那即将落到雅子肩上的生活方式是沉重的。
很多一直关注这段漫长求婚历程的日本妇女颇感惊讶，甚至失望。她们一直钦佩她的独立个性，满心指望她改变日本社会妇女的传统地位。她们仍相信，她加入皇室将是一个契机，可以促使刻板的皇宫进行更多的变革。然而，这些希望似乎没有从皇太子妃那里得到多少积极的响应。那个热情开朗的交际花消失殆尽，取而代之的是一个温顺的太子妃。她仿佛欣然接受了这样一个传统：女人只可偶然露面——走路时距丈夫身后两步远——发表言论的机会更是罕见。
很显然，新“职位”要求雅子必须完成一项最重要的使命：为有2600年历史的皇位生育继承人。可是，八年多过去了，仍没有皇子诞生，日本国民开始担忧了。自1999年太子妃经历那次被大肆炒作的流产以后，他们的担心更甚了。此事被归咎于她肩负的责任以及媒体对其怀孕的“浓厚”兴趣所引发的压力。
时间到了去年12月1日，离她38岁生日只差一周多一点，皇太子妃雅子生下一个健康的婴儿。但此时出现一个问题：新生儿是个女孩，只有男性被允许继承菊花王朝。由于太子的惟一弟弟文仁皇子也无儿子（他有两个女儿），世界上最古老的君主制未来仅存的希望也许是修改皇位继承法。
结婚三年后不久，雅子好像对其处境流露出些许失意。她在一次罕有的记者招待会上坦陈：“我试图在传统和我的个性之间寻找恰当的平衡点，有时我感到很辛苦。”尽管如此，她还是有空消遣：打网球、练长笛、骑自行车，以及为丈夫做晚餐。虽然她早已不是过去的那个女人，但仍通过电子邮件与老朋友保持联系，并不时穿便装回到位于东京郊区富人区的娘家省亲。
57. chrysanthemum n． 菊花 （日本天皇的象征）
58． monarchy n． 君主制，帝制
59． succession n． 继承，连续
60． frustration n． 挫败, 挫折
61． recreation n． 消遣, 娱乐
62． flute n． 长笛
63． disguise n． 伪装
64． suburb n． 市郊, 郊区