A Catholic woman now stands at the head of her own branch of Japan’s Imperial Family a remarkable development in a country whose imperial traditions have long been closely connected with Shinto.
Her name is Princess Nobuko, the widow of Prince Tomohito of Mikasa. In September 2025, Japan formally established a new imperial household for her, making her the head of an independent branch of the Imperial Family.
But there is an important part of her story that makes the development especially interesting to Christians: Princess Nobuko was already a baptized Catholic before she married into Japan’s imperial household.
Who is Princess Nobuko?
Princess Nobuko was born Nobuko Asō in Tokyo in 1955. She came from the prominent Asō family. Her older brother is Taro Asō, who later served as Japan’s prime minister.
Nobuko was raised in a Catholic family and was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church. She also attended Sacred Heart School, a Catholic girls’ school in Tokyo.
In 1980, she married Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, a grandson of Emperor Taishō and a member of Japan’s Imperial Family. Following the marriage, Nobuko became Princess Tomohito of Mikasa.
Her marriage made her a member of the Imperial Family, but she did not become Catholic because of the marriage. She had already been baptized Catholic before entering the imperial household.
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A new imperial branch
Prince Tomohito died in 2012. His death eventually led to changes in the structure of his household within the Imperial Family.
After the death of Princess Yuriko, the widow of Prince Takahito of Mikasa, in November 2024, questions arose over the future leadership of the Mikasa family. Princess Nobuko and her daughters were among the remaining members of the family.
On September 30, 2025, the Imperial House Economy Council approved a new arrangement. Princess Nobuko would establish an independent household, while her daughter Princess Akiko would become head of the Mikasa family.
The change increased the number of imperial sub-families from four to five. According to Japanese broadcaster Nippon TV, it was the first time since the Imperial Household system of the Meiji era that a commoner who had married into the Imperial Family established a new imperial family branch.
Why her Catholic faith is significant
Japan has a long and complicated history with Christianity.
Christianity arrived in Japan in the 16th century, and the faith initially gained followers among some powerful Japanese families and regional rulers. But Christianity was later banned, and Japanese Christians experienced periods of severe persecution. The Catholic Church records the martyrdom of 26 Christians in Nagasaki in 1597, followed by further persecution in the centuries that followed.
Christianity eventually returned to public life, but it remains a minority religion in modern Japan. Data published by Nippon.com from Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs put the Christian population at about 1.5 percent of the country’s population in 2017.
Against that historical background, the presence of a baptized Catholic within Japan’s Imperial Family is unusual.
Princess Nobuko is also not the first person with Christian connections to enter the Imperial Family. Empress Michiko, the wife of Emperor Emeritus Akihito, was educated in Christian institutions and came from a Catholic family, although she was not herself a baptized Catholic.
That distinction is important. Princess Nobuko’s significance is not simply that she is a Christian member of the Imperial Family. She is notable as a baptized Catholic who married into the Imperial Family and, following the 2025 reorganization, became head of her own imperial household.
A remarkable place for a Catholic in Japan’s imperial tradition
Japan’s Imperial Family has deep connections to the country’s traditional religious and cultural history. Imperial ceremonies and traditions have historically incorporated Shinto practices, making Princess Nobuko’s Catholic background an unusual part of the modern imperial story.
Yet her position does not mean that Japan’s Imperial Family has become Catholic, nor does it represent a change in Japan’s official religious system. It is the story of one individual member of the Imperial Family whose personal religious background is different from the traditions commonly associated with the Japanese monarchy.
That distinction makes the story more meaningful, not less.
From a Catholic family to Japan’s Imperial Family
Princess Nobuko’s journey is an unusual meeting point between two very different traditions: the Catholic faith in which she was raised and Japan’s ancient imperial institution.
She entered the Imperial Family through marriage more than four decades ago. In 2025, she took on a new position as head of an independent imperial household.
For Christians, the story is a reminder that Christianity has had a presence in Japan for centuries, despite periods when the faith was heavily persecuted. And for Japan’s modern Imperial Family, Princess Nobuko represents one of the distinctive personal histories found within an institution that has changed considerably over time.
A baptized Catholic princess now leads her own branch of Japan’s Imperial Family. It is a small but remarkable chapter in the long and complex history of Christianity in Japan.
