This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(December 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Atsuko Ikeda Mrs. Takamasa Ikeda
Atsuko Ikeda,c. 1952
Born	Atsuko, Princess Yori (順宮厚子内親王) (1931-03-07)7 March 1931 (age 94) Tokyo Imperial Palace, Tokyo City,Empire of Japan
Spouse	Takamasa Ikeda ​ ​ (m. 1952; died 2012)​
Children	Motohiro Ikeda (adopted)
Parents	Emperor Shōwa (father) Princess Nagako Kuni (mother)
Relatives	Imperial House of Japan Ikeda clan

Atsuko Ikeda (池田 厚子,Ikeda Atsuko; born 7 March 1931), formerlyAtsuko, Princess Yori (順宮厚子内親王,Yori-no-miya Atsuko Naishinnō), is the fourth daughter ofEmperor Shōwa andEmpress Kōjun. As such, she is the older sister ofEmperor Emeritus Akihito and paternal aunt ofEmperor Naruhito. She marriedTakamasa Ikeda, a man from outside the imperial dynasty, on 10 October 1952; as a result, she gave up her imperial title and left theJapanese imperial family, as required by law. Later, she served as the most sacred priestess (saishu) of theIse Grand Shrine between 1988 and 2017. In April 2024 the former princess adopted Motohiro Nozu CEO ofKabaya.

Princess Atsuko was born at theTokyo Imperial Palace on 7 March 1931, her father is theEmperor Showa (Hirohito), her mother is theEmpress Kōjun. Her childhood appellation wasYori-no-miya (順宮). She had three elder sisters, thePrincess Shigeko Teru-no-miya, thePrincess Sachiko Hisa-no-miya (died as a baby) and thePrincess Kazuko Taka-no-miya.

As with her elder two 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 elder sisters in theMarunouchi district ofTokyo. She graduated from theGakushūin Peer's School, and was also tutored along with her siblings inEnglish language by an American tutor,Elizabeth Gray Vining, during theAllied occupation of Japan followingWorld War II. She graduated from Gakushuin University Women's College in March 1952.

On 10 October 1952, Princess Yori married Takamasa Ikeda (池田 隆政,Ikeda Takamasa; 21 October 1926 – 21 July 2012), the eldest son of formerMarquisNobumasa Ikeda and a direct descendant of the lastdaimyō ofOkayama Domain, whom she had met at aJapanese tea ceremony atKōraku-en gardens. The couple were engaged after only six months, but wedding plans had to be postponed due to the death of her grandmotherEmpress Teimei in 1951 and subsequent period of mourning. Upon her marriage, Princess Yori became the second daughter of an emperor to relinquish her status as a member of theJapanese imperial family and become a commoner upon marriage, in accordance with the 1947Imperial Household Law. She also gave up an annual imperial allowance worth ¥650,000 ($1,800) at the time.^[1] The groom's father and the bride's mother, the Empress, were first cousins, making the couple second cousins.^[2]

The former princess relocated toOkayama Prefecture, where her husband, a wealthycattle rancher, served as director of the Ikeda Zoo outside ofOkayama city for over fifty years.

In 1965, she was hospitalized withsepsis, which was a cause of great concern for the Imperial Family, as her elder sisterShigeko Higashikuni had already died ofstomach cancer.

In October 1988, Ikeda succeeded her ailing elder sister,Kazuko Takatsukasa, as the most sacred priestess (saishu) of theIse Grand Shrine. She served in that capacity until 19 June 2017, whereupon she was succeeded by her niece,Sayako Kuroda.^[3] She also served as the Chairperson of theAssociation of Shinto Shrines until June 2017.^{[citation needed]}

The former princess adopted Motohiro Nozu CEO ofKabaya in April 2024.^[4] About 10 years earlier she and her husband were already having talks about adopting someone to continue the Ikeda line.^[5] However, the adoption does not solve the Ikeda family's survival because Motohiro and his wife have no children.^[4][5] Motohiro and his wife also changed their last name to Ikeda.^[4]

• Grand Cordon of theOrder of the Precious Crown

• 
  Emperor Showa's family in 1941
• 
  Emperor Shōwa's daughters
• 
  Japanese cherry blossoms,Prunus serrulata, designated imperial personal emblem of Atsuko^[6]
• 
  Princess Atsuko with her younger brother and sister,Prince Akihito andPrincess Takako, in September 1950
• 
  Princess Atsuko in 1951
• 
  Atsuko Ikeda at theIse Grand Shrine inIse City,Mie Prefecture, in November 2009

Wikimedia Commons has media related toAtsuko Ikeda.

• Foreign Affairs Association of Japan,The Japan Year Book (Tokyo: Kenkyusha Press, 1939–40, 1941–42, 1944–45, 1945–46, 1947–48).
• Takie Sugiyama Lebra,Above the Clouds: Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992).
• "Hirohito's Daughter Wed: Princess Yori Married to Tokyo Commoner by Shinto Rites,"New York Times 10 October 1952.
• Bix, Herbert P. (2001).Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan. Harper Perennial.ISBN 0-06-093130-2.

• 1931 births
• Living people
• 20th-century Japanese people
• 21st-century Japanese people
• 20th-century Japanese women
• 21st-century Japanese women
• Japanese Shintoists
• 20th-century Shintoists
• 21st-century Shintoists
• People from Chiyoda, Tokyo
• Ikeda clan
• Kannushi
• Grand Cordons (Imperial Family) of the Order of the Precious Crown
• Children of Hirohito
• Daughters of Japanese emperors

• CS1 Japanese-language sources (ja)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from October 2020
• Articles lacking in-text citations from December 2016
• All articles lacking in-text citations
• Articles containing Japanese-language text
• Articles with hCards
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from April 2020
• Commons category link is on Wikidata