Japanese princess marries commoner, renouncing royal title.

Japanese Princess Noriko, 26, married the eldest son of the head priest of Izumo Taisha shrine in Shimane Prefecture, and thus renounced her royal title.

Princess Noriko, 26, is the daughter of the late Prince Takamado, a cousin of Emperor Akihito. The groom is Kunimaro Senge, 41.

Princess Noriko and her husband at their wedding.

The wedding celebration took place yesterday, October 6th, with 300 guests in attendance. Prior to that, the official wedding ceremony was held at Izumo Taisha Shrine, where the groom's family has overseen all rituals for generations. Only 21 people attended the ceremony there, including the bride's mother and her two princess sisters, along with the groom's parents and a few relatives.

Another dinner will be held in Tokyo on October 8th, attended by Crown Prince Naruhito, Princess Masako, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

This is the first royal wedding since the Emperor's daughter, Princess Sayako, married a Tokyo city government official in 2005.

After the wedding, the groom, Senge, told reporters that he had been very worried when the typhoon hit Japan right on the wedding day, and breathed a sigh of relief when the wedding went smoothly.

The bride's mother, Princess Hisako, issued a statement saying that she hoped the couple's new life would be filled with happiness and joy, and that they would build a family where all members always had smiles on their faces.

At Izumo Taisha Shrine, approximately 2,200 people came to celebrate the wedding. Princess Noriko, now known as Noriko Senge, will begin her new life in a house near Izumo Shrine.

Japanese Imperial law stipulates that a princess must relinquish her royal title when marrying a commoner. The government has decided to provide a one-time grant of 106.75 million yen to the couple.

Princess Noriko was introduced to her fiancé, Senge, in April 2007 when she visited the temple with her mother. At the time, she was a student at Gakushuin University. Their relationship deepened through their shared experiences of birdwatching and planting trees.

The groom, Senge, is a monk who has served at various shrines in Tokyo and Kyoto after graduating from Kokugakuin University. He has been helping his father look after Izumo Shrine since 2005. The Senge family has long been friends with Prince Takamado, the bride's father. The prince died in a soccer match in 2002.

According to LDO