A tale of two princesses

Tokyo, Aug 17 (Reuters) Two princesses, one demure and seemingly satisfied with her status as royal wife and mother, the other stressed-out from struggling to redefine her role.

Wed to brothers in Japan's ancient imperial family, Crown Princess Masako and her sister-in-law, Princess Kiko -- pregnant with a possible heir -- are a study in contrasts of women adapting to modern life in an ancient monarchy.

Kiko, 39, has emphasised devotion to her family and her royal duties while Masako, a Harvard-educated former diplomat, had sought to use her professional skills as a sort of royal envoy.

The 42-year-old Masako has largely shunned her public duties for more than two years due to a mental illness caused by the stresses of royal life, including pressure to bear a male heir.

Masako has one daughter, 4-year-old Aiko, but only males can inherit the throne by law. The last royal male born was Prince Akishino, the emperor's younger son and Kiko's husband, in 1965.

''From the moment she gained the public spotlight through her engagement, Kiko has come across as the girl next door whose sole career ambition was to be the best wife and mother possible,'' said Kenneth Ruoff, a professor at Portland State University and author of ''The People's Emperor''.

''The case of Masako is very different, not simply because of the elite background and career experience that she carried with her, but more importantly because she continued to insist that she should have a 'self' in an environment highly unfriendly to notions of personal fulfilment, especially in women,'' he added.

Kiko, who already has two daughters, aged 14 and 11, went into hospital yesterday and is due to give birth by Caesarean operation around September. 6 because of pregnancy complications.

News of her pregnancy put on hold plans to revise the succession law to give women equal rights to inherit the throne, a change opposed by conservatives keen to preserve a males-only tradition they say stretches back more than 2,000 years.

Weekly magazines have decided Kiko will have a boy, but the Imperial Household Agency has so far kept the country guessing.

THWARTED AMBITIONS

Conservative courtiers are believed to have thwarted Masako's search for self-fulfilment through diplomacy, prompting unusually blunt comments from Crown Prince Naruhito in 2004. The prince told a news conference there had been ''moves to negate'' his wife's career and personality.

Akishino later chided his brother for publicly complaining about Masako's woes without consulting the emperor first.

Kiko, in contrast, has been most notable during her 16 years in the imperial family for her demure demeanour.

She is usually seen smiling primly with her family or carrying out public duties with her husband and is said to be on warm terms with the empress. Masako is said to be more distant.

From the start, the two women apparently approached life in the palace differently.

Tabloids have said Kiko, daughter of an economics professor, hoped to marry a prince from an early age. Masako had such serious doubts that Naruhito only won her hand by promising to protect her ''with all his might'' from the strains of royal life.

The strains have been many, from pressure to bear a male heir down to microscopic attention to Masako's activities. Last year Masako came under fire in some media for wearing a burgundy dress to her sister-in-law's wedding when other women wore kimonos.

''Given that the imperial family is so tradition-bound, it's not surprising that someone like Masako, who was raised overseas, went to Harvard and was a diplomat, would become ill,'' said college lecturer and royal expert Midori Watanabe.

''Compared to that, Kiko has always been lucky.''

Reuters