ABSTRACT
On November 27, 1958, the headlines of the Asahi Shimbun announced the discovery of a real-life Cinderella story that would captivate all of Japan for many years to come: "The Crown Prince Is Engaged!" The Crown Prince's bride-to-be, Michiko Shoda, or "Michi" as she was popularly known, was the first commoner, albeit a wealthy one, to marry a crown prince in Japanese history. According to the media, the engagement was a modem love story which sprang from a chance meeting on a tennis court, in vivid contrast to the arranged Imperial marriages of times past. This made the union all the more appealing to young Japanese.
