NAMES IN THE NEWS : Being Princess Takes Class(es)

What does it take to become a princess? It takes class. Lots of them, nearly every day.

During the next month, 13 carefully selected tutors will try to instill a royal aura in Kiko Kawashima, a college student who will wed Emperor Akihito’s younger son June 29.

With a notebook clutched to her chest and her hair pulled back in a ponytail, Kawashima arrived at the palace this morning in a chauffeur-driven limousine to begin her “princess studies.”

The first class on the agenda was religious rites and coronation ceremonies. Kawashima’s curriculum, worked out by the Imperial Household Agency, will cover eight topics: classical poetry, calligraphy, Japanese history, palace rituals, laws related to the imperial family, the imperial system, the constitution and religious ceremonies.

The shy 23-year-old is to attend 28 hours of classes spread out over the next month. The palace timed the classes to coincide with spring vacation at the prestigious Gakushuin University, where Kawashima is a graduate student of psychology and where her father teaches economics.

The briefness of her royal studies--Empress Michiko’s lasted nearly twice as long--reflects the omission of English, since she learned that language while living in the United States as a child. Michiko was the first commoner to marry into the royal family; Kawashima will be the second.