Photo/Illutration Princess Mako heads to the Musashi Imperial Mausolea Grounds in Hachioji, western Tokyo, on the morning of Oct. 12. (Pool)

Princess Mako on Oct. 12 visited the graves of her great grandparents, Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako, to inform them of her upcoming marriage to her college sweetheart later this month.

Mako, in a gray dress, arrived in the morning amid a drizzle at the Musashi Imperial Mausolea Grounds in Hachioji, where the mausoleums for the couple, posthumously known as Emperor Showa and Empress Kojun, are located, on Tokyo's outskirts.

Mako, the oldest child of Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko, bowed and waved to about 100 well-wishers who gathered at the imperial graveyard's entrance.

After Mako returned to her family residence in the Akasaka district of the capital, she was awarded a medal by Brazilian Ambassador to Japan Andre Correa do Lago for her contribution to friendly ties between the two countries.

In 2018, she visited Brazil to attend events commemorating the 110th year of the emigration of Japanese to the country.

During the meeting with the ambassador, Mako expressed her hope that the two countries would further their friendly ties.

The ambassador reportedly congratulated Mako on her upcoming marriage to Kei Komuro.

In the late afternoon, Kiko and Princess Kako, Mako’s sister, joined her in watching “Emu,” a movie marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Japanese Federation of the Deaf.

Kako works for the foundation and the three are well versed in sign language, and have given speeches in it at sign language speech contests.

Mako, 29, and Komuro, 30, a commoner, are scheduled to marry on Oct. 26 and are expected to register their marriage and give a news conference that day.

Komuro, who landed a position at a law firm in New York, returned to Japan on Sept. 27 for the first time since he moved to the United States in August 2018 to further his law studies.

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