I know that Japanese emperors are referred to as 天皇 rather than 皇帝 which is
used for almost all emperors outside of Japan including Europe, Asia, Africa,
and the Americas but does the same thing apply to Japanese princesses and
princes? Are modern and ancient/Feudal Japan princesses and princes referred
to by another word? How would you refer to a princess or prince in a Japanese
fairytale?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-23T00:19:43.280
91315
2022-12-19T03:00:56.357
48706
question
meaning word-choice
Are Japanese princesses and princes referred to by a different word in Japanese than princesses and princes outside of Japan?
I don't think you can find a lot of princes and princesses in Japanese
昔話{むかしばなし} (legends/folktales) to begin with. One example that I can think of
is 乙姫{おとひめ} in 『浦島太郎』 who is depicted as a princess from the Dragon Palace.
There is also 豊玉姫{トヨタマヒメ} (Toyotama-hime) from 『日本書紀』, daughter of sea god
海神｛ワタツミ｝.

姫{ひめ}(お姫様) is used in translated names and titles of Western fair tale and
folklore princesses, such as 白雪姫{しらゆきひめ} (Snow White), but the concept is
essentially different. A European style prince is called 王子{おうじ}(王子様) in
Japanese translation.

But it should be noted that the word 姫 is not restricted to princesses. かぐや姫
in 『竹取物語{たけとりものがたり}』 is not a princess by Western definition.

Now, the first part of your question: how are members of the Japanese royal
family addressed and referred to?

I believe in the news Japanese princes and princesses are simply referred to
as name + さま/様. Example:

> 宮内庁関係者はため息をつく。11月6日に執り行われた、 **紀子さま** の父・川嶋辰彦さんの葬儀。秋篠宮ご夫妻、 **佳子さま** 、
> **悠仁さま**
> だけでなく、小室眞子さん、圭さん夫妻も駆けつけたのだ。([source](https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/188d05bb1e20daeaab9a691baa787e41c931f8e4))

Note that [Princess
Akishino](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiko,_Princess_Akishino) is referred
to as 紀子さま, [Princess
Kako](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Kako_of_Akishino) 佳子さま, [Prince
Hisahito](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Hisahito_of_Akishino) 悠仁さま,
while people who are not considered members of the royal house are referred to
using the more modest さん title.
[小室眞子さん](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mako_Komuro) is addressed as such
because she has given up her title and thus is no longer a member of the royal
house.

When you talk to members of the royal house or write to them, you are supposed
to address them as 殿下{でんか}. Their titles are 内親王{ないしんのう}, 女王{じょおう}, 親王{しんのう},
or 親王妃{しんのうひ}, depending on their relations to the emperor and their standing
in the royal house. These words are translated to prince/princess in English.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-23T01:24:14.553
91317
2021-11-23T01:31:04.707
2021-11-23T01:31:04.707
30454
30454
91315
answer
The situation is complicated because there are several words for _prince_ and
_princess_.

  * **王子** is the primary translation for _prince_. However, Japanese Emperor's son is almost always called 皇太子, not 王子. Note that this is a tricky title that has been given to various type of people under various rules (see [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince)).

  * **皇太子** refers strictly to Emperor's son who will be the next Emperor (sometimes referred to as _crown prince_ ). It mainly refers to Japanese 天皇's son now, but technically it can refer to the King's son in any country. (By the way, the current Japanese emperor does not have a son, so Japan has no 皇太子 now.)

  * **親王** refers to any male member of the royal family who is not the current or former Emperor. 皇太子 is also technically a 親王, although he is almost never called a 親王 in practice. Like 皇太子, it was often used to refer to foreign princes in the past, but now it usually refers to Japanese princes.

  * **王女** is the primary translation for _princess_. The female equivalent of 王子.

  * **内親王** refers to any female member of the royal family who is not the wife of the current/former Emperor. Now this usually refers to Japanese princesses.

In summary:

| Japanese | English | Example  
---|---|---|---  
Japanese Emperor's son | 皇太子 | Prince | (vacant)  
Japanese Emperor's brother/nephew | 親王 | Prince | [Prince
Fumihito](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fumihito,_Prince_Akishino), [Prince
Hisahito](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Hisahito_of_Akishino)  
Japanese Emperor's daughter | 内親王 | Princess | [Princess
Aiko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aiko,_Princess_Toshi)  
Japanese Emperor's sister/niece | 内親王 | Princess | [Princess
Sayako](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayako_Kuroda) (formerly), [Princess
Kako](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Kako_of_Akishino)  
Western1 Emperor/King's son | 王子 (sometimes 皇太子) | Prince |  
Western Emperor/King's brother/nephew | 王子 (rarely 親王) | (Prince) |  
Western Emperor/King's daughter | 王女 (sometimes 皇太子2, rarely 皇太王女2) | Princess
|  
Western Emperor/King's sister/niece | 王女 (rarely 内親王) | (Princess) |  
  
1: For some Asian countries, the situation is more complicated because they
may have shared naming conventions with Japan.  
2: Used only if she is the next Empress/Queen.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-23T01:34:55.500
91318
2021-12-13T00:05:02.443
2021-12-13T00:05:02.443
5010
5010
91315
answer
Found the answer to what I was looking for and it is 皇子 for prince (imperial
prince) and 皇女 for princess (imperial princess).
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-12-19T03:00:56.357
97694
2022-12-19T03:00:56.357
48706
91315
answer