Happy birthday

The dog is the only one without a forced smile.

They look fine ... the kid maybe a little tired of photo shoots but that's usual in the digital point-and-shoot age.

the crown pet dog

Apparently, the dog's name is Yuri (由莉) and is a mixed breed found wandering the palace grounds. You can see some photos of earlier days here: http://masakosamalove.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-125.html Of course, I hope the family is happy, but I always wonder why the Imperial Palace photo room is covered with pegboard.

You would think that they could update the decor from the 1970's by now.

(Just noticed that the Crown Prince wore the same sweater in his photo of 2009! Gotta keep track of these sartorial things, man!)

Yuri could be a Shikoku Inu like mine.

Agree, the decor and their outfits really are a bit 70's and tired.

@Laguna

Thanks for the link ! There were some cute pictures !

The Crown Princess looks amazingly beautiful for 51

Why don't they let Aiko have friends over to party. Oh wait, the IHA wouldn't like that

An ideal Royal family which should help spread ideal values to a society where all sorts of crimes take place and are reported in the press!

Oh, very, very doge

Wow

So happiness

Much smile, no sadly

Nice relax clothe

Grn

Well, if things get tough for the royal family, that living room wall behind them makes a great pegboard sale display, just go out and get the peg hooks and they can start selling off all that vintage stuff. I can just see the props dept from Mad Men showing up to pick up some items...

Many happy returns of the day Princess Masako.

Omedetou, Masako-sama !

A Happy Birthday Crown Princess Masako

'(Just noticed that the Crown Prince wore the same sweater in his photo of 2009! Gotta keep track of these sartorial things, man!)'

Good to hear that he is still making use of it. Some royals of other countries enjoyed swanning around in international white-trash jet-set designer gear at the expense of the taxpayer. He deserves credit.

How is that sofa not tipping over without legs on the left side?

How is that sofa not tipping over without legs on the left side?

If Princess Aiko moves to the right and hides the sofa's right legs, then perfect.

"If Princess Aiko moves to the right and hides the sofa's right legs, then perfect."

So much for the magic sofa theory, lol.

Oh my ! Is that a selfie with the timer of the grand-pa's camera ? They didn't even bother with pro make-up and photo-shop. You get much better for 5000 yen at the shotengai photo shop. I like Masako's outfit, a classy classic that would perfect if she was 20 yrs older, but OK that fits the context. Now the 3 others bought their clothes from a catalog in 1952 or is there a Sazae-san retro cloth shop that re-edits that ? The sofa looks an Ikea in a waiting room, which would be perfect in a waiting room , but here... they look like people waiting at the dentist's. When your job is to live in the Imperial Palace, you can find a better background, and borrow stylish costumes for 5 minutes every year...

The whole shebang is paid for by the tax payers.

Precisely, for the price, taxpayers should get a stylish photo,

borrow stylish costumes for 5 minutes every year...

I think they have enough stylish costumes..

taxpayers should get a stylish photo,

Why? This is how they live when not in ritual.

Cos: .... selfie ... photoshop ...

The low-res photo embedded in the article is a bit blurry but if you click on it you'll get the hi-res.

No telling how many hands touched the photo. Reuters probably did some processing after they got the file. But the shot looks good to me and at least multiple lighting sources were used.

(someone): ... pegboard ...

They're not hanging tools off it and it looks woodgrain not the cheapie Masonite stuff so maybe it's for acoustics.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug98/articles/practicalacoustic.html

... Helmholtz Traps ... While you don't see many studios full of bottles (at least not ones being used as bass traps), it is possible to simulate the effect of hundreds of tuned bottles with a perforated panel over an air space. ... The other problem is getting the right perforation percentage. Common pegboard is usually used in mid traps rather than bass traps. For example, pegboard with 3/16-inch holes on a one-inch matrix has a perforation percentage of 2.75 per cent. Fixed over a four-inch air gap, this gives a resonant frequency of a little over 400Hz. Boards of different perforation percentages may be available from specialist acoustic suppliers, but are not readily available from conventional builders merchants. ...

Happy Birthday Princess! Nice looking family but they don't look genuinely happy.

they don't look genuinely happy.

I think they're happy when they are alone.