Depression from Cultural and Social Pressures

I’ve been fascinated by the recent clamor over the birth of a baby boy in Japan’s Royal Family.

Not so much the debate over whether Japan would change its policy of allowing women to assume the royal throne, and the birth of a prince will postpone that debate for a while. I was more interested in what happened with Princess Masako, a modern woman whom many looked to as Japan’s “Princess Diana”, someone who would represent a breath of fresh air to the Japan Royal Family.

According to news reports, Princess Masako was a stark contrast to her sister-in-law, Princess Kiko (mother of the much anticipated heir to the throne). Masako was a career oriented and Harvard educated scholar who spoke five languages and worked as a diplomat. Kiko grew up dreaming of marrying a prince and ultimately she did and she loved her role as a royal wife. For all the talk about modernizing the royal family, the media and public had focused intently on the Masako’s childbearing responsibilities. Masako’s 1999 miscarriage was alleged caused by stress from the media, and even after the 2001 birth of daughter Aiko, Princess Masako didn’t get a break (because her royal responsibility was mainly to produce a son and heir).

There’s talk of Masako and the Crown Prince heaving a sigh of relief now that there is a male heir and the media perhaps would get off their backs. I have a feeling the media won’t relent. It’s going to be more “Masako-this versus Kiko-that” for years to come, it’s how the tabloid companies sell magazines.

Who can be surprised at Masako’s 2004 “mental illness” that even the Royals cannot suppress? When you’re in the public eye as these royal women are, those who are seen as a change to tradition are subject to tremendous strain – both from the cultural pressures that a woman may threaten to change – and from the social pressures of a public caricaturizing every moves of a celebrity. It also seems like the more “face time” you get with the media, the more likely you’d suffer from mental strain and stress of living under the microscope.

Intelligence and education stand little chance when it comes to the cultural and social pressures. I am not sure that Masako was vulnerable to depression to begin with, and I suspect the tremendous pressures caused depression to develop. When her husband the Crown Prince reprimanded the media for creating a hostile environment for his wife, his younger brother reprimanded the Crown Prince, saying that the duty of the royal family was to passively accept the responsibilities given to them by the public.

With family like that, who needs enemies?