Beautiful as the Rainbow: Nashimoto Masako, a Japanese Princess Against All Odds for Love, Life, and Happiness

by Song Nai Rhee

Reared in a palace and educated at Gakushuin, the elite Peers School, Princess Masako was elegant, refined, and proper in all things royal and Japanese. She was also stunningly beautiful. It was therefore only natural that she was being groomed to be betrothed to a prince-no less than Crown Prince Hirohito, the future Emperor of Japan. The rulers of the newly emerging Empire of the Sun, however, decided to offer the beautiful princess as a sacrifice on the altar of Japan's imperialism. She, they conspired, must marry Yi Eun, the crown prince of Korea's Joseon Kingdom, whose national independence they were strangulating with their conquest ambition. As Korea was forced to become a part of Japan, so was Masako forced to become a part of Korea in order to symbolize the union of the two nations in mortal conflict. Like a fish in a net or a bird in a snare, Princess Masako turned and twisted to live, to be free, and to be happy. Painfully aware that events in her life were beyond her control, however, she decided to accept her destiny. Even so, the imposed destiny would not control her, for she decided to become a heroine, not a victim of her misfortunes, driven by her passion for love, life, and happiness. Masako's story is about the human spirit empowering a victim of misfortunes and an unwanted destiny to become a hero, transforming adversity into patches of paradise as beautiful as the rainbow.

290 pages, Paperback

First published September 11, 2013

Reviews

[Rocky & Laura Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

As my professor years ago, Dr. Rhee captivated me with his ability to make history so interesting. He's done it again here. A "must read" for anyone interested in Korean history. A sad, yet intriguing story of courage and honor. I recommend it to everyone!