Former Japanese Princess Mako has a new gig as a volunteer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, according to reports.
Mako Komuro, who fled Japan and moved to New York after marrying her commoner husband in October, is assisting curators as a volunteer in the Met’s Asian art collection inspired by the life of a 13th-century monk who introduced Buddhism to the island nation, according to the Japan Times.
Mako has the chops for the job, as the former princess who turned down a $1.23 million payout to marry college sweetheart Kei Komuro graduated with a degree in art and cultural heritage from International Christian University in Tokyo.
She’s also studied abroad in the UK, including at the University of Edinburgh, where she focused on art history, and the University of Leicester, where she got her master’s in art museum and gallery studies, the Japan Times reported.
Mako – the eldest daughter of Crown Prince Fumihito and niece of Emperor Naruhito — also worked as a special researcher at the University of Toyko’s University Museum while still a royal, according to the newspaper.
A former Met curator, meanwhile, told People the former royal will fit right in at the iconic Fifth Avenue museum founded in 1870.
“She’s qualified and probably handling pieces in the collection,” the former curator said. “In general, it’s work which requires a great deal of preparation and often means spending a lot of time in the library.”
The 30-year-old former princess and her new husband moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Hell’s Kitchen in November after their low-key civil ceremony in Tokyo was delayed several years amid intense scrutiny. Similar units in the building that overlooks the Hudson River were renting for at least $4,300 at the time.
Mako’s husband, an aspiring attorney who has yet to pass the state bar exam, currently works in the Lowenstein Sandler law firm’s Manhattan offices. The couple met a decade ago while studying at International Christian University.
A message seeking comment from Met reps was not immediately returned early Tuesday.
