officials said today. To Western eyes, the picture _ which appeared in all of Japan's major newspapers today _ might have seemed to capture a spontaneous and tender gesture by a new bride. But officials of the Imperial Household Agency, the caretakers of the royal family, were horrified. Prince Aya, 24, the youngest son of Emperor Akihito, married graduate student Kiko Kawashima, 23, in an elaborate ceremony on Friday. At an official picture-taking session after the wedding, the newlyweds were preparing to pose with Aya's parents, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. The prince's hair was a little ruffled, and the princess smoothed it. Photographer Toshiaki Nakayama, one of two palace-authorized photographers present, snapped a picture of the fleeting gesture before taking the official portrait. Palace officials called it a betrayal of trust. ``To make an extreme analogy, it's only natural, for instance, that one wouldn't take a picture (of the prince) with his pants down,'' said an agency official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The agency said it was ``uncalled-for to release a picture that was taken by mistake.'' But Nakayama defended the photo. If it was taken ``at the wrong time,'' he asked, ``why didn't the chamberlains standing at my side say something then?'' Nakayama was barred from covering official post-wedding events today, and the agency said the ban may be permanant. Although Nakayama works for the Kyodo news service, the Imperial Household Agency says it considers photographers authorized to take pictures of the royal family as ``semi-employees'' of the palace. Since 1959, the two authorized photographers have been selected from the Tokyo Press Photographers' Association, an organization made of Japan's 11 largest newspapers and wire services. No foreign organizations are members. The palace-authorized photographers take pictures at locations and times dictated by the Imperial Household Agency, and are required to turn over their negatives to the agency. But the agency allows the pictures to be distributed before it checks the negatives. By the time palace officials saw Nakayama's offending photo, it was too late. Nakayama said the photo was the first commemorative picture of the royal family in more than 30 years with the subjects not standing fully face front. Emperor Akihito, who ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne after the death of his father Emperor Hirohito last year, has been credited with trying to soften the rigid and formal image of Japan's imperial family. Princess Kiko, the daughter of a college professor, is only the second commoner ever to marry into the imperial family.
