AMONG the many questions exercising the Japanese media in the run up to the marriage of Crown Prince Naruhito and Miss Masako Owada on June 9, there is one which may never be answered.
Since news of their engagement broke in January, Japanese have learned a great deal about their future empress.
They know all about her brilliant education (Harvard, Tokyo and Oxford universities) and her career as a trade negotiator in the Foreign Ministry.
They know she gets her hair cut with the ambassadors' wives in exclusive Nishi-Azabu and that before her engagement she had a penchant for Hermes scarves and short skirts of modest, department store calibre - her most expensive possession was said to be a US$1,500 (HK$11,500) coat.
And after her wedding (for which she will wear a 12-layered kimono in the style of the 8th century Heian court) she is expected to follow imperial precedent and nominate a leading Japanese designer as her personal couturier - Jun Ashida and Ichiro Kimishima are front runners.
They know her favourite sports (skiing and softball, for which she earned the nickname ''Slugger'') and her favourite food (gyoza , Chinese-style dumplings). They even know about her pets (childhood rabbits and reptiles have been succeeded by a terrier named Chocolat). But one great mystery remains: exactly how tall is she? In Japan, these things matter. During the 10-year search which the Japanese Imperial Household Agency carried out on its prince's behalf, strict guidelines were laid down concerning the particulars of potential brides-to-be.