Are Japanese princesses and princes referred to by a different word in Japanese than princesses and princes outside of Japan?


I know that Japanese emperors are referred to as 天皇 rather than 皇帝 which is
used for almost all emperors outside of Japan including Europe, Asia, Africa,
and the Americas but does the same thing apply to Japanese princesses and
princes? Are modern and ancient/Feudal Japan princesses and princes referred
to by another word? How would you refer to a princess or prince in a Japanese
fairytale?




The situation is complicated because there are several words for _prince_ and
_princess_.

  * **王子** is the primary translation for _prince_. However, Japanese Emperor's son is almost always called 皇太子, not 王子. Note that this is a tricky title that has been given to various type of people under various rules (see [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince)).

  * **皇太子** refers strictly to Emperor's son who will be the next Emperor (sometimes referred to as _crown prince_ ). It mainly refers to Japanese 天皇's son now, but technically it can refer to the King's son in any country. (By the way, the current Japanese emperor does not have a son, so Japan has no 皇太子 now.)

  * **親王** refers to any male member of the royal family who is not the current or former Emperor. 皇太子 is also technically a 親王, although he is almost never called a 親王 in practice. Like 皇太子, it was often used to refer to foreign princes in the past, but now it usually refers to Japanese princes.

  * **王女** is the primary translation for _princess_. The female equivalent of 王子.

  * **内親王** refers to any female member of the royal family who is not the wife of the current/former Emperor. Now this usually refers to Japanese princesses.

In summary:

| Japanese | English | Example  
---|---|---|---  
Japanese Emperor's son | 皇太子 | Prince | (vacant)  
Japanese Emperor's brother/nephew | 親王 | Prince | [Prince
Fumihito](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fumihito,_Prince_Akishino), [Prince
Hisahito](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Hisahito_of_Akishino)  
Japanese Emperor's daughter | 内親王 | Princess | [Princess
Aiko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aiko,_Princess_Toshi)  
Japanese Emperor's sister/niece | 内親王 | Princess | [Princess
Sayako](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayako_Kuroda) (formerly), [Princess
Kako](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Kako_of_Akishino)  
Western1 Emperor/King's son | 王子 (sometimes 皇太子) | Prince |  
Western Emperor/King's brother/nephew | 王子 (rarely 親王) | (Prince) |  
Western Emperor/King's daughter | 王女 (sometimes 皇太子2, rarely 皇太王女2) | Princess
|  
Western Emperor/King's sister/niece | 王女 (rarely 内親王) | (Princess) |  
  
1: For some Asian countries, the situation is more complicated because they
may have shared naming conventions with Japan.  
2: Used only if she is the next Empress/Queen.

