Last Friday, Princess Yuriko of Mikasa attended a service at Toshimagaoka Imperial Cemetery in Tokyo to commemorate the 1st anniversary of the death of her late husband, Prince Takahito. For this memorial, she wore a veiled black bumper hat.
Princess Mako, Princesses Akiko and Yoko of Mikasa and Princesses Hisako, Tsuguko and Ayako of Takamado all wore veiled black bumper hats.
On October 29, Princess Akiko braved the rain in a repeated a white pillbox hat for the enshrinement of Prince Mikasa’s spirit at the Imperial Palace.
Over the weekend, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited Fukuoka and Oita Prefectures. For a visit to a robotics innovation center on Saturday in Kitakyushu City, the Empress wore a large white (or cream? oyster?) domed saucer trimmed with a large bow that looked to be embroidered in a lattice pattern with metallic thread.
Designer: unknown. Likely Akio Hirata
Previously Worn: the bow seems new… who knows about the saucer.
The focus of the visit, the 37th National Meeting for the Healthy Ocean, took place Sunday in Munakata City. Empress Michiko wore a smaller scale saucer in pale bluey-grey trimmed with a multi-looped silk bow that circled around the left side of the design. The sheen of the silk bow gave a bit of contrast to the hat, which was, I suspect, covered in the same fabric as Michiko’s suit and caped jacket. The shade of blue is more becoming on her than the dull grey we often see her wear.
Designer: unknown. Likely Akio Hirata
Previously Worn: I believe the hat is new
The visit concluded yesterday with a stop in Kitakyushu Eco-Town Center. Empress Michiko repeated a familiar hat for this leg of the visit, a denim blue saucer trimmed with an angular, flat folded blue and gold bow.
Previously Worn: Oct 26; 2016; Sep 28, 2016; Jan 29, 2016; Oct 30, 2015; May 21, 2015; Apr 9, 2015
Royal Hats 
I adore every single thing the Empress has ever worn.
More family members attended the memorial ceremony marking 1st anniversary of death of Prince Mikasa on October 27th.
http://www.gettyimages.ca/event/memorial-ceremony-marking-1st-anniversary-of-death-of-prince-mikasa-takes-place-775069600#princess-mako-of-akishino-attends-the-memorial-ceremony-marking-the-picture-id869340932
Thanks, Maja. I’ve updated the post to include these hats.
Princess Yuriko looks very elegant here. I also see her pearl necklace is black; wondering if that’s a detail I’ve always missed before with Japanese mourning attire?
I do always enjoy when the Empress pulls out one of her larger saucer hats, and this one is no exception. Simple, subtle details, but they definitely do the trick. The second hat doesn’t stand out as much since the color is similar to others she has, but the bow detailing was done well in a way that’s new for the Empress’ hats. Finally, even though we see it a lot, I do love this blue and gold ensemble for HM.
I believe the Japanese royals wear jet jewelry for mourning. She’s also wearing a black brooch and earrings.
Princesses Mako, Akiko, and Yoko wore veiled bumper hats at the memorial on the 27th, see video at http://www.news24.jp/articles/2017/10/27/07376411.html
Princess Akiko wore a white pillbox / bumper hat when the Imperial family enshrined Prince Mikasa’s spirit at the Imperial Palace on the 29th: https://www.jiji.com/jc/p?id=20171029121212-0025355034
Better view of the hat when Prince Katsura’s spirit was enshrined in 2015: http://www.sankei.com/premium/photos/150613/prm1506130020-p17.html
Thanks for this, Avery. I have updated the post with these additional hats.
I think the first hat for the Empress is light grey. In this article she’s talking to a man in a white shirt and you can see her suit is not white.
http://www.asahi.com/articles/photo/AS20171028002441.html
Good catch. Her clothes are sometimes so difficult to tell as the shades are usually pale with very subtle colour shades. I usually have to wait until we see it outdoors in natural light to make a final call!
I have (in a box somewhere) a rather crushed pink velvet rose which my grandmother wore on a fur hat about one hundred years ago when she was married. The Empress’s penchant for these flat little hats reminds me of this sad relic. But I suspect she will never change!
Hat #2, the multi-looped bow on the smaller grey saucer, has a jaunty modern vibe which I really like.
Hat #3 the repeat navy, is not one that I am a fan of. The teal colour added to the hat is not really achieving anything, and to me the gold trim looks sour against the Empress’s cool complexion -(dove grey would have been a safer choice). And right now, the hat looks rather the worse for wear.