Princess Hisako has been in Canada this week on an informal tour to celebrate 90 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Canada. The visit kicked off last Saturday in Mississauga with a summery hat in finely woven straw with a moderate brim, trimmed with orange and peach feathers and net veil circling the base of the crown.
On Sunday in Toronto, she princess met Ontario Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell in a sunny yellow straw hat with upturned brim bound in a wide white stripe, trimmed with a yellow silk bow.
On Monday, she continued on to Ottawa where she visited the Supreme Court of Canada in a white hat with wide kettle brim, trimmed with a lime silk hatband and floral spray.
Tuesday’s programme included a meeting with Governor General Julie Payette and a return to the Canadian Museum of History, where in 1985, she and the late Prince openned a Japanese Zen Garden. For these engagements, Princess Hisako wore an elegant cream lace suit with matching short-brimmed hat. The hat’s crown and front bow are covered in the same lace which lends some textural dimension to the design.
On Wednesday, Princess Hisako traveled to Prince Edward Island, Canada’s smallest province, on the Atlantic east coast. There, in the town of Cavendish, she opened Montgomery Park, a commemorative park to Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery, who wrote well known book, Anne of Green Gables. For this opening, the princess donned a boater hat covered in cream silk with a swirling pleated brim, trimmed with white maple leaves, cornflower blue organza tufts and net veil. The hat has a decidedly Edwardian feel which gives a lovely nod to this famous book (published in 1908 and set around the same time) and makes it one of the most romantic Imperial royal hats in recent memory! Listen to a snipet of Princess Hisako’s dedication speech below- it’s charming and she has a lovely voice!
On Thursday, she visited Green Gables and in a touching gesture, she topped her black floral suit in a vibrant green hat in nearly the same shade as the famous location. The design features a wide rolled brim and black hatband, piped in the same floral pattern as her suit-
a new addition since we last saw it.
After a stop in Alberta, she landed in Vancouver where yesterday, she attended Nikkei Matsuri, a large Japanese cultural festival. In another thoughtful diplomatic touch, she wore a white straw saucer hat with folded crin brim trimmed with sprays of red and white silk maple leaves on both sides (above the brim on the left, below the brim on the right). I know some consider such statements cheesy but my Canadian heart is warmed by the gesture.
And finally, today in Victoria, Princess Hisako visited government house in what believe is the same white kettle brimmed hat she wore on Monday, swapping out the lime hatband and flowers for a leaf green bow on the side. I suspect this isn’t the first quick change of trim this hat has experienced to make it coordinate with other ensembles- it
looks awfully close to this hat she wore last July.
Princess Hisako routinely wears some of my favourite pieces of Imperial royal millinery and this tour has had some wonderful hats. What do you think about the hats she has worn in Canada this week?
Photos from social media as indicated. Special thanks to @ImperialJPNfan on Twitter for curating and sharing all of this information on the tour.
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What a fantastic post on one of my favorite Princesses!
I love the variation in hat styles and colors, and the finishings and flourishes are perfect. My favorite is the boater, which is very appropriate for the ceremony and also looks wonderful on her.
Princess Hisako is so charming and joyful, and is a tremendous representative of the Imperial Royal Family and Japan.
Thank you for introducing Princess Hisako’s tour! Unfortunately this news isn’t much talked in Japan. All hats are my favorite.
Canada is a special country for Prince and Princess of Takamado. Prince studied at Queen’s University and met Hisako at a reception party held by Canadian Embassy in Tokyo!
I can’t understand Princess Hisako’s tour isn’t covered better in the Japanese media! She seems to be doing a great job representing her country.
And Princess Ayako attended Comosun College in Victoria! Thanks for sharing, Jessica- I didn’t realize that Princess Hisako and the late Prince Norihito met at an event with a Canadian connection!
I’m surprised to hear that this Canadian visit was not covered in Japan. I can’t say it’s been front page news here, nationally, but there certainly has been more localized news coverage.
Cheers for Princess Hisako! She is a great hat wearer! And I don’t think wearing maple leaves when in Canada is cheesy. Maple leaves have a beautiful shape and make for a charming decoration, even without diplomatic “arrière pensées”.
Such a fabulous tour de force, especially with all of these hats!
While a nice new hat to pair with this outfit (Hisako looks amazing in this bright lemon yellow!), I still prefer this previous fantastic one: https://royalhats.net/2016/05/02/birthday-celebration-of-swedish-king-royal-guests/.
Seeing her revisit the Zen Garden she first opened in 1995 was a special treat, especially as we got to see another one of her hats from the past!
The wide brimmed hat worn on Prince Edward Island is probably my favorite of this whole group; it flatters her so well. And I agree, she has a lovely voice! (great to hear her, something we don’t often get from royals are their voices).
I didn’t realize this green hat was a repeat of the apple one I love so much; I think the band this time makes the hat less appealing unfortunately, although it is a still a good one.
I agree the nod to Canada with the maple leaves on this hat was more subtle than some other royal hats.
Finally, I agree the final hat looks to be a repeat of Monday’s with new trim; helps to lighten the luggage load by just bringing trims rather than whole hats, but still, Hisako managed to wear a lot of different hats for one trip. Brava!
Lots of great hats here, but by far my favorite is the boater. I love seeing that shape on P. Hisako!
More photos of this wonderful yellow hat
Also
I hope this princess is appreciated as a national treasure! As far as maple leaf hats ago, this design is more subtle than many. That spray beneath the right brim is unexpected and fun.
A very exciting millinery showing from Princess Hisako!
Is Princess Hisako the Princess Anne of Japan? I am amazed at how hard the Princesses of Japan can work but seem to be so under valued by the male powers behind the Imperial Court. I really like the boater and the green hat. She has a great smile and looks so joyful wherever she goes,
Yes! I love this comparison to P. Anne!
These hats were wonderful—sharp and colorful and very thoughtful. The red maple leaves brought tears to me eyes! She really knows how to make a positive statement with her hats! The only fault I find is with the white hat with the periwinkle flowers—the crown is too squat. Otherwise, it’s all fabulous!
A boater, a saucer, and two very saturated, non-neutral colors(yellow and green)! I am very impressed with Princess Hisako’s choices in hats and the nice variety! I would like all other Imperial Princesses to take notice that the sky didn’t fall and she hasn’t lost her HRH! So, go ahead be a little more adventurous in your hat choices. It’s fun! I thought the sunny yellow color looked especially good on the Princess and I loved both of the hats with maple leaf trim!