On Tuesday, the Imperial royal family attended the spring garden party at the Akasaka Palace imperial garden in Tokyo.
The Empress repeated a white hat with slightly wider brim that we often see her wear, simply trimmed with a wide hatband in the same pale blue silk as her suit.
Milliner: unknown
Previously Worn: Jun 19, 2023
Princess Aiko wore a pale pink hat with upturned Breton style brim, trimmed with a wide ruched silk hatband in a slightly lighter shade knotted at the back.
Milliner: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this hat is new
Crown Princess Kiko topped a pale yellow jacquard silk suit with a brimmed hat covered in the same fabric. The design features a flat crown and upturned, kettle brim with a wide hatband and spray of soft feathers on one side.
Milliner: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this hat isnew
Princess Kako wore a white silk covered bumper hat trimmed with peach silk ranunculus blooms on one side.
Milliner: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this hat isnew
Princess Hanako of Hitachi topped a pale acqua suit (with beautiful ruched diamond cutouts!) with a white brimmed hat with aqua brim binding and hatband, trimmed with a spray of spring flowers on the side.
Milliner: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this hat is new
Princess Nobuko topped a floral pink dress with a beige hat with wide, domed crown and waved brim wrapped in pink silk flowers.
Milliner: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this hat is new
Princess Akiko wore a chic white hat with trilby-style upturned brim at the back, trimmed with a pale aqua hatband and side bow to match her suit.
Milliner: unknown
Previously Worn: Sep 29, 2022
Princess Yoko topped her lilac-grey suit with a matching hat with short, upturned brim with ruffled edge.
Milliner: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this hat is new
Princess Hisako wore a royal blue silk saucer hat with elevated back, trimmed in slim bow tails and a white feather. Princess Tsuguko topped her silver shantung silk coat with a matching grey hat. I love how the pink lining on the collar of her coat is repeated in the hat’s trim, layered pink and grey hatbands, a grey bow and side spray of pink feathers. The brim’s upturn around the back also adds a lovely lift to the design.
Thoughts about this parade of Imperial royal hats?
Images from The Asahi Shimbun; Getty and social media as indicated. Special thanks to Prisma!
Royal Hats 
I wonder what happened to Princess Yoko that she didn’t interact with the guests.
Lovely set of hats and I look forward to see more hats from Princess Aiko. My favorite hats from the garden party are the Takamado princesses. more photos:
https://x.com/ImperialJPNfan/status/1785545938347622511
https://x.com/ImperialJPNfan/status/1785549718208045433
What an absolute delight for my day to see the Japanese Imperial Family back at a garden party!
I had hoped we might see some bolder looks from Masako as empress, reminiscent of her earlier crown princess days, but this is still a lovely ensemble.
It was also great to Aiko! While this is a nice hat and outfit, I feel her millinery choices (I know there haven’t been many so far) have not been the most flattering. I think if she let her hair down, went with a wider brim, and/or wore something more along the cocktail hat/calot line (taking inspiration from Kako and Tsuguko), those could be better choices for her. I understand, she’s still young, experimenting, and overall just starting to enter the world of official duties, so I won’t criticize too harshly, especially since the Japanese Imperial Household is not easy to navigate.
Usually I’m not huge fans of the hats worn by Kiko and Kako, but I think both of these are quite pretty and suit their respective wearers very well. Brava!
Leave it to the cousins to bring out some good pieces, of course! Great to see Hanako again so soon; the pale aqua is a good color for her, and the extra thick brim binding works well on this hat. I thought we had seen Nobuko in something quite similar to this previously; a quick glance back tells me no, but it did demonstrate how well she rocks a wider brim, and this particular hat fuses design elements she’s worn on other hats. I’m getting a bit of a 1960s/1970s vibe with Akiko’s hat, which I quite enjoy (reminds me of a few of the higher crowns worn by Anne during that time), but I’m unfortunately not liking the look of Yoko’s hat (full criticism to be reserved for better photos); the lavender is a good color for her, however.
Finally, my faithful favorites: Hisako and Tsuguko! Hisako bringing the most avant-garde shape to this outing (avant-garde for the Japanese, of course) and a wonderful deep shade of true blue makes me happy, while Tsuguko’s choice of silver-lilac was an excellent color choice for her, alongside all the details of her classically-shaped hat.
Thanks for this coverage of the Japanese Imperial hats, HatQueen, and I hope we see more of them soon!