The annual ceremony of New Year’s Poetry Reading (Utakai Hajime) was held at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The Japanese royal ladies attended this event in court dress, just as they did the annual New Years lectures last week.
Empress Michiko, at far left, did not wear a hat. To her right is: Princess Kiko in a grey embroidered calot; Princess Hanako in a marvelous green pillbox wrapped in green fur (or maribou?) studded with wispy grey feathers; Princess Akiko in a pale pink calot; Princess Hisako in a royal blue bumper hat; and Princess Noriko in an embellished terra-cotta orange brimless pork pie hat. It is marvelous to see the ladies in some colour and hats with a bit of personality, isn’t it?!
Photo from The Imperial Family of Japan
Closeup photos of the other royal ladies do not appear to have been released. Princess Hanako was in forest green velvet with a coordinating hat that looks to be trimmed with a large green feather. I believe it is Princess Hisako in the vibrant turquoise hat and suit. The other hats appear to be de rigueur unadorned pillboxes in soft pastel colours.
Royal Hats 