The Empress of Japan’s Elegant Cultural Merit Jewels in Tokyo

Last week, the Japanese imperial family welcomed a special group of people to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo for a reception, with gleaming pearls and brooches glowing on the Empress, the Crown Princess, and two of their daughters.

November 3 is Japan’s Day of Culture, a public holiday designed to promote the appreciation of culture and the arts. As part of the annual celebration, the Emperor of Japan personally bestows the Order of Culture on those who have made significant advancements in the fields of the arts, the sciences, and culture.

This year, Emperor Naruhito presented the honor to seven recipients, including the composer Shunichi Tokura and Shigeru Miyamoto, the Nintendo video game designer best known for creating games like Mario, the Legend of Zelda, and Donkey Kong.

On the day after the award presentations, the new Order of Culture honorees were invited back to the palace for a tea reception hosted by the Emperor and Empress. Naruhito and Masako were joined by their daughter, Princess Aiko, as well as Crown Prince Fumihito, Crown Princess Kiko, and Princess Kako during the reception. Along with the Order of Culture recipients, seventeen Persons of Cultural Merit were also invited to attend the event.

For the tea reception in the palace dining room, Empress Masako wore a lovely lace dress with a matching jacket. She accessorized with large pearl button earrings, a two-row pearl necklace, and a brooch featuring a cluster of pearls set in a bed of leafy golden branches.

Crown Princess Kiko wore a brown patterned dress for the occasion. She wore pearl stud earrings, a strand of pearls, and an interesting pearl cluster brooch that resembles a flower.

Princess Aiko, the daughter of the Emperor and Empress, wore a cream-colored suit for the tea reception, paired with pearl earrings, a pearl necklace, and a gold and pearl brooch similar to the one worn by her mother. Beside her, her cousin, Princess Kako of Akishino, wore a dark suit with an elegant station-style necklace and modern earrings that remind me of delicate dandelion puffs.