Imperial Family of Japan Jewellery 1: Ending 2023

Stefan · Nov 21, 2021

I find that confusing with the ownership of the tiaras and parures of the Princesses. So Sayako's tiara is still owned by her despite she hasn't any use for it since her marriage. So who owns the tiara and Sets worn by the Akishino Princesses? And the ones owned by the Princesses about the different Mikasa branches. And what about the tiaras given the woman who marry into the Family? I always thought they are owned by the IHA or some Trust like the Palaces and arekeept there after they Pricnessed have married and lost their Titles and Status as Princess

W.Y.CII · Nov 21, 2021

The most confusing part to me is the temporary loan from Sayako and IHA saying that they will consider making a new one for Aiko.

If they plan to reuse an old one for Aiko from the beginning, then it shouldn't be a temporary loan and they should find something Aiko can use forever as long as she still isn't married yet.

My guess is 1) they already have planned, designed or even made a new tiara for Aiko but thing is called off for whatever reasons e.g. pandemic and replaced with the loan from Sayako, 2) as I notice the response from IHA is published few days later, "consider making a new tiara in the future" is just a PR response/damage control from IHA after many people expressed that it's unfair for her not having her own new tiara (it may come true though, who knows).

Another part got my attention is "Sayako Kuroda is willing to lend them along with other jewelry", did Sayako inherit something from Michiko after they abdicated? I could be wrong but IIRC Michiko didn't pass all her jewelry to Masako? if so I'm wondering will Sayako also loan her mother's jewelry to her niece as well?

Duc_et_Pair · Nov 21, 2021

Whatever way, Sayako's jewels most likely are supreme to the quite soulless and mediocre newer sets of jewels. So when Aiko gets Sayako's jewels, at least she has a nicely designed set of jewels, with decent stones and with imperial provenance.

W.Y.CII · Nov 21, 2021

Prisma said:
- 7 known publicly funded tiaras: Akiko, Yoko, Tsuguko, Noriko, Ayako, Mako, Kako. If 10 is accurate, what are the other 3?

I guess the rest three is Kiko, Tomohito and Princess Takamado (the one with pearls). IHA formalized the use of public fund for tiaras in 2001 but they may have been doing in this way before that. Those 10 were made during/after 1980s and the rest were made/have been used before 1980s, so I roughly said the tiaras made before 1980s is privately owned (that's why Michiko and Masako has to "pass" their tiaras to their successors, also some royal correspondents suggested that Princess Chichibu and Princess Takamatsu had gifted [not returned] five tiaras to JIF, including the honeysuckle and pearl drops, see my post from the JIF Jewellery thread below), and the tiaras made after 1980s (except Sayako) are publicly funded and belong to IHA.

As the guest knows, there are 10 tiaras were made with IHA/national budget after WWII.
- I assume it includes the 8 newest tiaras (1-2-3 from the Akishinos, 4-5-6 from the Takamados and 7-8 from the Mikasas, all made during 1990-2000s), and the rest 2 would be either the 2 tiaras (here and here) owned by Michiko as CP (made during 1950-1960s), or the two second-newest tiaras made during 1980s (here and here).

5 tiaras from Setsuko (P Chichibu) and Kikuko (P Takamatsu) had been given to JIF (the guest actually used the word "寄贈 (gift/donate)" here, and while he talked about Noriko and Ayako he used "返し (return)", I interpret it as the tiaras were their own property?).

Stefan · Nov 21, 2021

What i wonder did the daughters of Emperor Hirohito also get their own Set of Jewels when turning 20: And if yes what happened to them?. The oldest daughter married an member of at that time timme still imperial junior branch so it would have made sense if she had kept them.

W.Y.CII · Nov 21, 2021

Stefan said:
What i wonder did the daughters of Emperor Hirohito also get their own Set of Jewels when turning 20: And if yes what happened to them?. The oldest daughter married an member of at that time timme still imperial junior branch so it would have made sense if she had kept them.

I don't think I have seen them wearing tiaras (I could be wrong though, we need Prisma to give a more accurate answer

). Hirohito's eldest daughter married before 20, the younger three married at their 21, so the IHA may decide to spend the money on princesses who marry into the family rather than the princesses who would leave the family soon.

Tiaras for coming-of-age could be a relatively new "tradition", as princesses born pre-war tended to marry during or even before their early 20s, tiara for coming-of-age is no needed and not something IHA has to prepare. However later in recent decades princesses married relatively late. So IHA has to prepare their coming-of-age ceremony (and tiara), as they wouldn't leave the family that soon and will work for the imperial family.

Tilia C. · Nov 21, 2021

I have never seen pictures of Emperor Akihito's sisters wearing a tiara, and W.I.CII's explanations might be spot on. In fact, Akihito's cousins from the Mikasa branch have been pictured with their mother's pearl drop tiara. It seems, that they, too, didn't get their own tiaras. It seems to have started in the next generation with Sayako, that unmarried princesses got their own parure when coming off age.

It's surprising me, that Aiko said she can't afford to loan her aunt's tiara forever. Maybe something got lost in translation, but 'afford'? I assume that the other jewels she's loaning would be the rest of the set, as the 'uniform' for a princess would include earrings, necklace, bracelet and a brooch for the sash.

So, if Aiko gets her own jewels at some point, that means we would see her in two different tiaras. Well, I don't mind.

Stefan · Nov 21, 2021

Tilia C. said:
I have never seen pictures of Emperor Akihito's sisters wearing a tiara, and W.I.CII's explanations might be spot on. In fact, Akihito's cousins from the Mikasa branch have been pictured with their mother's pearl drop tiara. It seems, that they, too, didn't get their own tiaras. It seems to have started in the next generation with Sayako, that unmarried princesses got their own parure when coming off age.

Actually i didn't realize that Emperor Akithito's sister married quiet young and therefore probably didn't need their own tiara.

But the daughters of Prince Mikasa got their own tiaras as one of the tiaras worn by Princess Takamado was earlier worn by her sister-in-law Yasuko

https://www.thecourtjeweller.com/2017/09/princess-takamados-tiaras.html

Tilia C. · Nov 21, 2021

The pearl drop tiara worn by princess Yasako was also worn by her younger sister Princess Masako for the reception before her wedding. But it has also been worn by their mother Princess Yuriko and later it passed to Princess Hisako. So I assume that it had belonged to the first Princess of Mikasa, who lend it to her two daughters and later gave it to her younger daughter-in-law.

Prisma · Nov 21, 2021

We don't know for sure if Princess Yuriko gave her drop tiara to Hisako or loaned a few times. Princess Akiko referred to the Mikasa drop tiara as her grandmother's second/secondary tiara.

The quote "I have no plans to make it for the time being, but I can't afford to borrow it forever." was a direct Google translation so something was lost and could be from the IHA rather than Aiko.

W.Y.CII said:
I guess the rest three is Kiko, Tomohito and Princess Takamado (the one with pearls). IHA formalized the use of public fund for tiaras in 2001 but they may have been doing in this way before that. Those 10 were made during/after 1980s and the rest were made/have been used before 1980s, so I roughly said the tiaras made before 1980s is privately owned (that's why Michiko and Masako has to "pass" their tiaras to their successors, also some royal correspondents suggested that Princess Chichibu and Princess Takamatsu had gifted [not returned] five tiaras to JIF, including the honeysuckle and pearl drops, see my post from the JIF Jewellery thread below), and the tiaras made after 1980s (except Sayako) are publicly funded and belong to IHA.

Thank you! Makes sense that Kiko, Nobuko, and Hisako's wedding tiaras are the other 3 publicly funded tiaras. If Michiko and Masako had to "pass" on their tiaras, I wouldn't consider those truly privately owned, rather the IHA is the final authority on important/historical jewelry pieces.

Stefan said:
What i wonder did the daughters of Emperor Hirohito also get their own Set of Jewels when turning 20: And if yes what happened to them?. The oldest daughter married an member of at that time timme still imperial junior branch so it would have made sense if she had kept them.

Princess Teru (Shigeko) married at 17 in the middle of WWII in 1943. Mikimoto didn't receive any order for her wedding goods, see post in JIF jewelry thread.

So far, I haven't come across photos of Emperor Hirohito's daughters wearing tiaras. My guess is tiaras and such were cancelled due to a combination of the war, post-war recovery, and that his daughters were married young.

ETA: Should discussion be moved to JIF jewelry thread? It's become more about tiaras than Aiko...

Prinsara · Nov 21, 2021

After looking at the quote, it seems as though an easier translation is "Not making plans right now, but [we] can't afford to borrow it forever."

The gratitude towards Sayako for the loan is mostly standard, except for the revelation that she's the only princess who kept her jewelry due to it being privately funded. So does that mean that if she didn't just happen to have a tiara available and willing to loan, Aiko would have gotten nothing for her ceremonies? :ermm:

That gratitude to Sayako might actually be genuine.

Duc_et_Pair · Nov 21, 2021

Prinsara said:
After looking at the quote, it seems as though an easier translation is "Not making plans right now, but [we] can't afford to borrow it forever."

The gratitude towards Sayako for the loan is mostly standard, except for the revelation that she's the only princess who kept her jewelry due to it being privately funded. So does that mean that if she didn't just happen to have a tiara available and willing to loan, Aiko would have gotten nothing for her ceremonies?

That gratitude to Sayako might actually be genuine.

I can not imagine there are no jewels left. A simple math of princesses leaving the Imperial House learns that there must be some cassettes with sparkling jewels indeed.

Prisma · Nov 25, 2021

On November 25th, the Imperial Household Agency said it will consider ordering Princess Aiko's tiara at national expense in the future. News that Princess Aiko will borrow her Aunt Sayako's tiara for next month's adulthood ceremony has led to criticism on the Internet that other princesses' tiaras paid with public money is wasteful. The agency defended itself saying "Tiara is needed [for the role]. It is not true that it is a waste of money."

Source: https://txbiz.tv-tokyo.co.jp/you/news/post_241178

CrownPrincessJava · Nov 25, 2021

Prisma said:
On November 25th, the Imperial Household Agency said it will consider ordering Princess Aiko's tiara at national expense in the future. News that Princess Aiko will borrow her Aunt Sayako's tiara for next month's adulthood ceremony has led to criticism on the Internet that other princesses' tiaras paid with public money is wasteful. The agency defended itself saying "Tiara is needed [for the role]. It is not true that it is a waste of money."

Source: https://txbiz.tv-tokyo.co.jp/you/news/post_241178

Honestly, the IHA seriously needs a clean out and modernisation. What did the IHA expect? Of course the Japanese public will question why other Princesses received a new tiara, paid by the public purse when they could have received a tiara that has been in the Imperial Family's vaults (or in this case, the PRIVATE property of an ex-Princess) for decades! And sorry, the public is right. It is a waste of money when there are tiaras collecting dust in vaults. Especially since, in most cases, these tiaras will be returned upon marriage of an Imperial Princess of Japan.

I am surprised that there hasn't been news reports that the now Crown Prince demanded new tiaras for his daughters for their coming of age ceremonies and would not accept anything less.

Prisma · Nov 25, 2021

It seems the Showa and earlier Heisei era didn't have clarity on tiaras. Perhaps the IHA tried to resolve that in the later Heisei era by using public funds (clearly state-owned) for such jewelry since 2001 and then adding a bidding system in 2003.

By the time Mako and Kako came of age, the practice of new parure was firmly in place: 2 Mikasa + 3 Takamado princesses. Prince Akishino didn't have to demand anything. However, Mako's now being blamed for accepting an expensive parure when the earthquake-tsunami-nuclear disaster happened in 2011.

CrownPrincessJava · Nov 25, 2021

Prisma said:
It seems the Showa and earlier Heisei era didn't have clarity on tiaras. Perhaps the IHA tried to resolve that in the later Heisei era by using public funds (clearly state-owned) for such jewelry since 2001 and then adding a bidding system in 2003.

By the time Mako and Kako came of age, the practice of new parure was firmly in place: 2 Mikasa + 3 Takamado princesses. Prince Akishino didn't have to demand anything. However, Mako's now being blamed for accepting an expensive parure when the earthquake-tsunami-nuclear disaster happened in 2011.

Mako shouldn't be blamed at all - honestly, that is ridiculous! BUT the IHA are seriously an immature organisation in relation to perception management. The IJF literally had a member leave - thus her parure has been returned. Not two weeks later, it is announced Princess Aiko is borrowing her Aunt's private jewels AND then the IHA announce she'll get new jewellery "some time in the future", which will be publically funded, although there is a perfectly acceptable set for immediate use. And we've had two other sets returned in the last decade too two Takamado Princesses and potentially another 2 to come. That is seriously some very bad optics here

Prinsara · Nov 26, 2021

The IHA also really needs to decide what's to be done with the returned parures. "Tiara is necessary", fine, but what happens when it's no longer necessary? Piling expensive things up in the vault really does seem ridiculous and wasteful.

Also, it is far less likely any of this would have been brought up had they just given the Emperor's only child her own tiara now and not disrupted so much, so this was very much brought on their own heads.

Heavs · Nov 26, 2021

They certainly seem to have made it even more complicated and needlessly drawn attention to the very things they were probably hoping to deflect from.

I don't have a problem with Princesses being gifted tiaras that are already in the vaults, it does make sense but those should be chosen from among those which aren't "privately owned" so they have them as a lifetime loan as long as they need them.

Having Aiko use her aunt's was probably supposed to be sentimental and make up for the lack of new one by pointing out that Sayako was also the only daughter of an emperor. But the fact that they had to explicitly point out that it was borrowed because technically Sayako still owns it and Aiko will need another one at some point just A) boots the problem further down the field (the IHA and government are good at that) and

B) brings up a lot of questions about tiara financing from decades past.

Tatiana Maria · Nov 26, 2021

Heavs said:
But the fact that they had to explicitly point out that it was borrowed because technically Sayako still owns it and Aiko will need another one at some point just A) boots the problem further down the field (the IHA and government are good at that) and

B) brings up a lot of questions about tiara financing from decades past.

In case any readers missed it, MichaelB had an interesting theory as to why the IHA explicitly pointed out the tiara was borrowed:

MichaelB said:
ETA: I am wondering if they have chosen to publish the details about Sayako´s tiara at this very moment because they want people to get used to the thought that imperial princesses take some of their possessions with them when they leave. Maybe they want this information out for future cases and also as an indirect answer to your question. Even if Mako left without a dowry she was not completely penniless because princesses were always allowed to take with them what is considered theirs, they seem to be saying to us here.
(Otherwise there was no need to inform the public about who the tiara belongs to. They could just have said that Aiko would use Sayako´s tiara. Everybody would have assumed that the tiara belongs to the imperial household and no questions would have been asked.)

CrownPrincessJava said:
[...] I am surprised that there hasn't been news reports that the now Crown Prince demanded new tiaras for his daughters for their coming of age ceremonies and would not accept anything less.

Prisma said:
It seems the Showa and earlier Heisei era didn't have clarity on tiaras. Perhaps the IHA tried to resolve that in the later Heisei era by using public funds (clearly state-owned) for such jewelry since 2001 and then adding a bidding system in 2003.

By the time Mako and Kako came of age, the practice of new parure was firmly in place: 2 Mikasa + 3 Takamado princesses. Prince Akishino didn't have to demand anything. However, Mako's now being blamed for accepting an expensive parure when the earthquake-tsunami-nuclear disaster happened in 2011.

I think CrownPrincessJava meant that, with the Akishino branch having become fair game for criticism from all and sundry over these last few years, she would expect the "Fumihito demanding tiaras for his daughters" accusation to be made whether it had a basis in reality or not (much as Prince Andrew of the United Kingdom was accused of "demanding HRHs" for his two daughters even though that practice was also firmly in place).

Prisma said:
On November 25th, the Imperial Household Agency said it will consider ordering Princess Aiko's tiara at national expense in the future. News that Princess Aiko will borrow her Aunt Sayako's tiara for next month's adulthood ceremony has led to criticism on the Internet that other princesses' tiaras paid with public money is wasteful. The agency defended itself saying "Tiara is needed [for the role]. It is not true that it is a waste of money."

Source: https://txbiz.tv-tokyo.co.jp/you/news/post_241178

Prisma said:
By the time Mako and Kako came of age, the practice of new parure was firmly in place: 2 Mikasa + 3 Takamado princesses. Prince Akishino didn't have to demand anything. However, Mako's now being blamed for accepting an expensive parure when the earthquake-tsunami-nuclear disaster happened in 2011.

Thank you very much for informing us about the discussion on the Internet, Prisma. (Something which, due to the language barrier, many of us would otherwise be ignorant of.)

Given the fashion in which the senior branch and the Akishino branch have been played off against each other for years/decades I suppose it is not overly surprising that Aiko's gesture is being used to launch another criticism at Mako. In hindsight, splashing taxpayer funds on new imperial jewelry only a few months after a national disaster that left a large number of people dead or homeless and an area of the country uninhabitable does appear to be poor optics, but I am not sure how much if any responsibility for the purchase can be imputed to a then 19-year-old Mako who was following in the footsteps of all five of her older cousins, or even how much criticism it attracted at the time (in 2011, weren't the imperial family's critics more engaged with criticizing the "lazy Crown Princess" and comparing her unfavorably to the "perfect" Akishino family?).

MichaelB · Nov 27, 2021

Thank you, Tatiana Maria.

Tatiana Maria said:
In hindsight, splashing taxpayer funds on new imperial jewelry only a few months after a national disaster that left a large number of people dead or homeless and an area of the country uninhabitable does appear to be poor optics, but I am not sure how much if any responsibility for the purchase can be imputed to a then 19-year-old Mako who was following in the footsteps of all five of her older cousins, or even how much criticism it attracted at the time (in 2011, weren't the imperial family's critics more engaged with criticizing the "lazy Crown Princess" and comparing her unfavorably to the "perfect" Akishino family?).

I am not aware of any criticism, and I would be surprised if there had been at the time because in 2011, as you say, the media were still busy criticizing Mako´s „lazy“ aunt Masako. Can´t do everything at once, can you?
The irony here is that I get the impression that the Emperor and his family sympathize with Mako and are just trying to help. (I happen to be of the opinion that, but for Naruhito stepping in, Mako would not even be married by now).

At this point, it takes no courage to criticize the IHA, everybody does it for all sorts of reasons but I would like to hear from the critics how they would have handled the tiara issue?
It´s not like there is a certain amount of tiaras and a certain amount of princesses and they all have to be matched just so everybody gets one, and then that would be that. It is obvious that the differences in rank in the imperial family are being taken very seriously (look at the colours of the dresses). To take the example of Aiko´s tiara: there may be lots of tiaras available but none of them is the tiara of a naishinno princess, except Sayako´s and, lately, Mako´s tiara. To give Aiko the tiara of a commoner-born princess or of a princess from a junior branch might and probably would have opened a whole other can of worms, and the IHA would have been criticized for it by somebody for sure.
Sayako´s tiara was under the circumstances the best choice imo. To give Mako´s tiara to Aiko – while technically possible – would have looked very weird.

I find it interesting and very typical that at the very beginning of this thread they were wondering about the same things we ask about now:

Eliza said:
does anyone know if she gets to keep her Jewelry after her marriage...cos she becomes a commoner after her marriage right?

Warren said:
No responses. Isn't anyone from the Imperial Household Agency logged on?

Those who know don't tell.

Prisma · Dec 5, 2021

Princess Aiko wearing Sayako Kuroda's tiara

https://cdn.mainichi.jp/vol1/2021/12/05/20211205mpj00m040003000p/9.jpg
https://cdn.mainichi.jp/vol1/2021/12/05/20211205mpj00m040023000p/9.jpg
https://cdn.mainichi.jp/vol1/2021/12/05/20211205mpj00m040024000p/9.jpg

Mainichi gallery

SLV · Dec 5, 2021

A lovely tiara, it suits her.

Tilia C. · Dec 6, 2021

I have always liked this tiara and now think that it suits Princess Aiko very well. Also the necklace is quite nice. But it's out of proportion compared with the parures of her cousins, imo. Given that at the Japanese court precedence is also reflected by the size of the jewels worn, the daughter of the Emperor should not be out-shone by her cousin.

IloveCP · Dec 6, 2021

Aiko's tiara is very beautiful.

Prisma · Dec 17, 2021

Tiaras in spotlight after Princess Aiko turns 20 | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News

[...]

Imperial family tiaras typically cost between 130,000 to 250,000 dollars, which usually come from the state coffers. Princesses who leave the family for reasons such as marriage must return theirs to the government. But Kuroda—who wed in 2005—didn’t have to, because the funds for hers came out of the former Emperor's family expenses.

Currently, the Imperial Household Agency keeps eight tiaras, including one used by Crown Prince Akishino's daughter Mako, who left the Imperial family after marrying in October.

[...]

Tiaras ‘part of protocol’
Spending public money on expensive tiaras is not without its critics, but Aoki Junko, an expert on royal fashion, insists they are a necessary part of formal protocol. “I think it’s important for female members of the Imperial family to wear tiaras,” she says. “They are part of the rules of courtesy between countries.”

Nishimura Yasuhiko, the Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Agency, shares similar sentiments. At a news conference in November, he said tiaras are necessary for ceremonies, and that producing them is not wasteful. As for Princess Aiko, he said: “In light of the coronavirus situation, the government decided not to use state funds after consulting with the Emperor and Empress. The government will consider the matter again in the future.”

Japanese NHK article has more information:
- cost of parures, 2001-2014
- A/B type discussion regarding jewelry inherited from emperor to emperor
- history of tiaras in Japan/Westernization
- royal fashion expert Aoki Junko doesn't confirm Michiko's third tiara with "Karakusa pattern" was Princess Chichibu's. She says it's "very similar to the one used by Princess Chichibu."

Mainichi about tiaras/Westernization
- adjustments of Sayako's tiara to fit Aiko was paid with private expenses
- In 1886, Japan's first Prime Minister, Hirobumi Ito, gave notice to women at court to wear Western attire
- Empress Shoken wore a formal long dress at New Year's ceremony in January 1887 and probably the Meiji tiara
- The photograph of Empress Shoken wearing the Meiji tiara was taken in 1889
- Mikimoto created the empress' second tiara (chrysanthemum) in 1917 for Empress Teimei and a tiara for Princess Nagako when she married the Crown Prince in 1924
- It is said Crown Princess Nagako's tiara was remade into the current Crown Princess Scroll/1st tiara for Michiko, later passed to Masako and Kiko

Tilia C. said:
I have always liked this tiara and now think that it suits Princess Aiko very well. Also the necklace is quite nice. But it's out of proportion compared with the parures of her cousins, imo. Given that at the Japanese court precedence is also reflected by the size of the jewels worn, the daughter of the Emperor should not be out-shone by her cousin.

Sayako's parure was paid from private expenses so it reflects her taste. The publicly funded parures began in 2001 and by 2014, a panel selected the design so Kako apparently didn't get to choose. Necklace aside, the younger princesses tiaras seem similar in size/highest point. As the lowest in precedence, Princess Ayako didn't receive the smallest/shortest tiara.
Personally, I prefer the design of Ayako and Noriko's tiaras to Mako and Kako's.

ETA: Female royals' coming-of-age ceremony started with Sayako "considering the flow of the times." The Imperial family marked a male royal's coming-of-age with "Kakan-no-Gi" ceremony but females' adulthood was celebrated privately. Due to Emperor Showa's death and mourning, she only received her Order in 1989. The luncheon and dinner party were held in 1990.
Source: Mainichi

Tilia C. · Dec 18, 2021

Thank you for these interesting details, Prisma. :flowers:

Currently, the Imperial Household Agency keeps eight tiaras, including one used by Crown Prince Akishino's daughter Mako, who left the Imperial family after marrying in October.

2 for the Mikasa Princesses, 3 for the Takamado Princesses, 2 for the Mako and Kako of Akishino: makes only 7. Princess Kiko's wedding tiara was made before 2001, so it should have been bought with private funds and be her personal tiara.
Also, there has been contradicting information about how many parures have been funded, it's really still confusing.

Sayako's parure was paid from private expenses so it reflects her taste. The publicly funded parures began in 2001 and by 2014, a panel selected the design so Kako apparently didn't get to choose. Necklace aside, the younger princesses tiaras seem similar in size/highest point. As the lowest in precedence, Princess Ayako didn't receive the smallest/shortest tiara.
Personally, I prefer the design of Ayako and Noriko's tiaras to Mako and Kako's.

I would still say that the parures of the Akishino princesses are way more substantial then the parures of the young Mikasa and Takamado princesses. And I still interpret that as a difference in rank, as Mako and Kako are much closer to the thrown than their second cousins.
But I agree that Princess Sayako's tiara is very beautiful. While I quite like Kako's tiara, I'm not so fond of Mako's.

In my opinion, it is a bit unfortunate to stop the purchasing of new parures right now, the the daughter of the emperor. Firstly, she is closest to the Emperor and highest ranking princess. Secondly, she's the last one to come of age. By the time that Hisahito's potential daughters need jewels there will probably be lots of spare parures in the vault. And with a new generation growing up it makes more sense to change the rules.

On the other hand, it's very considerate to not to spent money on jewels when the country goes through a serious crisis.

Prisma · Jan 18, 2022

When I shared the NHK article on twitter, someone responded that the 8 IHA-kept tiaras are unused like Mako's so that would include the Chichibu and Takamatsu tiaras and exclude those currently in use: Kako, Akiko, Yohko, and Tsuguko. However, that doesn't total 8 either so it's still a mystery.

Some interesting jewelry from 2022 New Year Lectures and Poetry Readings.

Tsuguko wore diamonds instead of pearls, Lectures