Japan’s first Aiko tiara

He turned twenty on December 1st Aiko of Japan, the only daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, and as tradition has it, she celebrated her coming of age, waiting for Seijinshiki, the day dedicated to adults which is celebrated on the second Monday of January.

Aiko’s birthday celebrations, principessa Toshi, they were held on December 5th, and for the occasion the girl wore a tiara for the first time. But something did not go as usual. Tradition has it that for the twenty years the girls of the imperial house receive a new tiara, but for Aiko it was not like that. Naruhito’s daughter borrowed Aunt Sayako’s tiara, younger sister of the emperor and former princess, as wife, since 2005, of the bourgeois Yoshiki Kuroda.

Unusual choice but not entirely surprising. The Japanese royal watchers saw it as a sign of respect for those who, in the fight against Covid 19, are experiencing difficult times. After all, the tiaras remain in the family, they do not follow the princesses in their life choices. This was also the case for Empress Masako, who on her husband’s coronation day wore a family tiara handed down for generations.

Precious objects, until 2003 made exclusively by Mikimoto. For the twenty years of the former princess Mako, who married Kei Komuro a few weeks ago, a competition was held and the most popular design won, in that case that of Wako jewelry. Mako’s younger sister, however, Kako, fell in love with a model proposed by Mikimoto in 2014.

Tiara or not, from now on Aiko’s life will change. So far the princess has seen very little, but the Palace has announced that it will be more present at public events and official contexts, compatibly with her study commitments: she is enrolled in the second year of the degree course in Japanese Literature at the Gakushuin University of Tokyo. She will never be empress because the laws of the country forbid her, but maybe it’s not a great bad luck. In his future there may be a freer life, away from official duties.