Princess Akiko’s Diamond Tiara and Necklace

The Japanese Imperial Ladies rarely stray from their usual jewels, but yesterday Princess Akiko of Mikasa debuted a magnificent Diamond Tiara and and striking Diamond Necklace which have a fascinating Imperial Provenance for the New Year’s Reception at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. 

Marquess Nabeshima Naohiro, the 11th and final daimyō of Saga Domain, ordered these magnificent jewels from Paris when his daughter, Itsuko Naohiro, married Prince Morimasa Nashimoto in 1900.

Her father, Naohiro Nabeshima, the former lord of the Saga Domain, gifted her a tiara ordered from Paris, along with a full set of accompanying jewelry, which included necklaces, bracelets, brooches, and rings. The tiara alone was valued at over 20,000 yen at the time.

Not long after her marriage, Princess Itsuko Nashimoto wore the Diamond Tiara atop her head and the Diamond Fringe as a Necklace for a portrait.

Princess Itsuko Nashimoto also wore the Diamond Fringe Tiara for several portraits in the 1910s and also in the 1920s, in various closed and open configurations. The other Diamond Tiara was also worn for portraits, taken maybe when the Prince and Princess conducted a Tour of European Royal Courts in 1909.

After the Second World War, Princess Itsuko Nashimoto left the imperial family and had to sell her villa and belongings to pay heavy property taxes, which may have been when the two Tiaras were acquired by the Imperial Family, to whom former Princess Itsuko Nashimoto remained close, particularly her nieces, Empress Kōjun and Princess Chichibu.

While Empress Michiko, her daughters-in-law, Empress Masako and Crown Princess Kiko, and granddaughters usually have stuck to their own Tiaras or the limited pool of Tiaras available to their position, the Mikasa branch of the Imperial Family has worn several magnificent antique jewels, particularly Princess Takamado, and it seems they have several antique jewels in their possession from various other branches of the Imperial Family.

It is thought that the Tiara of Princess Itsuko Nashimoto’s daughter, Crown Princess Yi Bangja of Korea, was acquired for Princess Sayako and is now worn by Princess Aiko.

For the past 25 years, Princess Akiko has only worn a Mikimoto Pearl and Diamond Tiara which she received on her 20th Birthday. Following the death of her grandmother, Princess Mikasa, last year, Princess Akiko has become the head of the Mikasa-no-miya branch of the Imperial Family, and thus she has chosen to wear new Jewels  reflecting her new position.

Now, Princess Akiko wore Princess Itsuko Nashimoto’s Diamond Fringe Tiara atop her head while the other Diamond Tiara was worn as a Necklace for the New Year’s Reception at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Let’s hope we get to see these jewels worn again soon, maybe in the opposite configurations, and other antique jewels which may have been hidden in the Imperial Vaults.

Meiji Scroll Tiara