By AYAKO NAKADA/ Staff Writer
April 22, 2025 at 18:47 JST
Princess Aiko, center, and Princess Kako chat with guests at the imperial family’s spring garden party in Tokyo on April 22. (Pool)
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako’s spring garden party on April 22 debuted a significant change in format—the first in the annual event’s more than 60 years—to allow more interaction between guests and the imperial family.
This year’s event welcomed about 1,400 distinguished guests, including famed manga artist Tetsuya Chiba and celebrated ballet dancer Yoko Morishita.
For the first time since 1963, when the event began being held at the Akasaka Imperial Garden in Tokyo, the imperial family split into three groups, each taking separate routes to greet guests during the reception. Previously, only one route had been taken.
The change was designed to ease crowding and allow more attendees to interact with the royals.
The imperial couple, along with their daughter, Princess Aiko, and other members of the imperial family, arrived at the garden shortly after 1:40 p.m.
After greeting several guests, they began moving along their designated paths through the sprawling 190,000-square-meter garden.
Professional golfer Isao Aoki spoke briefly with Naruhito and Masako, suggesting they play a round of golf together someday.
The garden party, held each spring and fall, offers guests a refined atmosphere, featuring traditional Japanese music performed by the Imperial Household Agency’s orchestra and seasonal flowers blooming throughout the venue.
The wide range of culinary offerings at the event included barbecued lamb from the agency’s own farm.
The new path system was introduced in response to increasing concerns about congestion and guest safety.
In recent years, tightly packed crowds along the single royal route led to long wait times and instances of guests feeling unwell.
The updated format saw the emperor and empress proceed along the original path, while Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko led one separate route, and younger royals including Aiko and Princess Kako followed another, engaging with guests in more spacious lawn areas.
“This was a major challenge for us,” said a senior agency official. “If there are areas to improve, we’ll take those lessons going forward.”
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