Her Imperial Highness Princess Kako's visit to the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden

At the invitation of the Brazilian government, Her Imperial Highness Princess Kako is visiting the country on the occasion of the 130th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Japan, with 2025 designated as the “Year of Brazil-Japan Friendship Exchange”. The princess visited the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden on Friday, June 13, as part of her schedule of engagements in Rio de Janeiro. At the JBRJ, she was received by the president Sergio Besserman Vianna and the directors of the organization.

Her Imperial Highness Princess Kako is the daughter of His Highness Prince Akishino, brother of His Majesty Emperor Naruhito. This is her first visit to Brazil. The last time a member of the Japanese imperial family visited Brazil was in 2018, when Her Imperial Highness Princess Mako, Princess Kako's older sister, visited 13 cities to celebrate the 110th anniversary of the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants in Brazil.

Princess Kako planted a sapling of an endangered species of ipê-amarelo - Handroanthus cristatus (A.H. Gentry) S. Grose in the Japanese Garden at the Botanical Garden. Inaugurated in 1935, the Japanese Garden has been planted with saplings by various members of the Japanese imperial family, such as His Majesty Emperor Naruhito, who visited the country in 2008 and planted an ipê sapling.

This June, in order to welcome the visit of the imperial entourage, the Japanese Garden underwent some restoration work, including the bridges (“hashi” in Japanese) on the site. The term hashi in Japanese means “what connects two ends”. In this sense, it is very symbolic of this connection and celebration of 130 years of Brazil-Japan friendship. The guidelines for the restoration of the Japanese garden are the same as those that guide the conservation and restoration of historic gardens at the Rio Botanical Garden, seeking to preserve the different cultural manifestations in a single space - says Botanical Garden landscape designer Ana Rosa Oliveira, who supervised the restoration work and studied landscape design at the University of Chiba in Japan.

The princess also visited the Sumaúma, the Fountain of the Muses and the Aleia das Palmeiras-imperiais in the JBRJ Arboretum.