UK – Japan Costume Design Contest Winners

In June 2024 at the invitation of King Charles, the Emperor and Empress of Japan finally made their much anticipated state visit to the UK.

To celebrate this special occasion, The Japan Society invited children of all ages to design a UK-Japan costume for a set of traditional emperor and empress Hina dolls. Entrants were asked to design costumes that celebrated the friendship between the UK and Japan and incorporated elements to represent both countries. See below for the results and gallery.

7 and Under | 8 to 11s | 12 to 16s | Image Gallery

Contest Results

We were thrilled to receive almost 200 entries from children across the UK, spanning from Northern Ireland to the South of England, as well as a few from overseas. Choosing the winners for the contest was extremely difficult and the judges were blown away by everyone's creativity and attention to detail! The Japan Society would like to thank everyone who took part for their wonderful entries and hope that you enjoyed learning about the emperor and empress hina dolls and designing a costume for them.

After much careful deliberation, we are delighted to announce the results!

See below for the winners and runners up in each age category and other honourable mentions.

Ages 7 and Under

Congratulations to Tangtam, the winner of this category and the runners up Max and Sofia! All three made beautiful use of eye-catching colours and patterns which really made their designs stand out.


Winner! Tangtam (6)	Runner up Max (7)	Runner up Sofia (5)

Ages 8 – 11s

Congratulations to Zoe, the winner of this category and the runners up Ela and Margaret! These designs were chosen for the stunning combination of unique UK and Japanese elements, and beautifully thought out.


Winner! Zoe (10)	Runner up Ela (9)	Runner up Margaret (11)

Ages 12 – 16s

A final congratulations to Himaya, the winner of this category and runners up Yasmin and Samuel! All three were incredibly creative designs, with lovely, well chosen details. We especially love the use of traditional Japanese patterns and the incorporation of details from each country in the UK.


Winner! Himaya (16)	Runner up Yasmin (14)	Runner up Samuel (12)

Honourable Mentions

It was incredibly difficult to choose just three winners for each age category, and so here are some more of the judges favourites!


Isla (9), Northern Ireland	Via (11), Wales	Niliya (11), Iran

Congratulations once again to the winners and thank you to everyone who took part!

A huge thank you to Japan Centre for sponsoring this competition! Their generous support has allowed young artists across the country to take part in this celebration of the Japan-UK relationship.