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Post by Admin on Nov 11, 2019 18:05:51 GMT
Tens of thousands of flag-waving spectators have cheered Japan’s new emperor during a rare open-top car parade that was rescheduled after a deadly typhoon. Some in the crowd camped overnight to get a prime spot by the palace for the 30-minute parade featuring Emperor Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako. The event was one of the final events marking Naruhito’s ascension to the throne after his father, Akihito, earlier this year became the first Japanese emperor in two centuries to abdicate. The royal couple emerged from the palace moments before 3.00pm (0600 GMT), with the emperor wearing formal western clothing and the empress dressed in a long cream gown and jacket, wearing a tiara passed down by her predecessor. Security was high for the event, with long queues forming hours before the parade and thousands of police deployed to search bags and usher spectators through metal detectors.
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Post by Admin on Nov 15, 2019 21:35:41 GMT
Japanese Emperor Naruhito, dressed in pure white robes, was ushered into a dark wooden hall by torchlight on Thursday night to start his last major accession rite after becoming emperor this spring: spending the night with a goddess. The “Daijosai” rite centers on Amaterasu Omikami, the sun goddess from whom conservatives believe the emperor is descended. It is the most overtly religious of the series of rituals marking Naruhito’s taking over after his father Akihito’s abdication. The rite, which lasts until early Friday morning, has prompted lawsuits from critics ranging from Communists to Christians, who say it smacks of the militaristic past and violates the constitutional separation of church and state since the government pays the 2.7 billion yen ($25 million) cost. Legend has it that the emperor has conjugal relations with the goddess, a view put forth in pre-World War Two textbooks, an era when the emperor was considered divine. Naruhito’s grandfather Hirohito, in whose name Japan fought the war, was stripped of his divinity after Japan lost.
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