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Japan emperor pays last homage at Shinto shrine before abdication
TOKYO, April 18, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Japanese Emperor Akihito made his last
pilgrimage to the country’s holiest Shinto shrine on Thursday, as people
lined the route to catch a glimpse of the 85-year-old ahead of his abdication
this month.
Akihito and his wife Michiko’s last trip as emperor and empress to the Ise
Jingu shrine in central Japan is part of a series of abdication ceremonies
ahead of his retirement on April 30, to make way for his son Crown Prince
Naruhito.
Cheering wellwishers waved national flags as the royal couple’s motorcade
headed to the shrine, dedicated to sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami — the
emperor’s mythical ancestor.
“I’m touched. I’m very happy to have seen them,” a beaming woman told
public broadcaster NHK.
The couple are making a three-day tour through Friday with a legendary
sword and a jewel, encased in black boxes and carried by chamberlains.
The two items, together with an ancient mirror, are known as “the three
sacred treasures” — imperial regalia said to date back more than a millenium
bequeathed to the imperial line by Amaterasu.
On Thursday, Akihito brought the two treasures with him to the shrine to
use them as part of the day’s rituals of reporting his abdication to his
ancestors, according to the Imperial Household Agency.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1237 hrs