1st of Abdication-Related Ceremonies Held at Imperial Palace

Tokyo, March 12 (Jiji Press)--The first of a series of ceremonies related to Japanese Emperor Akihito's abdication was held at the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo on Tuesday morning. The day's ceremony was designed for the Emperor to report his plan to abdicate and the date of his abdication to the Imperial Family's ancestors and deities. It was attended by some 40 people, including Crown Prince Naruhito, Prince Akishino and his wife, Princess Kiko, as well as officials of the Imperial Household Agency and the Imperial Guard Headquarters. At 10 a.m. (1 a.m. GMT), Emperor Akihito, dressed in "korozen-no-goho," a traditional costume made for exclusive use by the Emperor, entered Kashikodokoro, one of the three Imperial Palace Sanctuaries, where the Imperial ancestor Amaterasu-Omikami is enshrined. The Emperor made a deep bow when entering the sanctuary. Seated at the chancel inside Kashikodokoro, the Emperor bowed again and read out a statement that said he will abdicate on April 30. After that, the Emperor made the same report respectively at the other two sanctuaries--Koreiden and Shinden. Koreiden enshrines the souls of past emperors and Imperial Family members, while Shinden enshrines various Japanese deities. While the Emperor performed the ceremony, his wife, Emperor Michiko, stayed at the couple's residence at the Imperial Palace. On Tuesday afternoon, a ceremony was held at the residence for the Emperor to send messengers to Ise Jingu, a Shinto shrine complex in the central Japan prefecture of Mie, the mausoleum of Emperor Jinmu in Nara Prefecture, western Japan, and the mausoleums of the four previous emperors. The number of abdication-related ceremonies totals 11. The last one will be the "Taiirei-Seiden-no-Gi" abdication ceremony, which will take place on April 30. The Imperial abdication will be the first since the country's current constitution took effect in 1947. Crown Prince Naruhito, the Emperor's eldest son, is set to accede to the throne on May 1. END