Japanese Emperor To Officially Proclaim Enthronement In Colorful Ceremony On Tuesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd October, 2019) Japanese Emperor Naruhito, who ascended to the Chrysanthemum throne in May after the health-related abdication of his father, Akihito, will officially declare his enthronement on Tuesday in an elaborate ritual dating back centuries.

According to the plan unveiled by the Japanese government in July, the emperor will ascend to the Takamikura throne, which sits on a 16 feet-high octagonal dais, wearing a dark-orange court gown called a sokutai, while Empress Masako takes the smaller so-called august seat beside him and chamberlains lay imperial regalia and seals next to the imperial couple in the "Pine Chamber" of the imperial palace.

The emperor will then deliver an address before some 2,000 guests, including heads of state, royals and other important guests from more than 170 countries.

According to Japanese officials, Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Indian President Ram Nath Kovind, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and many other foreign dignitaries are expected to attend the festivities.

Foreign royal guests will include King Philippe of Belgium, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, King Felipe VI of Spain and Prince Charles of the United Kingdom.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is then expected to reply with his own address, taking the lead in a "three cheers of Banzai" from all the guests in attendance to wish a long life to Emperor Naruhito.

Ceremonial officials and musicians in colorful traditional gowns were planned to be lined in the courtyard decorated with flags, but this part of the ceremony may be moved inside the palace due to potential strong wind gusts and heavy rains in the Japanese capital on Tuesday amid the approaching Typhoon Neoguri.

After the ceremony, guests will proceed to the court banquet, during which they will be entertained by the traditional Japanese court music and dance known as bugaku.

The following day, Abe and his spouse will also host a banquet for important foreign guests, which is also expected to have a rather rich cultural program of theater performances in four traditional forms, namely, a classical Noh performance � the oldest continuous theater tradition in the world � and its comic accompaniment, Kyogen, as well as an intense and colorful Kabuki show and Bunraku puppet theater.

The parade, which also followed the festivities during the enthronement of the now-retired Emperor Akihito 30 years ago, was delayed by the Japanese Cabinet until November 10 to properly address the aftermath of Typhoon Hagibis. The typhoon, which was the strongest to hit the nation in decades, caused massive floods, landslides and an unprecedented level of destruction, claiming the lives of 83 people and injuring 395 more.