Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-09-03
FUNERAL OF MIKADO
A Most Spectacular Ceremony That
Will Last Three Days.

line Of mikados.
OF all the features attending the
burial Of Nutsuhito, the strangest,
| perhaps, will be the costuming Of the
| gravediggers, who will be attired to
represent black winged birds. The idea
| Is that birds, being creatures devoid Of
understanding, commit no sacrilege in
perching on his majesty's tomb. The
| interment is only the last scene In q
long series OF mortuary functions
which may be said to have begun i'm
mediately after the soul Of the late
emperor left his body. These func-
tions, which though private are very
elaborate, occupy about six weeks.
Meanwhile the body Of the emperor
lies in a quadruple coffin. the inner
most Of four rectangular boxes of
white wood, the outer one being nine
feet long and four feet wide. This cas-
| ket, which has a roof-shaped top,
stands on a dais in the middle Of a
chamber in the imperial palace. 1t is
covered with a white cloth-white be-
ing the mourning color in Japan.
Soon after death the body was
| washed and robed in white. 1t was
then preserved in vermilion-the cost
ly and beautiful scarlet pigment de-
rived from cinnabar, the ore Of the
mercury. This Is q kind Of embalm-
ing understood only by the high priest
of the Shinto religion. who hands it
down from generation to generation as
a pious secret.
While awaiting burial the remains
of the emperor are watched night and
day by his successor and the new
empress. by the dowager empress, and
by the imperial princes and princesses
who take turns at the melancholy
vigil. All Of Toxic is in the depths of
mourning, and not a flag or lantern Is
to be seen. Music Of whatever kind Is
forbidden.
The Precious "lfay."
Meantime two tablets Of polished
wood with gilt letters have been pre-
pared bearing inscriptions relating to
the defunct potentate. These are
called "ifays," and one Of them will
be placed in the tomb later, while the
other has been set up in a chamber
specially assigned for the purpose.
There sweetmeats, fruit, and tea are
placed before 1t, and food is regularly
offered three times a day, as II to a
living person.
The "ifay" is indescribably pre-
cious. It Is supposed to represent the
departed monarch. After the burial 1t
will be put into box and transferred
to an apartment Of the palace which
contains the "ifays" Of all the ances-
tors of the family. Every morning 1t
will be taken out and incense will be
burned before 1t. But this Is only the
beginning. for every month, on the
day .tof the death, for 100 years to
come, food will be set before the tab
let.
All the arrangements for the funer-
al are under the charge Of Prince
Fushini The public services, con-
forming to the Shinto ritual, will be-
gin early in the morning Of Sept. 1S,
when, at an appointed hour, the for
eign representatives, including our
own special ambassador, Mr. Knox,
and his aids, will assemble in the
principal audience chamber of the i'm
perial palace, meeting there the elder
statesmen, the members Of the house
Of peers, and all the high officials Of
the government
The palace in which the emperor died
and wherein his remains now lie in
state, Is a structure very different
from any building occupied for resi-
dental purposes by potentates Of the
western world. 1t is an immense
rambling edifice Of one story, built of
wood, with a tile roof. The interior Is
thoroughly Japanese. 1t Is surrounded
by a deep moat and by a high stone
wall nearly four miles in circuit,
which incloses extensive gardens. But
perhaps the most interesting single
fact about the palace Is that it Is
earth h-quake-proof. Japan Is a coun-
try Of frequent and severe earthquakes
and the imperial residence, erected on
piers of reinforced concrete, Is con-
sidered to represent the utmost i'm
aginable skill in anti-seismic architec-
ture.
During the progress Of the funeral
services in the palace procession will
be formed, which will be to some ex
tent military in character, but inter-
spersed with many features wholly
strange and even extraordinary from
our point Of view. 1t will escort the
emperor's coffin to the imperial bury
ing ground at Aoyama-the district of
the green hills" on the outskirts Of
Toxic. There, on the summit Of a
steep wooded hill, a spacious cemetery
was set apart for the emperor's family
when the court was removed from the
old capital, Kioto, forty years ago.
The procession will be headed by
the imperial body guards-picked
| troops corresponding to the household
regiments of Great Britain. They will
be followed by thousands Of stands Of
flowers of many colors, arranged In
cones ten feet high. with stems Of
bamboo, In order that they. may be
stood up In the ground at the ceme-
terry later. Each cone will be carried
by a man in ancient mourner's dress
| long kimono of white linen and tall
| black cap with high peak.
Next will come the mounted police,
in modern dress. superbly drilled and
| these will be followed by what looks
| like a moving forest-thousands Of
"sakaki" trees with roots intact. which
| carried by men. are to be planted later
| about the tomb. The dark green
boughs Of these sacred trees will be
relieved to the eye by streamers Of
red and white paper bearing pious in
scriptions and prayers for the repose
Of the emperor's soul.
After them will come many tall
standards. red and white, each OF