The Prescott daily news., 1912-09-13
ANCIENT RITES
 FUR DEAD RULER FUNERAL CEREMONIES OF LATE EMPEROR MUTSUHITA OF
 JAPAN BEGIN.
ALL NATIONS REPRESENTED
Cemetery, the Casket Being Con- veyed on Great Breaking
 Cart Drawn by Oxen.

Tokio, Sept. 13.-Ancient traditions and religious rites mingled with mod ern diplomatic pageantry today when the ceremonies attending the burial of the late Emperor Mutsuhito, who died on July 30, were inaugurated. The United States had a leading part i1 the modern show, in which shared world, but in the ancient rites Japan was alone.
 Funeral rites of the Shinto religion, so old that their origin is lost in the mists of antiquity marked today's ceremony and will continue until the final interment of the mikado in the ancient imperial cemetery near Kioto on Sunday.
 The event is more than an expres. sion of great national grief. It is | important In that 1t shows the high ranking place of Japan among nations of the earth. Secretary of State Knox, Brig. Gen. J. J. Pershing, Rear Ad- miral A. R. Reynolds, Ambassador Brien and Ransford Miller, chief of the division of far eastern affairs, rep resent the United States and the various departments of the American government.
 Of the mourning empire of fifty millions of subjects, more than 100000 gathered here in Tokio and expressed by the depth of their emotion the sin cerity of their patriotic attachment tc the reigning family. Gorgeous cere monials partaking of the quality of state events as well as religious page antry make up the three days of pub lie and private services. Although | $750,000 was appropriated by the diet for the expense of the funeral, the actual cost will go far above that fig ure. It is hard to express the magni | tude and grandeur of the event in or der to convey an impression of the actual dimensions.
 Ceremonies of Today. At the appointed hour of 6 this morning the first ceremonies of the funeral began. The representatives oi the foreign governments, including Mir. Knox and his aides, assembled in 1.-the principal audience chamber of the imperial palace. There they were met by the elder statesmen, the members of the house of peers and all the high officials of tn Japanese government. officials of the Japanese government
 Funeral Car Drawn by Oxen.
 Although the procession did no. start for Aoyama until late in the day the lines began forming early under direction of officers from the army and navy Thousands of weeping men and women hung upon the outskirts or crowded forward with mumbled words of prayer.
 Following a Japanese custom inaug urated more than thousand years kago. the imperial coffin was placed on the funeral car by one hundred men gof Hase village. Kioto. These men swere forbidden to utter a word during the ceremonies. Seven gigantic oxen were attached to the enormous flu neral car which had been especially tDu1lt lOT tHlb OCCdStOu. AS tuc piS- lcession moved of, the wheels of the cart, which had been constructed to Icreak mournfally. gave off a lugubri- ous sound. Slowly and ponderously this great. rough, five-ton hearse moved forward behind the soldiers and through lane the sides of which were banked with troops from the regular army.
 ' The procession was headed by tho Imperial body guards. They were fol Bowed by vehicles bearing thousands upon thousands of various kinds of flowers Some were arranged in the forms of cones 10 feet high. carried by men in the dress of ancient mourn ers. They wore long hmonos of white linen and each wore tall black cap with long peak.
 Emperor Yoshihito did not accom-. pany the cortege. He was driven to Aoyama in the state coach.
 Ancient Rites at Cemetery.
 At least 100000 persons were gath cred at the great cemetery when the concourse arrived. Presently were heard the wild, weird notes of the