Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-05-28
THE EMPEROR
TO Be CROWNED
IMPOSING CEREMONIES Gov.
ERING FOUR YEARS TO
OBTAIN CROWN.
tNSAR|NEO GODDESS SPEAKS
Many Weird Customs to Go
Through Before the Ruler Is
Made Supreme.

Through Before the Ruler Is
Made Supreme.
Toxic, May 27.-Although it |
nearly two years since he da1;h o
the Emperor Mutsuhito, i. viii be an
other two years before his successor
the Emperor Yoshihiro, is fully en-
throaed, according to all the japanese
rites. The p%ostponemen- Of the core
nation festivities, which had been al
ranged for the coming fall IS bemoan
ed by the whole Japanese people, bu
the death of the Dowager F,1lres'
1ecessitates a long peri)d iruona
mourning aid it is & saciil ,giou!
thing to use at the coronation cave
mony the seed Of ice hat has beer
ripened during a seas ~ & ST rcow.
Part Of Rite Observed.
"A part of the corolati>1 ,i,Lal hit
been observed prior to the death o.
the Empress Dowager, however, the
Imperial ancestors had been duly
notified that the ceremonies were
planned for the coming fall, and upon
the death of the Dowager Empress, the
ancestors were again visited at their
various shrines and notified that the
ceremonies would be deferred until
1916.
Goddess Enshrined.
In Toxic, the Emperor himself
made the announcement before the
Imperial sanctuary in the palace
This is the most sacred of the shrines
where the spirit of the grand ances-
tor, Amaterasu-Omikami. goddess OF
the sum-" is enshrined. Here, also,
are the three sacred symbols of the
throne, the metal mirror, the sword,
and the coma-shaped jewel. around
each of which is woven the tradition
that they were all handed down by
the goddess of the sum-" the Imperial
grand ancestor, to her grandson,
Ni1igi-no-mikoto, on the occasion of
the latter's descent to the island EN-.
pire from the heavenly region. When
the sun goddess conferred these treas
ures upon her grandson she solemnly
told him to respect them and enshrine
them il the palace.
Sun Goddess Talked to Emperor.
She told him that the sacred mirror
(Which was the most important of the
three, representing the spirit Of the
u goddess) should be held in high.
est respect and the imperial descend
ant should regard it as he would the
spirit Of his grandmother. The treas
nres were handed down to Emperor
Jimmu. the first imperial n through
five d%ynasties and then to the present
Emperor as the symbol of the throne.
Sword in Snakes Tail.
The sacred sword, ole of the three
treasures also has a romatic history.
In the dim prehistoric days the broth
er Of Amaterasu Omikami, who was a
very heroic and restless diety came
down to the island empire, being
driven out from the heavenly region
by the sun goddess. While travelling
through the province Of ,Izumo he hap
pe1ed to kill a very big boa-constrict-
or which had been terrifying the peo-
pie and found a rare sword il it's tail.
Returning to the heavenly region he
presented it to the sun goddess, who
later bestowed it to her grand son
together with the mirror and jewel.
The coma-shaped jewel. last of the
sacred treasures, is also believed to
have been made at the time of the Sun
goddess by one of her followers but
10 exact description Of the jewel is
available. That is a sacred secret OF
the sanctuary.
Impressive Ceremonies.
The ceremonies at this imperial
sanctuary were impressive. All of
the participating officials were in full
dress, chamberlains. court ritualists,
and court ladies being attired il an
cient, ceremonial costumes. The
Emperor, attended by Count Toda.
grand master, of ceremonies. and
Count Watanabe, household minister.
made his entry. followed by cham.
berlains who carried the sacred sym.
bols. Afterward the Empress entered
with equal pomp, escorted by numer.
Gus court ladies and princesses, and
Baron Hara, vice chief of the corona.
tio1 commission.
Informs Coming Coronation.
When all were; seated, the Emperor
proceeded to a place before the sane
tuary and, after making a reverent
bow, read an address informing the
ancestral souls Of the date of the cor.
0nati0n ceremonies. The Empress al.
SO went before the shrine, followed in
order by all Of the members of the
imperial family, making the same
Similar ceremonies were conducted
before the shrines of Koreiden and
Shinden, with the Emperor participat-
ing, Imperial messengers were. at the
same time despatched to other shrin-
es. Later all of the original ceremon-
les were repeated to announce to the
Imperial ancestors the postponement
of the coronation for another two
years.
Club Notes