Bisbee daily review., 1915-11-12
SACRED TREASURES
ENTER CORONATION
CEREMONIES OF JAPS

TOXIC, Nov. 11.-Of first necessity
N understanding the meaning of the
present coronation ceremonies is a
reading and comprehension of the
story of Japan's Cacred Treasures.
These treasures which number three
md which signify the sovereignty Of
the Emperor we're handed down by
Grand ancestress of the japanese ma
ion, who, according to legend, lived
the Heavenly regions. When her
grandson, Ningino-mikoto, was about
o descend to Earth from Heaven to
'eign over the land of the Rising Sun
ihe gave him the Sacred Mirror, called
fadano-kagami; the Divine Sword
nown as Murakumo-no-Tsurugi and
he Sacred Jewel, or Yasakani-no-
dagatama, saying to him at the same
ime: when thou lookest upon this
nirror let it be as thou we're looking
It me. Let it be with thee in thy
TALL and on thy floor"
This mirror with the sword and the
ewel sometimes called also the bead
ecklace, constitute the Three Divine
treasures of the imperial ancestors,
ymbolizing respectively knowledge,
'ourage and Mercy, the necessary at
ributes of a great sovereign These
Divine Treasures have, as the i'm
)erial regalia OF Japan, been handed
own by the descendants Of Amater-
au Omikami who have sat the throne
rpnpraffou aftar uouoratfou
Also, the Sun Goddess gave another
Injunction to her heir:
This land, she spoke, lis the re-
ZION over which my descendants shall
ule for eternity. Go, my child, and
nay prosperity be with thy dynasty
lways and may it, like Heaven and
Garth, endure for ages eternal"
Sver since the descent to earth of
he grandson of the Sun Goddess,
,ach of the one hundred and twenty
wo Emperors who took his seat on
he throne inherited the Three Divine
treasures of his imperial ancestors.
nus it is distinctly set forth in the
imperial court law promulgated in
$50 by the late Emperor Mutsuhito
hat: Upon the demise of the EN-
)eror the imperial heir shall ascend
he throne and shall acquire the
Divine Treasures of the Imperial An
sestors."
OF the three imperial regalia, the
Sacred Mimmor is now preserved and
yorshiped at the Great Shrine of Ise;
he Sword at the Shrine of Atsuta,
4 few miles from the city of Nagoya
nd the Jewel or bead necklace to-
yether with replicas of the mirror and
word in the imperial palace at To
kio.
The Grand Shrine of Ise now forms
he Mecca of Japan, and pilgrims
rom all parts of the Empire throns
here annually in hundreds of thou
ands to pay their homage to the
spirit of the sun Goddess. the ances-
ress of the Japanese nation, repre-
ented by the Divine Mirror
The fourth in the direct line of oes-
ent from the grandson of the sun
Goddess was Jimmu Tenno, the frs,
Emperor of Japan, whose accession to
he throne in the year $50 b. C. is
aiken as the beginning of national
history in the records of Japan.
Leaving his abode at Hyuga in Kyu-
hu, Jimmu started on an expedition
o the east, and after a campaign last
ng for years brought under his sway
he province of Yamato and the
leighboring territory. He established
his capital at Kashihabara, some miles
Instant from the present site of Kioto
md there assembled the throne, This
accession of the first Emperor took
place in the year $50 B c. and the
went marks the beginning of anthem
ic chronology as the first years OF
he Japanese era.
If one sought a parallel in the West,
he Divine Treasures might be com