New Britain herald., 1915-11-10
the suspicious year of coronation and
 be sanctfied by prosperity, health and
Messenger Announces.

l was dispatched here from the imper- ial headquarters in Kioto to announce 1 the celebration of the coronation cer- l emony before the Korei-den, shrine dedicated to the souls of the imperial ancestors in the prehistoric deity per- l iod. The ceremony before the shrines | which are located in the imperial pal ace. was conducted in a solemn man. ner according to Shinto ritual by court | officials. Imperial messengers were also dispatched from Kioto on similar missions to the great s-rine at Isle and to the principal Shinto shrlnes l throughout the country, where similar ceremonies were performed this morn ing. The imperial messengers to the prefect- ral shrines (there is state shrine in each province) were repre- scented by prefectural governors.
 The day was signalized by informal meetines and reunions given by pub lio or private corporations in honor or the occasion.
 Okuma Plays Leading Role.
 Politics of an unusual type failed to prevent Japan's grand aid man Pre.n1.. Count Shigenobu Okuma, from laying a leading role this aI- ternoon at the second great corona 1 ton ceremony.
 Incensed at Okuma's retention Ill power. despite revelations of corrup- 1 tion during the cabinet crisis Of lasI 1 sunni, 1T, members of the parliament tary pp sition, launched a cam paign la Id upon curious super stitious s; ntiment. They argued that in conduc ting the ceremony of the ! coronation of the emperor the prln- 1 ciple of purity should prevail throughout. Any form of imperfec- 1 ton must be scrupulously avoided, and any physical disability or de- formity was a form of imperfection. Count Okuma was therefore dlsqual- flied for conducting the ceremony of coronation, because of the fact that when a political fanatic threw bomb at him twenty-seven years ago he suffered the loss of one of his legs by amputation.
 Correlated Objection.
 A correlated objection inspired by ultra a-conservatives among the Shin to ritualists who feared the endan. gering of the sanctity of the imper- ial throne was based on the idea that the alleged political corruption which forced the retirement of Wis count Oura in the Okuma ministry was irreconciliable with the prin- ciple guiding the sacred cerem onies of coronation. These objections were generally received with ridicule by the people, the campaign of the op- position collapsed utterly and Count Okpma representing the now consti- tGtlonally governed people of Japan participated in this afternoons cere- mony as figure second only in inn portance to the Emperor himself and the members of the imperial family.
 In the morning Emperor Yoshihito had informed the spirit of his imperial grand ancestress of his formal accession and of his acqui- sition of the Three Sacred Treasures. This afternoons ceremony belonged in a special way to the people for 1t was dedicated to the purpose of announcing to them the accession of the Mikado. The emperor actually mounted the throne ana read an ad- dress to his subjects who, as during the morning rites, were represented by the members of the Diet, govern ors of prefectures and the mayors of the cities of Kioto and Tokio. The function was held in the renowned Shishiiden hall where the illustrious l monarch, Mutsuhito, became emper- or and which, except for reconstruc- ton in several directions, retained its ancient simplicity and beauty. Shishiiden, which signifies purple hall of mystery" faces south and is made of the sacred hinowi wood with its roof matched from the bark | of the same tree
 Scenes of Ceremony.
 1 The scene of the ceremony was ! laid partly within the main hall and partly in the open air courtway up- on which the hall looked down. Halls l for the spectators extended on either side of the courtway. As the Japan ] csc doors and walls were removed the arrangement gave all partici- pants an opportunity to see the set ting of the courtway The stairs | leading to the throne and the throne ] itself.
 On either side of the stairs lead ing to the interior of the Shishiiden | stood the famed cherry tree and the noble orange tree. These class l ical trees were the starting point of the courtway decorations which grew into a splendid picture as the Varf- ous officials in their fascinating gowns of ancient Japan marched in,
 one by one, and took their allotted stations.
 To the south of the cherry tree was tall banner of scarlet brocade bear
 ing the embroidered figure of the sun,
 While south of the orange tree was a
 banner of white hrocade worked with the figure of the moon. Next to the
 sun banner was larger banner with
 the pattern of the "Good-omened
 Clouds of Five Colors'' and an em-
 broidered figure of the Yaragarasu or
 the eight headed crow which tradi-
 tionally is supposed to have guided