New Britain herald., 1915-11-16

Russian ambassador and dozen of the i diplomatic corps on behalf Of the Ior- eign envoys and representatives, re- sponded to the imperial address. lie expressed their felicitations on the happy event of the coronation and thelr wish for the prosperity, hapPl- ness and longevity of the imperial | reign and also of the empress, the l crown prince and the members of the 1 imperial family He also voiced ms belief that His Majesty's wish for the | growth of the amity and friendly rela- | tlonship between Japan and their l countries. Finally he rendered the l profound thanks of the foreign en- | voys and representatives for the honor l to be participants in the great coro- l nation ceremonials and festivities At the conclusion of his speech Senator Malewsky, in the name of the foreign powers, led an enthusiastic "banzai' for the emperor.
 Wine Presented.
 Subsequently the sacred white and black sake wine were presented to the emperor and then to all the mem- bers of the imperial family, dignitar- i ies, foreign representatives and other guests, to be drunk as a toast to the
 
 the Yuki and Suki districts were brought in by court officials to the garden of the hall and arrayed on the floor. Food and other sake wine were then presented to the emperor by chamberlain and distributed among the guests by the attendants.
 The entertainment of old Japan was started by the performance of the "kume'' dance, which is more than | twenty centuries old. This dance dates back to the beginning of the reign of Emperor Jimmu, founder and first l head of the Japanese empire, who, 1 while engaged in his primitive expedi- l tion against the aboriginal natives in 1 the main island, caused a feast to be i given to his soldiers in the camp and l personally composed a song to be sung to encourage the rank and file. After the feast his army routed the 1 enemy in a desperate engagement History further holds that at the l time of the Daijo-Sai ceremony, which was held in the first year of Jokan, i 1,O56 years ago, the Kume was per formed by twenty dancers in the an 1 cient court costume with drawn swords in their hands.
 No Song Sung.
 They were accompanied only by the koto, and no song was sung. At the Daijo-Sai ceremony in the first year 1 of Bunsei, 97 years ago, the ancient song was revived, but not for long. Thirty-seven years ago the song was again revived at the desire of the late 1 Emperor Mutsuhito Tonight the dance was given by four court musi- clans who carried swords, and in old time costumes danced to the music of the drum, harp, flute and flageolet. While the long list of dainties was furnished the guests, they were re- galed by the "Fuzoku" dance, given 1 by eight courtiers wearing the far naers costume of centuries ago. They were led to the stage by the governors of the prefectures, where the sacred rice fields are located, and they danced to the tunes of the ancient folklore songs of the rice regions.
 Emperor Leads Applause.
 The "gosechi," reserved or the eli max, was followed with profound in terest and the noble performers were overwhelmed with applause, led by the emperor himself. The "Gosechi' dance is supposed to date back to about twelve centuries. The story goes that the Emperor Temmu was playing on koto, an old-fashioned musical instrument, one day when a strange looking cloud made it's appearance over the top of the mountain in front of the palace. In this cloud the emperor saw a beautiful angel dancing to the strains of his music. The angel by turning the sleeves of her robe five times. caused the name "gosechi' to appear. And so the dance came into history.
 In ancient times the dancing party was made up of two daughters of gov ernors and three daughters of court nobles. From the very first it has been insisted that they must be young, beautiful and unmarried. Tonight's dancers were attired in kimonos of gay colors, wore particularly ornate hair pins and carried court fans.
 Silver Flower For Emperor.
 When the musicale was concluded a chamberlain proceeded to the imperial dais and presented a silver flower to the emperor, according to the ancient traditional formalities of the court, The design was the cherry blossom Similar flowers were then presented to the crown prince, the princes and princesses of the blood, foreign en- voys and representatives, dignitaries and all participants as souvenirs of the happy event.
 To the foreigners particularly the function was absOrbingly interesting and enjoyable. At the end of the func- tion the imperial host retired from the hall first, accompanied by his retinue, and was then followed by his guests. SEVEN KILLED IN RAID. II Rom Nov. 16.-It is officially an-