Friday, February 24

There is no parade, no glorious celebration of the long and illustrious life of Tenno Taisho (The Late Emperor.) There is no great ceremony where the Priests proclaim the Emperor's divinity, his mantle of God's Head - carried from Jimmu, the First Emperor and reincarnation of Amaterasu, Goddess of the Sun.

A steady rain falls from the gray Tokyo skyline as three coffins are prepared: one for the Emperor and two for certain possessions of his which he could not do without - even if he has passed into Heaven.

At 7:35 AM, the new Emperor Akihito, first son of the departed Emperor, gave a small private speech to the Imperial Family and their close friends.

The funeral procession through Tokyo began at 9:35. The three coffins, carried in the back of black Hearse, were carried two miles to the Shinjuku Gyouen Garden. A song, composed by the late Emperor's great-grandmother, played as the hearse passed by the National Diet - the core of Japan's modern democracy - and the National Stadium - where the Emperor blessed the opening of the 1964 Olympics, signalling the nation's emergence from post-war reconstruction.

Upon arrival to the Garden, a further procession towards the Emperor's mausoleum was followed by a Shinto, and then State ceremony.

Thus here ends 62 years of reign. Thus here ends the life of Hirohito, son of Yoshihito, grandson of Mutusuhito. A father to the nation, whose bespectacled eyes saw the transformation of Japan from Empire to Democracy.

神々は私たちの最愛の皇帝を守ります