Japanese Enthronement Celebrations: April - October 2019

[Charlotte_Aster]

Thank you, Prisma, for all the information.
Btw, am I the only one who finds the dress code during enthronment ceremony rather confusing (white tie or morning coat for men, long or day dress for women)??

[malluu]

Originally Posted by Charlotte_Aster

Thank you, Prisma, for all the information.
Btw, am I the only one who finds the dress code during enthronment ceremony rather confusing (white tie or morning coat for men, long or day dress for women)??

I just went back and looked at the pictures of the last ceremony and I think this it the same dress code from 1990. Most people were wearing national dress or white tie/long dresses with hats but there were some that were wearing morning coat/day dress. I guess it's just to give a less formal option. One of the only ones Getty labeled in day dress was the chairman of the Soviet Union but I saw a few others.

Getty Images - November 12th

Does anyone know if hats are expected this time around? The English program in the link Prisma provided (Thank you for that!) didn't mention them.

[TRCRoyal]

The Princely Palace of Monaco declined to comment on who is representing the Grimaldi's at the enthronement :S

[sophie25]

Originally Posted by TheRoyalCouturier

The Princely Palace of Monaco declined to comment on who is representing the Grimaldi's at the enthronement :S

Why the secrecy? The have the worst communications office of all the royals in Europe. Who asked them anyway?

[Ista]

I wonder if they are waiting to see if Princess Charlene is willing to make the trip?

[TRCRoyal]

Originally Posted by sophie25

Why the secrecy? The have the worst communications office of all the royals in Europe. Who asked them anyway?

I asked them, for my website.

It might be worth mentioning that back in 2013, the palace confirmed that Prince Albert would attend the Investiture in The Netherlands alone prior to the event as Princess Charlene was travelling with her foundation.

[melina premiere]

Yes, the communication of the palace of Monaco is very bad

As I said it lastely, Charlene said in an interview in february in a South africa magazine that she would attend some rugby matches of the world cup in <japan which are taking part at Japan during all the month of october, I thought she would perhaps attend the enthronement at Japan.
But now, there are a lot of rumors about a possible pregnancy of Charlene and perhaps Charlene would not go to the Japan and Albert would go alone in Japan

[HereditaryPrincess]

Originally Posted by TheRoyalCouturier

The Princely Palace of Monaco declined to comment on who is representing the Grimaldi's at the enthronement :S

Weird. Seems like an unusual thing to decline to comment about. I wonder if they are trying to diminish the rumours that something is happening between Albert and Charlene given the fact that she is often seen absent or separate from him. (But that's not a discussion for this thread!)

[Ista]

I'm not surprised about the pregnancy rumors. All it takes is a royal woman wearing loose clothes for a couple of appearances, and the next thing you know the rumor is twins.

I find it hard to believe no one is going to attend the enthronement, so refusing to confirm one way or the other is quite odd.

[TRCRoyal]

Honestly, the Palais Princier PR team has never been consistent with what kind of information they do or do not share. I think declining to comment is either a new security measure, they're still unsure of who is going, or it's just another case of inconsistency. Time will tell.

[wartenberg7]

Originally Posted by Charlotte_Aster

Thank you, Prisma, for all the information.
Btw, am I the only one who finds the dress code during enthronment ceremony rather confusing (white tie or morning coat for men, long or day dress for women)??

It´s a similar dress coat like at the dutch opening of parliament: white tie for the men and long dresses with hats for the ladies plus decorations.
We´ve seen this in the old days at the greek royal court at the national day, day of independence or for royal weddings and christenings.


Monaco: I guess their policy seems to be, it is nobody´s business who or if anyone from the princely family attends an event or not...

[Prisma]

On September 26th, the "Saiden-Nukiho-zen-Ichinichi-Oharai" pre-harvest ritual was performed to purify the Imperial envoys and farmers who will harvest rice for the "Daijosai" in Takanezawa, Tochigi and Nantan, Kyoto.
Photos: Sankei

On September 27th, the rice was harvested from the two locations in a ceremony called the "Saiden-Nukiho-no-gi."
Photos: Asahi, Asahi 2, Sankei

Rice Harvested for Emperor's "Daijosai" Rite | Nippon.com

[...] The "Saiden-Nukiho-no-Gi" ceremony at the "Saiden" rice paddy in Takanezawa, selected to grow rice on behalf of eastern Japan, or Yuki Province, began at 10 a.m. (1 a.m. GMT) and was attended by the prefectural governor, the town mayor and others. Makeshift "Shinden," which enshrines Japanese deities, and "Inanomiden," which stores the harvested rice, were built out of tents at the ceremony site.

The "Nukiho-shi," an envoy of the Emperor dressed in traditional attire, recited a Shinto ritual prayer on harvesting the rice.

The prayers were followed by the harvesting of the rice by paddy owner Takeo Ishitsuka, 55, and 10 people selected to gather in the crop. [...]

The Nukiho-shi then checked the state of the rice, and Ishitsuka and others placed it in the Inanomiden. The ceremony lasted around 50 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIeVGw4U9mU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCmhqJv161U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbbNbICM2W0

ETA: Imperial agency alters policy, discloses ceremonial hall site - The Japan News

[...]

Construction began in earnest after a ground-breaking ceremony July 26. The goal is to finish by the end of October. The project requires about 40 structures to be built in just three months. Building the three main structures involves traditional techniques, such as using logs with the bark still attached.

Contractor Shimizu Corp. brought in about 120 expert carpenters for shrines and temples from the Kanto, Tohoku and other regions to work under a foreman who was involved in repairing the Izumo Taisha shrine in Shimane Prefecture.

[...] The previous Daijosai ceremony was marred by activities by radical guerrilla groups opposed to the accession ceremony — a number of terrorist incidents occurred around the country, including mortar launches and arson.

The East Gardens were completely closed during the construction of the Daijokyu, and the three main structures were covered with special protective tents that could repel mortars. The names of the five contractors that took part in the project were not disclosed, and workers entered and exited the site in vehicles bearing the name of a fake company.

Due to improved public safety and other factors, the agency has limited the area of restricted access in the East Gardens to only part of the Honmaru area where the Daijokyu is being built.

The agency is actively seeking publicity, taking such steps as setting up panels with pictures near the fence around the site explaining the building of the Daijokyu and other matters to visitors. [...]

Tourism is another reason for the agency’s change in policy. About 390,000 people visited the East Gardens in 1989, but more than four times that number — about 1.65 million — came last year. Foreign tourists made up more than 40 percent of the 2018 visitors.

And with construction using a massive amount of taxpayer money, the agency is also seeking to win public understanding for the endeavor. Construction is expected to cost ¥957 million. [...]

“The ceremony is not something most people are familiar with, but I hope by viewing the construction they can understand the significance of the Emperor’s praying for abundant harvests,” a senior agency official said.

[...]

[Duc_et_Pair]

Originally Posted by wartenberg7

It´s a similar dress coat like at the dutch opening of parliament: white tie for the men and long dresses with hats for the ladies plus decorations.
We´ve seen this in the old days at the greek royal court at the national day, day of independence or for royal weddings and christenings.


Monaco: I guess their policy seems to be, it is nobody´s business who or if anyone from the princely family attends an event or not...

The dresscode at Prinsjesdag is not white tie but jacquet. That means men in jacquet (morning suit with grey striped pantalon) and ladies in formal dress with hat. That formal dress can be long or short, to own insight.

[Tatiana Maria]

Originally Posted by Prisma

Rice Harvested for Emperor's "Daijosai" Rite | Nippon.com
[...]
ETA: Imperial agency alters policy, discloses ceremonial hall site - The Japan News

The previous Daijosai ceremony was marred by activities by radical guerrilla groups opposed to the accession ceremony — a number of terrorist incidents occurred around the country, including mortar launches and arson.

I recall reading in other articles as well that the security threats at the time of the previous change of reign were graver than today's. Could anyone explain how the political or security climate has changed since 1989 to decrease the threat of terrorism?

The agency is actively seeking publicity, taking such steps as setting up panels with pictures near the fence around the site explaining the building of the Daijokyu and other matters to visitors. [...]

Tourism is another reason for the agency’s change in policy. About 390,000 people visited the East Gardens in 1989, but more than four times that number — about 1.65 million — came last year. Foreign tourists made up more than 40 percent of the 2018 visitors.

In view of the sporadic debates about the costs and separation of religion and state in the enthronement ceremonies, promoting the educational, historical, and financial benefits of the enthronement/monarchy to the public seems like a splendid idea.

[LadyFinn]

The swedish royal court has updated to their calendar:

King Carl Gustaf and crown princess Victoria attend at the events on 22nd and 23rd October.
Kalender - Sveriges Kungahus

[JR76]

Originally Posted by LadyFinn

The swedish royal court has updated to their calendar:

King Carl Gustaf and crown princess Victoria attend at the events on 22nd and 23rd October.
Kalender - Sveriges Kungahus

That was unexpected. I wonder why the change from Queen Silvia to Crown Princess Victoria. Apparently a meeting she had scheduled regarding the Paralympics in Bonn on the 24th has been removed.

[sophie25]

I hope Queen Silvia is OK.

[LadyFinn]

Queen Silvia will be tomorrow in New York at events with World Childhood Foundation and on 15-17th October in Beirut, Lebanon at events with Mentor Arabia. So she is travelling this month a lot.

[Blog Real]

The Danish royal house has not yet updated the agenda on its official website. But it seems that Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary will be present at the enthronement of Japan.

[Hans-Rickard]

Originally Posted by sophie25

I hope Queen Silvia is OK.

The Queen is most likely ok but she is traveling a lot this autumn and Japan is a very long trip so she has probably offered Victoria to go instead. Victoria knows Naruhito very well so I'm sure they will have a lovely meeting :)

As The King King and The Crown Princess will be going, it will require separate aircrafts for safety reasons.