Japan’s Emperor Naruhito has officially proclaimed his enthronement, in a ritual-bound, centuries-old ceremony attended by more than a hundred dignitaries from around the world.
The head of state began his reign in May, after his father, Akihito, became the first emperor to abdicate in 200 years. But on Tuesday, Naruhito, 59, announced his change in status to the world, in an elaborate series of rituals known as “Sokui no Rei” at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
As the ceremony began, purple curtains were pulled back to reveal Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako, 55, sitting in two ornately decorated thrones.
Naruhito wore a rust-colored robe – just as his father did during his own enthronement in 1990 – while Masako wore a patterned, white robe and topped her traditional hairstyle with a gilded headpiece. The brother of Emperor Emeritus Akihito, 83-year-old Prince Hitachi, watched the proceedings from a wheelchair.
Reading from a large piece of paper, Naruhito then proclaimed his enthronement before an audience of the imperial family.
