Gorgeous banquet follows enthronement proclamation

October 23, 2019

Tokyo--A gorgeous court banquet was held at the Imperial Palace on Tuesday night after Emperor Naruhito's "Sokuirei-Seiden-no-Gi" enthronement proclamation ceremony in the early afternoon.

Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and other Imperial Family members dined with about 250 foreign guests, including Britain's Prince Charles, who attended the ceremony to proclaim the Emperor's May 1 accession to the throne.

For the "Kyoen-no-Gi" court banquet, Emperor Naruhito in a tailcoat wore decorations including the Collar of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum. The Empress was in a white long dress and wore a tiara.

At the "Take-no-Ma" audience room, the couple greeted arriving guests such as foreign heads of state and the leaders of Japan's administrative, legislative and judicial branches including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Guests were given an opportunity to inspect the "Takamikura" throne of the Emperor and the "Michodai" throne of the Empress in the "Matsu-no-Ma" state room, where the proclamation ceremony took place.

After chatting with Imperial Family members in the "Shunju-no-Ma" grand hall with glasses in hand, guests watched staff of the Imperial Household Agency's music department perform "Taiheiraku" traditional court dancing and music.

The banquet started in the "Homeiden" state banquet hall around 9 p.m. (noon GMT). Sitting next to the Imperial couple were Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf, who have held their titles for longer than other foreign dignitaries.

The guests were served with "washoku" dishes featuring delicacies from land and sea.

Japan will hold three more "Kyoen-no-Gi" banquets, on Friday and Oct. 29 and 31. Jiji Press