(22 Oct 2019) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4236013
Emperor Naruhito ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne on Tuesday, proclaiming himself Japan's 126th emperor as the audience shouted "banzai" to wish him a long and prosperous reign.
Naruhito pledged at an enthronement ceremony at the Imperial Palace to serve his constitutional duty as a symbol of the state and to stay close to the people, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe congratulated him and led three "banzai" cheers.
The cheers traditionally means "ten thousand year" of long life.
Naruhito, in a formal brownish-orange robe that has been dyed in sappanwood and Japanese wax tree bark and a black headdress decorated with an upright tail, appeared as a pair of black-robed chamberlains opened the purple curtains of the throne at the sound of a bell.
The throne, called "Takamikura," is a 6.5-meter (21-foot) -high decorative structure resembling a gazebo or something at the Forbidden City in China.
It was transported from the former Imperial Palace in Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto, where emperors lived until 150 years ago.
The enthronement ceremony is the high point of several succession rituals that began in May when Naruhito inherited the throne after the abdication of Akihito, his father.
Naruhito is the 126th emperor in the world's oldest hereditary monarchy that historians say goes back 1,500 years.
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