Japan Imperial Couple Hosts Autumn Garden Party

Tokyo, Oct. 28 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako hosted an autumn garden party at the Akasaka Imperial Gardens in Tokyo on Tuesday. The Imperial couple and other members of the Imperial Family were divided into two groups–one consisting of the Emperor and the Empress, and the other of the remaining Imperial Family members. They walked along separate routes and engaged with some 1,500 guests, including jockey Yutaka Take and “Wajima-nuri” lacquerware artist Kazuo Yamagishi. “You have made tremendous efforts for the development of horse racing,” the Emperor told Take. He also said that he had watched Take’s races on television. In her conversation with the jockey, the Empress asked him about his most memorable race. Take responded that it was his victory in last autumn’s Tenno Sho horse race. The Empress also mentioned the names of notable former racehorses, such as Special Week and Deep Impact. After hearing from Take that racehorses can run at speeds of 60 to 70 kilometers per hour, Princess Aiko, the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, said she could not believe that jockeys are able to stay in the saddle at such high speeds during a race. During his talks with Yamagishi, a living national treasure affected by the January 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake, the Emperor said that Yamagishi must have faced many challenges. The Empress said that Wajima-nuri lacquerware has very beautiful colors and expressed her prayers for the recovery of disaster-hit areas in central Japan. While talking with Fujisaburo Ishino, former president of the Japanese Federation of the Deaf, the Empress said that she would like to learn sign language. The Imperial couple actually used sign language when Ishino demonstrated the sign for “thank you.” This spring, for the first time in 62 years, the Imperial Household Agency changed the garden party layout, creating three groups of Imperial Family members to prevent bottlenecks among guests. For the autumn party, the routes were reviewed again. Until last year, Imperial Family members had walked in a single line behind the Emperor while chatting with guests through the gardens. Prince Hisahito, the only son of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, who had his coming-of-age ceremony in September, was absent from the party to focus on his studies. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]