Centred on Amaterasu Omikami, the sun goddess from whom conservatives believe the emperor has descended, the "Daijosai" is the most overtly religious ceremony of the emperor's accession rituals after his father Akihito's abdication. Scholars and the government say it consists of a feast, rather than, as has been persistently rumoured, conjugal relations with the goddess. Although Naruhito's grandfather Hirohito, in whose name soldiers fought World War Two, was later stripped of his divinity, the ritual continues. Then he bows and prays for peace for the Japanese people before eating rice, millet and rice wine "with" the goddess. "Emperor Hirohito was responsible for the war, but Akihito has done a lot to soften the family's image," said Shin, a 60-year-old office worker.

Source: bd News24 November 12, 2019 05:53 UTC