Word: emperor
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...REBEL EMPEROR (352 pp.)-Flavia Anderson-Doubledoy...
...after 6 a.m.. her eyes blinking back the tears, Michiko Shoda, 24, bowed stiffly to her parents, entered the antique maroon Mercedes-Benz sent by the palace, and was off to begin her life "over there" as the first commoner in 2,600 years to wed a future Emperor of Japan...
...accordance with tradition, the Emperor and Empress were barred from the wedding; they, like the rest of Japan, had to be satisfied with watching it on television. Nor did those present see much of the actual ceremony. Led by the white-robed Chief Ritualist, the little wedding procession quickly disappeared within the shrine. Crown Prince Akihito, wearing his saffron-yellow robes, was attended only by his grand chamberlain, a trainbearer, a Shinto priest, and another chamberlain carrying the 700-year-old sword, the symbol of Akihito's royal rank...
...bite or two of a ham sandwich. Michi had her hair washed and reset, and, over a white and gold Western dress, for the first time donned the pearl-studded, golden Order of the Sacred Crown. At 2 p.m. the young couple officially reported the marriage to the Emperor and Empress. After exchanging cups of sake and going through the ritual of symbolic eating, the prince and his bride stepped into a rust-colored carriage for the five-mile drive to his Eastern Palace-a shabby place, cluttered with clerks and files on the first floor, and no match...
...sight, but Akihito's unprecedented marriage was not quite the big draw everyone anticipated. Though officials had expected at least 1,000,000 people to jam the streets, only about half that number showed up; modern Japan preferred to watch the proceedings on television. Back in 1924, the Emperor's wedding had cost $1,500,000; the bill for Akihito's, with all banquets and receptions included, will come to only $140,000. The crowds waved and cheered, but not with the same frenzied banzais that once greeted the heir to the Emperor...