Word: tenno
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With the death of His Imperial Majesty Yoshihito Tenno (TIME, Jan. 3) there began last week the usual sacrifices of loyal subjects in his honor. Hundreds of young girls cut off their hair and burned it ceremoniously in the temples. Stalwart youths pierced veins and painted in blood devout ideographic prayers for the Tenno.* Finally Baron Mansasuke Ikeda, lifelong companion of the Tenno, set up a portrait of the "Heavenly King" in his house near Tokyo, cried, "I followed you in life, I follow you in death," and shot himself...
Meanwhile the respected Rintaro Nishimura, hereditary hearse-maker to the Imperial House, arrived at Tokyo from Kyoto, the ancient Capital, with 50 workmen and began work on the great two-wheeled cart in which the Tenno's remains will journey to the grave. For constructing the Imperial Hearse he will receive the princely fee of 100,000 yen ($50,000). No one else knows the secret of constructing the wheels of the funeral car so that they will emit the traditional "mourning squeak." At the hubs a mechanism capable of emitting loud groans will be installed. Finally the hearse...
Heavenly King.** Immediately after Yoshihito Tenno's death his eldest son Hirohito (since 1921 Prince Regent on account of his father's invalidism) assumed imperial rank in a room adjoining the death chamber. He will not be crowned until 1928, since the period of mourning in the Imperial Household will be protracted one year after the Tenno's death. None the less Hirohito Tenno received last week the Privy Seal and various imitations of the sacred symbols of his office?the sword, the mirror and the beads?the originals of these treasures reposing in various shrines throughout Japan...
Throughout the week Prince Chichibu, second son of Yoshihito Tenno, was vainly racing to his father's bedside from his studies at Oxford (TIME, Sept. 27). Returning to Japan across the U. S., he landed at Manhattan from the Majestic last week...
...Japanese ordinarily refer to the Emperor as Tenno (Heavenly King) or Tenshi (Son of Heaven) and speak of him as Kotei (a Chinese title meaning Emperor) in discussing his relation to non-Japanese affairs. Only foreigners employ in conversation the poetic title Mikado...