Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako left Tokyo on Thursday for Ise Jingu, a Shinto shrine in central Japan, for a ceremony marking the completion of two major rites signifying the emperor's enthronement.After ascending to the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1 following his father's abdication, the 59-year-old emperor proclaimed his enthronement before international guests in the "Sokuirei Seiden no gi" ceremony in October and performed earlier this month the "Daijosai" Great Thanksgiving rite, offering new harvests to gods.The emperor and empress are making the journey with the sword and jewels…READ FULL ARTICLE
