Japanese emperor Akihito is stepping down from the throne - becoming the first monarch to abdicate in the country for two centuries.
Akihito prayed to a Shinto sun this morning, starting a day of ceremonies to mark the end of a three-decade reign in which he sought to ease painful memories of World War Two and bring the monarchy closer to people.
The 85-year-old who has had treatment for prostate cancer and heart surgery, said in a televised address in 2016 that he feared his age would make it hard for him to carry out his duties fully.
His abdication will be marked by a ceremony in the Imperial Palace's prestigious Matsu no ma, or Hall of Pine.
About 300 people will attend and it is being broadcast live on television.
Attendees will include Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Empress Michiko, Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, as well as the heads of both houses of parliament and Supreme Court justices.
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Akihito reported his abdication in sanctuaries inside the Imperial Palace, including one honouring the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami, who mythology says the imperial line is descended from, and two others for departed emperors and Shinto gods.
Video aired on TV showed Akihito wearing a dark orange traditional robe and black headdress, walking slowly into the first sanctuary as a courtier in a white robe walked behind holding the train and another carried a sword.
Ahead of the ceremonies, Japanese onlookers and foreign tourists gathered outside the palace amid tight security.
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"I wanted to come to the Imperial Palace as they (emperor and empress) are like the father and mother of the country," said Kimiyo Miyagawa, 68, a housewife from northern Japan who came with her daughter to be near the palace.
"I would like to tell them 'Thank you so much for your hard work'," she said. "I'm full of gratitude."
Naruhito, 59, will inherit the throne in separate ceremonies on Wednesday.
Naruhito, who studied at Oxford, is likely to continue an active role and together with Harvard-educated Masako give the monarchy a cosmopolitan tinge.
Akihito was the first monarch to take the Chrysanthemum Throne under a post-war constitution that defines the emperor as a symbol of the people without political power.
His father, Hirohito, in whose name Japanese troops fought World War Two, was considered a living deity until after Japan's defeat in 1945, when he renounced his divinity.
Akihito, together with Empress Michiko, his wife of 60 years and the first commoner to marry an imperial heir, carved out an active role as a symbol of reconciliation, peace and democracy.
"I think the emperor is loved by the people. His image is one of encouraging the people, such as after disasters, and being close to the people," Morio Miyamoto, 48, said as he waited near a train station in Tokyo.
"I hope the next emperor will, like the Heisei emperor, be close to the people in the same way," he said.
Police have tightened security near the Imperial Palace, a 115-hectare site that is home to the emperor and empress in the heart of Tokyo.
Several thousand police officers were being mobilised in the capital over the next few days, it is reported.
Akihito officially remains emperor until midnight, when the new Reiwa era, meaning "beautiful harmony", begins.
