The Imperial Household Agency on Wednesday unveiled to the press the Daijokyu, a set of halls built at the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace for the Daijosai thanksgiving ceremony, a key Imperial succession ritual.
The Daijosai is scheduled to be held on Thursday and Friday. In the ceremony, a new emperor offers food made from new crops to the gods and prays for peace and abundant harvests for the nation and the people. It is regarded as important because emperors perform the rite only once during their reign.
The Daijokyu consists of nearly 40 large and small structures, including three major halls -- the Yukiden in the east, the Sukiden in the west where the Emperor will pray and the Kairyuden where the Emperor will change clothes -- and a building for those who will attend the ceremony.
A Shinmon torii gate made in a traditional architectural style called Kurokizukuri, which uses logs with bark, serves as the entrance to the three halls and the building for attendees. X-shaped rafters, called chigi, have also been attached to the roofs of the Yukiden and Sukiden. To reduce costs, the three halls have wooden roofs instead of the thatched roofs used in the Heisei ceremony.
Major general contractor Shimizu Corp., winner of the 957 million yen order to build the halls, began construction in late July and completed the major part of the work by the end of October.
The agency plans to open the Daijokyu to the public from Nov. 21 to Dec. 8. It will be accessible to visitors who enter the Imperial Palace from the Sakashitamon gate from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. After that, the Daijokyu is scheduled to be dismantled.
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