In the final scene of a three-decade rule that ended with an historic abdication, the Emperor Emeritus and the Empress Emerita left the Imperial Palace on Thursday morning for the change of residence in line with the succession of his son to the Imperial throne.
The couple, who resided at the Imperial Palace for 26 years, entered the Hayama Imperial Villa in Kanagawa Prefecture, where they will stay along with the Imperial Stock Farm in Tochigi Prefecture before moving March 31 into a temporary residence in Takanawa in Minato Ward, Tokyo.
On Thursday, the Emperor's family, Crown Prince Akishino's family and the retired couple's eldest daughter Sayako Kuroda, among others visited the Emperor Emeritus' Residence located in a corner of the Fukiage section in the Palace grounds in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, to see the couple off.
At around 10 a.m., the car carrying the retired couple passed the Imperial Palace Sanctuaries -- which enshrines the Imperial ancestor Amaterasu Omikami and all deities of heaven and earth -- and traveled along Inui Street of the Imperial grounds amid the blooming cherry blossoms. Imperial Household Agency officials and Imperial Guard officers stood in a row and saw off the couple with applause as they exited the Inui-mon Gate.
Outside the gate, joggers and passersby stopped and cheered.
"They have given 30 years [of service], and I am full of gratitude," said a 26-year-old company employee from Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo. "I worry about their health, so I was relieved to see them looking well."
According to a senior Imperial Household Agency official, the Empress Emerita had spent recent days sorting out their belongings from early morning to late at night, and was showing signs of fatigue. The agency will transport the couple's belongings and take care of other matters as they recuperate.
The Fukiage residence was built in May 1993 after the Imperial succession that started the Heisei era, and the couple moved out of the Akasaka Imperial Palace located in the Akasaka Imperial Estate in December that year. The residence will undergo renovation work in preparation for the move by the Emperor and Empress, as well as daughter Princess Aiko, from the Akasaka residence sometime after the beginning of next year.
The Emperor Emeritus and Empress Emerita will move into the Akasaka residence after the completion of barrier-free renovations, and it will be renamed "Sento Imperial Residence" as a residence of their own. The couple is expected to remain in their temporary home at the Takanawa residence for up to 1-1/2 years.
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