Imperial Carriage Conveys Ambassadors to Japan’s Emperor

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:18 JST, March 8, 2023

A horse-drawn carriage conveyed newly appointed foreign ambassadors to the Imperial Palace on Wednesday, resuming the practice after a three-year break due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The Fiji ambassador and his entourage took a carriage to the palace Wednesday, as did the Pakistani ambassador and his entourage on a separate trip. Both attended a ceremony in which they presented a letter of credence from their head of state to the Emperor.

Prior to Wednesday, the most recent carriage ride between the Imperial Palace and JR Tokyo Station, both in Chiyoda Ward, was in March 2020. The tradition has returned following recent moves to ease virus-related restrictions.

According to the Imperial Household Agency, the conveyance used Wednesday was the ceremonial carriage No. 4, which was constructed in 1913 and bears the Imperial family’s chrysanthemum emblem on its lacquer-coated body.

It was also used for the coming-of-age ceremony of Crown Prince Akishino in 1985.