On Wednesday, November 20, 2013, Their Imperial Majesties Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan visited the tombs of Their Imperial Majesties the late Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) and Empress Kōjun of Japan at the Musashino Imperial Mausoleum in Hachiōji, Tokyo.

On the morning of November 19, 2013, His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito of Japan received credentials at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo from the newly appointed United States Ambassador to Japan, Ms. Caroline Kennedy.

The only daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy and the late Jacqueline  Kennedy-Onassis arrived at the palace in a horse-drawn carriage which, according to Kyodo News, is “…a tradition for newly appointed ambassadors…”

On the evening of November 18, 2013, Their Imperial Majesties Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan arrived at the Suntory Hall in Minato, Tokyo to attend a classical music concert performed by the Berlin Philharmonic with Sir Simon Rattle conducting.

Their Imperial Majesties and guests listened to works by the late Robert Schumann, Igor Stravinsky and Sergei Prokofiev.

On November 17, 2013, His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan participated in the opening ceremony of the 37th Japan Tree Growing Contest in the Saitama Prefecture.

Meanwhile, His Imperial Highness Prince Mikasa was released from the hospital.  Last Tuesday, the 97 year-old prince “…partially lost consciousness at his home…” and was immediately rushed to a Tokyo hospital. After several tests doctors noted that there “…were no abnormalities and his is doing fine…” according to various sources.

Well, this is a depressing subject…

Yesterday, the newspaper, Japan News, via Imperial Household Agency announced the “…revised funeral plans [for] the bodies of the Emperor and Empress [which] will be cremated once they die, a historic change from the Imperial tradition of underground burial that has lasted for about 350 years since the early Edo period…” 

Please click here to read the Japan News article in its entirety.  Or, you can read another article here from the Japan Times.

The Imperial Household Agency announced that His Imperial Highness Prince Mikasa has been admitted to a hospital in Tokyo on Tuesday evening after “…partially losing consciousness at his home…”

The Mainichi News reports that the prince was in a “…semiconscious state around 6:30 p.m, but was back to normal before his doctor made a house call later…” The doctors overseeing the prince reveal “…no abnormalities so far.”

On Monday, November 11, 2013, Her Imperial Majesty Empress Michiko of Japan accompanied by Her Imperial Highness Princess Kiko of Japan and Her Imperial Highness Princess Akiko of Mikasa attended an evening concert held inside the Tōkagakudō (Peach Blossom Music Hall) at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.