The Emperor's Birthday
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The Emperor's Birthday (天皇誕生日 Tennō tanjōbi) is a national holiday in the Japanese calendar. It is currently celebrated on December 23. The date is determined by the present Emperor's birthdate. Emperor Akihito was born on this date in 1933.
During the reign of Hirohito (Showa period, 1926-1989), the Emperor's birthday was observed on April 29. April 29 remained a public holiday, posthumously renamed Greenery Day in 1989 and Showa Day in 2007.
Previous to World War II, it was called Tenchōsetsu (天長節), but after the war the new government renamed it Tennō tanjōbi, or "The Emperor's Birthday", in 1948, when it was established as a holiday by law. Under the law, the Diet of Japan must convene and change the holiday date before the reigning emperor's birthday becomes a public holiday. Thus, there exists a small chance that the former emperor's birthday may come before the change can be made.
On December 23, a public ceremony takes place at the Imperial Palace which, usually off limits to the public, opens its gates. The Emperor, accompanied by Empress Michiko and several other members of the Imperial family, appears on a palace balcony protected by bulletproof glass to acknowledge the birthday congratulations of crowds of festive well-wishers waving tiny Japanese flags. Only on this occasion and on the second of January may the general public enter the inner grounds of the Imperial Palace.
When the Emperor ceases his greeting (however brief), the crowd starts waving the flags again and the Imperial Family wave back. They appear for three minutes. The crowd is then directed to the exit. Most of them scatter and take a walk around the East Garden of the palace which includes the remains of the castle donjon. Meanwhile, the next group is led into the palace.
The visiting crowds are usually made up of significantly older portions of the Japanese population, as national interest in the Emperor has been on the wane since the end of World War II. Some foreign tourists also attend. Occasionally, organized groups of right-wing nationalists (uyoku) park nearby with vans that blast militaristic slogans over a loudspeaker.
