Emperor Akihito described a scene in which he takes a walk in a garden in the Imperial Palace grounds in a poem recited Thursday at the annual New Year's Poetry Reading Ceremony at the Imperial Palace.
The theme was "light" for this year's "waka" poems, which typically consist of 31 syllables in a 5-7-5-7-7 pattern.
A total of 23,346 poems were submitted by the public. Ten people whose poems were selected participated in the ceremony in the presence of the Emperor, Empress Michiko and other members of the Imperial family.