The Imperial Household Agency is arranging to transport by land the huge Takamikura throne to Tokyo from Kyoto around August, ahead of next year's ceremony to mark Crown Prince Naruhito's accession to the Chrysanthemum Throne, senior agency officials said Friday.
The 8-ton, 6.5-meter-high canopied throne is expected to be transported by a private company and undergo repairs at the Imperial Palace for the Oct. 22 state ritual next year, when the Crown Prince ascends to the structure's elevated dais to proclaim his enthronement and receive the felicitations of representatives from home and abroad.
The ceremony will be the key event among a number of enthronement rites to be held in 2019 for the Crown Prince, 58, who will succeed to the throne the day after Emperor Akihito abdicates on April 30.