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Safe-birth ritual held for Japan's crown princess

By Elaine Lies

Japanese Crown Princess Masako, pregnant with a possible heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne, has taken part in an ancient ritual to pray for a safe birth as the date of her delivery drew closer.

Should the baby, due in late November or early December, be a boy it will be second in line to the throne and the first male born to the world's oldest monarchy in more than 30 years.

Attended by court ladies and the crown prince, Masako was wrapped in a red and white silk obi sash provided by the emperor in a symbolic gesture to protect her unborn child.

Prior to the private ceremony, the 4.6 metre-long (15-foot) obi was dedicated at shrines inside the Imperial Palace grounds in Tokyo and prayers were offered for the baby's safe birth.

The date of the ritual was decided according to imperial custom, which mandates that it be held in the ninth month of pregnancy and on the first "Day of the Dog" -- an auspicious day for birth according to the traditional zodiac.

Masako, 37, took part in a similar ceremony on the day of the dog in her fifth month of pregnancy, the same time as ordinary Japanese pregnant women who are so inclined.

Dogs are believed to be good luck for birth as traditional lore says they give birth easily and safely.

LOW-KEY COVERAGE

Japanese media touched on the rite, but coverage was muted, as it has been since the stuffy and secretive Imperial Household Agency announced in May that Masako, a one-time career diplomat, was pregnant after nearly eight years of marriage.

The only official pictures of the event were of the obi, wrapped in a purple cloth, being carried on a lacquered tray into the palace where the prince and princess live.

The media's restraint, surprising in light of years of heated reporting that included numerous babywatch frenzies, is a reflection of public and official outrage of feverish coverage of her first pregnancy in 1999, which ended in a miscarriage.

The media have even kept away from speculation about whether the baby is a boy or a girl, although ultra-sound examinations are almost certain to have determined the gender by now.

If the baby is a boy, he will be second in line to the throne after his father, Naruhito, and the first male to be born into the monarchy since 1965 when Naruhito's younger brother, Akishino, was born.

The shortage of male offspring has prompted politicians to discuss the possibility of changing strict males-only inheritance laws to allow a female sovereign, a move Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has said he favours.

Lawmakers have no reason to rush, however, even if the baby is a girl. Naruhito, 41, will inherit the throne from his father, Emperor Akihito, and his brother Akishino would be next in line.

Other preparations, however, are apparently proceeding apace.

According to Josei Jishin, a women's tabloid magazine, some four million yen ($32,550) in renovations of the rooms used by the royal family at the hospital on the palace grounds had been completed by the end of September.

An Imperial Household Agency official, however, said the actual work was quite simple. "They just repainted some walls, which had gotten a little dingy."

MORE RITES AHEAD

Once the baby is born, tradition dictates a steady procession of ancient rituals, including formal announcements of its name and the reading aloud of auspicious texts a week after its birth.

On the day it is born, or the day after, the emperor presents a baby boy with a ceremonial samurai sword.

A girl baby receives a hakama, a ceremonial skirt that was once part of traditional court dress for women.

Josei Jishin said the Imperial Household Agency's announcement of this rite last week referred only to the sword, and that this had led to speculation that the baby may be a boy.

But the agency official said this was not the case, adding that the name of the ritual -- literally "the ceremony of bestowing the sword" -- was the same in the case of both boy and girl babies.

"All these ceremonies are done whether the baby is a boy or a girl," the official said. "They were done for the current crown prince and his brother, and for their sister as well."


source: Reuters Breaking News, 26 October 2001