Ceremony in Meiji on April 11th

Dear everybody,

I have just got back from Tokyo and would like to ask you one thing. I was visiting Meiji Temple on April 11th and saw a beautiful ceremony which was held at around 10.30am. It must have been something very special as there were a lot of guests, TV and police all around. The photos I took are awesome and now I would like to know what kind of celebration it was. Anyone has an idea?

Thank you and have a great day.
Matilda

I assume you are talking about Meiji Jingu which is a shrine but not a temple.

According to Meiji Shrine's official website, April 11th was "Shoken-kotaigo-sai" which seems to be a memorial for the late Empress Dowager Shoken who was the wife of Emperor Meiji. Meiji Shrine was of course was established to enshrine this Imperial couple.

I haven't noticed any major news coverage on this event, but since it has to do with the Imperial family, V.I.P.s must have attended it and they probably needed to keep record of the ceremony, which invited the cameras and police.

This is a photograph of her from the website.

http://www.meijijingu.or.jp/about/4.html