Imperial envoys in robes and crowns walked along the main approach to Meiji Shrine

I had seen them in historical novels and in photographs, but they had never seemed real to me. I was walking along the main approach to the Meiji Jingu Shrine, which stretches into the shrine's forest, when a group of men dressed in period costumes came toward me on the gravel path. Although there were men in robes and crowns at the wedding ceremony, it was not every day that I saw such a large number of people at once. I felt as if I had been transported into the world of a picture scroll.

I later found out that it was July 30, the day of the death of Emperor Meiji, the deity enshrined in the Meiji Jingu Shrine. The Meiji Jingu Shrine held an annual festival to honor and remember Emperor Meiji. For this reason, an imperial envoy carrying a sacred offering was probably dispatched to Meiji Shrine from the imperial court. I do not know what the sacred objects were, however, the number of imperial envoys was large and ostentatious. I wonder where these many imperial envoys are walking from wearing their robes and crowns. Surely, they did not come from the Imperial Palace dressed like this. They must have changed somewhere in Meiji Jingu Shrine. Personally, I was curious as to where and how the imperial envoys were walking from.

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