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From the veranda of the Large Dinning Room, you
could look out over the Kantei's wide and grassy South Garden.
When a ceremonial evening banquet was held to celebrate Emperor Showa's accession
to the throne (December 1928), a special stage was erected in the South Garden
for the Music Department of the Imperial Household Ministry to play court music
and perform graceful Japanese dance. During the turmoil before the end of World
War II, the South Garden was turned into a sweet-potato patch. During certain
periods after the war, celebrities and sports stars used to be invited to garden
parties held in the South Garden. In 1961, Yokozuna (Sumo Grand Champion)
Chiyonoyama performed the ring-entering ceremony on the lawn to celebrate the
formation of the second Kishi Cabinet.
In the trees surrounding the Garden, you could see the powerful branches of the
Goyo-matsu (Pinus parviflora), presented to former Prime Minister Eisaku
Sato by the lyricist Saijyo Yaso, and a piece of Antarctic rock lying quietly
under the trees.
The rows of trees in the South Garden surrounded and seemed to embrace the lawn,
while small birds like bamboo partridges, buntings, Japanese white-eyes, titmice
and bush warblers sang songs in the garden all year round. The birdsong and the
sounds of insects from the Garden signaled the changes of the seasons to the staff
both working in and bustling back and forth from the Kantei, providing
a pleasant respite from the working day. |
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