ON APRIL 18th Akihito, the 125th emperor of Japan and descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu, returned to a shrine the sword extracted by Amaterasu's brother Susanowo from a vanquished monster's tail and a necklace stolen by Susanowo from his sister, thus reuniting them with a mirror used to tempt Amaterasu out of the cave where she had hidden from her brother. This ceremony, pictured above, was one of nine required before the emperor's abdication on April 30th, which will bring an end to the Heisei ("achieving peace") era. The next day, his son, Naruhito, will ascend the throne, and a new era, Reiwa ("beautiful harmony"), can begin.
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