15: Emperor’s Birthday ( December 23rd )

The Emperor's Birthday (天皇誕生日, tenno tanjoobii) is a national public holiday. The date is determined by the birth date of the present Emperor, Emperor Akihito, who was born on December 23, 1933. After WWII the new government changed the name of the holiday from tenchosetsu to tenno tanjobi, or "The Emperor's Birthday", in 1948, establishing it as a holiday by law.

On December 23, a public ceremony takes place at the Imperial Palace. This is one of the only days of the year (the other being on January 2) in which the Palace opens its gates to the general public. The Emperor and the Empress, Empress Michiko, accompanied by several other members of the royal family, appear on a palace balcony to acknowledge the crowd. The crowd has gathered to offer birthday congratulations and many of these festive well-wishers wave small Japanese flags.

Visitors line up at designated areas across from the palace in order to enter the grounds. The broad plaza near Nijubashi Bridge is closed off by police, and on cue they guide the visitors into the palace grounds. The first group of visitors is usually allowed to cross Nijubashi Bridge and enter the plaza in front of the balcony at around 9:30 am. Then, around 10:20 am, the Emperor, Empress, and other members of the royal family make their brief (about three minute) appearance on the balcony and wave to the crowd. The crowd responds by cheerily waving their flags and with shouts of “banzai!”

Due to the extremely large number of visitors, this process repeats itself an additional two times.

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