Symbols: Chrysanthemums & The Emperor

The other day I took a walk to the Imperial Palace area in Tokyo. While the Imperial Palace, home of Japan's emperor and imperial family, is open to the public only two days a year, visitors can walk around the gardens. Japan's imperial family is the oldest hereditary monarchy in the world, dating back to the sixth century BC. The family crest is the kiku -- chrysanthemum. I saw chrysanthemums all over the city of Tokyo -- in flower boxes, on pillars and posts, on the 50 yen coin, embroidered on handtowels alongside an image of the main government building called the Diet, shown in real life below with a visiting school group. Japan is a parlimentary political system with two chambers in its governing body, rather like the United States Congress. The major party in the Diet appoints the prime minister. The emperor has no direct power in the government but is a "symbol of the state", playing a largely ceremonial part in the nation's life.