The Meiji Shrine celebrates its regular annual festival, lasting for three days from today, with presentation of a 1000 year old aristocratic sport of Dakyu (Japanese polo) beside offering the spectacular show of Dohyo-iri (sumo ring entry) part of wrestling and other attractions.
    Today, tea ceremony of the Ura Senke School of tea cult, will be offered from 1 p.m. Shinji Takahata, the Shrine's priest said.
    For the first time in 1,000 years of its history Dakyu will be carried over from the Imperial Palace grounds to delight the common man. The game, which had it origin in the Heian period (794-1186), has remained the reserve of the elite of the aristocrats. About 30 horsemen, experts at the game of Dakyu, from the Imperial Palace Bureau will make their debut on the athletic enclosure of the Shrine at 1 p.m., Saturday, the second day of the festival.
    Together with this, on the same afternoon three former Imperial chargers, Shirayuki and Hatsuyuki are scheduled to vie with five other horses taking part in the art display of horsemanship.
    At noon, Sunday, the third and last day of the festival wrestlers Akinoumi and Terukuni, the two "yokozuna" (champion of champions), will make their appearances in the spectacular show of "Dohyo-iri". In this show the two yokozuna wearing the coveted straw belts and aprons made of costly fabrics, will attempt to keep the audience spell-bound by the art of slapping their hands and stamping their feet on the ground.
    Throughout the celebration seasonal flowers will be arranged in the traditional Japanese art of flower arrangement. The chrysanthemums, the branches of the maple tree, gentian, holly, and camellias will adorn the pots set in the corridor of the main Shrine.