Tokyo Bubble Life

Chapters 1568 and 1577: The Showa Era Officially Ends!!

As most Tokyoites were immersed in their dreams, Japan's Showa era came to an end.

After countless attempts at resuscitation, including chest compressions, electric shocks, needle pricks, and intubation, Emperor Hirohito, who had been lying unresponsive in bed, could finally rest in peace.

"Heart stopped beating for thirty minutes! There's no point in continuing!"

Teizo Ito stopped the resuscitation efforts and stood aside with the doctors and nurses in the emergency room. Looking at the time, he announced...

“死亡时间，1989年1月6日23点15分.”

Its lifespan is significantly shorter than originally intended.

"Ladies and gentlemen, His Majesty the Emperor has ascended the throne! The Showa era has officially come to an end!!"

For a moment, silence fell over the emergency room, and the doctors even breathed a sigh of relief.

The Emperor had been in the hospital for almost half a year, constantly switching between the emergency room and the ICU during the Lunar New Year. Now it's finally over!

Fortunately, we are no longer in the feudal era, otherwise all these imperial physicians would have been buried alive with us!

"I'll go inform the Grand Chamberlain!"

Ito Teizo took off his gloves and went outside the emergency room. Because it was late at night, only officials were on duty; the Empress, the Crown Prince, and the others had all gone to sleep.

Grand Chamberlain Naito Kazuya, his eyes bloodshot, sat in front of the emergency room. He immediately stood up when he saw Teizo Ito emerge.

"Professor Ito. His Majesty the Emperor..."

"Your Majesty, you have ascended the throne!"

"."

A few breaths fell silent in the corridor outside the emergency room. Naito Kazuya, who had been prepared, closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and then spoke upon hearing the confirmation:

"Professor Ito, please take His Majesty's body back to the ward. We will have someone come to clean His Majesty's body afterward!"

"Hi"

After finishing speaking, Naito Kazuya turned to the other members of the Imperial Household Agency:

"Someone, go and inform the Empress, the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess, and the eldest grandson of the Emperor."

"Notify the royal family as planned!"

"Notify the Cabinet! Notify the Prime Minister!"

"Notify the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Supreme Court."

"Prepare the imperial seal, sword, mirror, and jade for the enthronement ceremony!"

"."

Under Naito Kazuya's instructions, the Imperial Household Agency staff on duty began to carry out the tasks in an orderly manner!

Soon, the Imperial Household Agency's hospital became bustling with activity!

It was shortly after that that Tagako Doi, who was still at the Prime Minister's official residence, received the news and rushed towards the Imperial Palace with Shuichi Itō!

Upon arriving at the Imperial Palace, it was already brightly lit and bustling with people!

Following the Prime Minister's entourage, Itō Shuichi jogged into the Imperial Palace and, led by a group of Imperial Household Agency officials, arrived inside.

A room on the first floor of the Fukiage Palace in the Imperial Palace is temporarily being used as the place where Emperor Hirohito's body is placed.

Prime Minister Tagako Doi and other key figures confirmed that Emperor Hirohito had passed away, and then began preparations for the next event: Crown Prince Akihito's enthronement ceremony!

Generally, after the death of the previous emperor, the next emperor must hold an enthronement ceremony as soon as possible, because the country cannot be without a ruler for a day.

In feudal dynasties, the imperial palace was the administrative center. When the emperor was critically ill, important ministers would be by his side at all times. He would ascend the throne as soon as he stopped breathing, just like when Emperor Yongzheng ascended the throne right by his bedside and immediately began to eliminate his rivals.

However, nowadays we live in the modern era, and the prime minister and other heads of state, such as the parliament, are usually sleeping at home. If they were to come, it would take some time, so the enthronement ceremony would generally take one or two hours.

Under the arrangement of Grand Steward Naito Kazuya, the hall for the enthronement ceremony, located between the Shōshū-den and the Shōshū-den of the Imperial Palace, has been prepared.

Tagako Doi, the Speaker of the House of Councillors, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court were all present, and there were also many reporters waiting in front of Masamatsu.

Shuichi Itō was naturally not allowed to enter the main hall. He didn't even know why he had come over and was now idly watching the commotion from the sidelines.

"What?! They've wrapped up the Yasakani no Magatama, the Ame-no-Murakumo no Tsurugi, and the Yata no Kagami, and I can't see any of them!"

Seeing the long bundles tightly clutched by the Imperial Household Agency officials, Itō Shuichi curled his lip, then looked at the next emperor waiting not far away.

"Crown Prince Akihito seems quite listless. Well, he's almost 60. Being forcibly woken up so late is unacceptable."

"The members of the royal family didn't show any signs of sadness, even less so than the people in the Imperial Household Agency."

"."

While inwardly complaining, Itō Xiu just wanted this enthronement ceremony to end as soon as possible, so he could maybe get some sleep.

As for tomorrow, there are certainly more things to do tomorrow!

With the ceremony still a long way off, he decided to go to the restroom to relax a bit. But when he came out and wanted to have a cigarette, he was stopped by the Imperial Household Agency!

Feeling anxious and aimless, despite the seriousness of the situation, he had no acquaintances to talk to. Itō Osamu instinctively reached for his phone in his pocket.

"The latest mobile phone is great, you can just put it in your pocket!"

Shuichi Itō walked to a secluded spot and began making phone calls.

"This is such a big deal, I have to tell someone about it!!"

"Ring ring ring!! Ring ring ring!!"

Naoki Nagayama, who was already asleep, was abruptly woken up by the ringing of the phone!

Even the sleeping Hana-chan started mumbling, and little Ren even burst into tears. Akina, who was also awakened, quickly comforted her.

Upon confirming it was his own phone ringing, Naoki Nagayama quickly took it out. Such a late call—could something terrible have happened?!

I walked into the hallway and pressed the answer button:

"Moshi Moshi, Xiu Yi-san, what's wrong?!"

"Naoki-san!! Something terrible has happened!! Emperor Hirohito has passed away!!"

The voice seemed to be suppressed from the microphone.

"I'm at the Imperial Palace right now, and the enthronement ceremony is about to take place here!!"

Naoki Nagayama was momentarily flustered:

"Chyu-du-ma-tai, what are you doing there?!"

"That's complicated!"

Itō Osamu paused for a moment, then continued in an excited tone,

"Naoki-san, aren't you focusing on the wrong thing?! The important thing right now is that the Emperor has passed away! A new Emperor is about to ascend the throne!"

"."

Naoki Nagayama pondered for a few breaths.

"Oh, this is the important thing. But you didn't have to call me in the middle of the night, did you?! I'll see it on the news tomorrow."

"Shuichi-san, do you know what? The phone just rang and woke up Hana-chan and Ren-chan!!"

"E's Private Marseille"

The person on the other end of the microphone paused for a moment, then subconsciously apologized, and then looked quite puzzled.

"Naoki-san, isn't the Emperor's passing important?"

"It's important, but does it have a significant impact on us?"

Naoki Nagayama asked,

"I don't need to inherit the throne!"

Emperor Hirohito is gone, and it's good that Naoki Nagayama didn't celebrate with champagne. Should we still be saddened by his passing?!

The change of emperor won't have an immediate impact, and the tree friends have already prepared contingency plans, so what's there to panic about?!

"Okay, okay, stop disturbing my sleep! I'm hanging up!"

"."

Naoki Nagayama hung up the phone immediately, yawning as he walked towards his bedroom.

Inside the bedroom, the dim bedside lamp illuminated Akina's figure as she gently hummed and patted her two children, who seemed to have fallen asleep again.

Seeing Naoki Nagayama enter, Akina asked in a low voice:

"What happened? Who's calling so late?"

"It's Xiu-san."

Naoki Nagayama crawled into the covers and said,

Emperor Hirohito has passed away!

"ah?!!"

As a native Japanese, Akina had little contact with the Imperial Family, but she grew up listening to their stories. In addition, Emperor Hirohito lived a very long life, and his story almost permeated Akina's entire life.

Akina's feelings were very complicated upon hearing the news of Hirohito's passing!

"His Majesty Hirohito...he..."

Akina was a little excited and didn't know what to say or why she was excited. It was like when Naoki Nagayama saw a celebrity he had watched as a child pass away in his past life.

Because of her excitement, Akina paused for a moment, and then little Ren started whimpering again, immediately drawing Akina's attention back to her son, and she continued patting him.

"We should hear the news tomorrow that Hirohito has passed away and Akihito has ascended the throne!"

Naoki Nagayama gently pulled Hana-chan to his side and patted her.

"The next week will be a period of national mourning. There will be many things that cannot be done."

"National Mourning."

Akina murmured the word, still gently patting little Ren. Slowly, the surprise she felt upon hearing the news dissipated.

"Then stay home and spend more time with Lianjiang and Huajiang."

"Huh? What about me?"

Naoki Nagayama suddenly interrupted,

"Won't he spend time with me? Is my husband really useless after I had a baby?"

"."

Akina glanced at her blinking husband beside her, and lightly spat.

"Pooh"

A few minutes earlier

Shuichi Itō was left bewildered after the call was disconnected.

"What's going on? How could Naoki-san react like this to such a momentous event as the Emperor's death?!"

"Wasn't he agitated? Or is there a generation gap between me and young people?"

Filled with questions, Shuichi Itō called Otomo Yoshimura. It was only just past midnight; at this time, Yoshimura should usually be at his club in Roppongi.

Sure enough, after the phone rang for a while and was answered, I heard loud music and some cheerful laughter.

Then came the voice of Yoshimura Otomo with a beard:

"Moshi Moshi, who is it?!"

"Ootomo-san is my name, Itō Shuichi!"

When he said this, Itō Shuichi was somewhat resentful. Why did he have to wait for the enthronement ceremony in the Imperial Palace in a dull and boring way, and even have to make a quiet phone call in the Imperial Household Agency's restroom, while Yoshimura Ōtomo could drink and enjoy himself in a high-end club in Roppongi?!

I just heard at least three different women's voices on the phone!

"Ah! Shuichi-san!!"

Yoshimura Otomo's tone was somewhat indistinct, suggesting he had likely drunk quite a bit.

"Where are you? Come to Roppongi for a drink, the usual spot!!"

"I'm afraid we can't drink this wine!"

Shuichi Itō suppressed his displeasure and spoke directly.

"Mr. Ōtomo, Emperor Hirohito has passed away! I am currently at the Imperial Palace, watching Akihito ascend the throne!"

"What? Who died?"

Yoshimura Otomo hadn't quite reacted yet, and after confirming again, the music and laughter soon stopped.

"You mean, Emperor Hirohito has passed away?!"

"Yes!"

"Hondo-ni?!"

"I just saw his body!"

"."

After a moment of silence, the person on the other end of the microphone spoke.

"This is really...this is really..."

"Otomo-san, shouldn't we tree friends be ready?"

"what"

Yoshimura Daitomo nodded.

"We already have a contingency plan. If the announcement is made, we will proceed according to the plan."

That's good.

Itō nods.

"Then Otomo-san, keep playing the music and dancing. I'll go check if the enthronement ceremony has started."

"Ugh, something this big has happened, how am I supposed to keep singing and dancing?!"

Yoshimura Otomo sighed deeply.

"I probably won't be able to sleep tonight!"

"Hmm? Does Otomo-san value Emperor Hirohito that much?"

Not really.

Yoshimura Otomo was much older than Itō Shuichi and Nagayama Naoki. He really grew up listening to stories about the Emperor. Although the Emperor was demoted to a mortal by the Five-Star General, the older generation still valued him highly.

Even an elderly leftist like him, who opposed feudal imperial power, had to admit that he was greatly influenced by Emperor Hirohito.

"In short, my feelings are very complicated! After all, it is His Majesty the Emperor."

"Ha, it seems like only Naoki-san is acting a little strange!"

Itō Shuichi's tone became much more relaxed.

"Alright, alright, I'll hang up now, Otomo-san. Do as you please!"

"All right."

After hanging up the phone, Shuichi Itō walked out of the restroom with a relaxed air, drawing sidelong glances from the Imperial Household Agency personnel on duty outside. Had he spent too long in the restroom?

Upon arriving at the Zhengsong Hall, he discovered that the succession ceremony had officially begun.

Under the direction of officials from the Imperial Household Agency, Akihito stood before the main throne and received several "sacred treasures" in turn. Then, officials from the Imperial Household Agency, cabinet officials, and dignitaries from the Diet knelt down and solemnly paid homage to the new emperor!

Inside the Jeongsong Hall, flashes of light and the constant clicking of camera shutters captured this momentous occasion!

Reporters are frantically writing articles, preparing to send them to the printing press immediately for this major news to be published in tomorrow's morning paper!

Following this simple enthronement ceremony, various procedures were to be carried out, including the audience ceremony after dawn, the selection of the new era name, and the encoffining ceremony for Emperor Hirohito, among others.

In short, Itō Shuichi estimates that many people won't be able to sleep today!

The camera returns to Roppongi.

Yoshimura Daitomo returned to the private room with a serious expression and a heavy heart, and immediately unplugged the karaoke machine. His friends and the young ladies in the room were all surprised.

"Otomo-san, what's wrong? You looked so serious after answering the phone!"

Emperor Hirohito has passed away!

"."

There was a moment of stunned silence in the private room, then it suddenly became noisy.

"What?!" "Honk-dono?!" "Really?"

One question after another arose until Yoshimura Hirotomo confirmed the source of the information, and then everyone started discussing it.

"He actually passed away?" "He was indeed in a coma for so long!" "That's so surprising!" "Isn't Crown Prince Akihito the successor?" "Then today isn't the Showa era?" "What's the new era name?"

Amidst the murmurs, the club's hostess, Motoko Kuwahara, approached Otomo Yoshimura and asked:

"Mr. Ōtomo, now that the Emperor has passed away, then we..."

This club is actually owned by Shuyu, which is why Motoko Haraguchi came to inquire about Daitomo Yoshimura.

"Ah, entertainment activities will be suspended for a while, so Mama-san can take a break."

Yoshimura Daitomo's tone was somber.

"It's estimated that entertainment will be prohibited for the next week, and nightclubs will not be encouraged to operate for a month."

"And the other guests?"

"Persuade them to go back."

"Should this be kept secret?"

"No need, we should have known this morning!"

"Hi!"

Motoko Haraguchi was a decisive and efficient madam. She immediately gathered her staff, announced the news, and then prepared to close for the day.

Many guests were shocked when they were notified, but they all expressed their understanding after learning of the Emperor's death.

The early morning hours are usually the busiest time in Roppongi, and the sudden closure of a club during its business hours, along with the escorting of its guests, immediately caught the attention of its competitors in the surrounding area.

As a result, news of the Emperor's death quickly spread throughout Roppongi!

The impact grew larger and larger after being confirmed by many well-informed guests.

Clubs and nightclubs throughout Roppongi also began to close to express their condolences for the Emperor. These entertainment venues are actually the most sensitive to certain trends!

The police, who came to maintain order after realizing something was wrong, learned of the Emperor's death from the drunken guests, catching the inspectors on duty at Sakurada Gate off guard.

While the news of the Emperor's death was still slowly spreading among officials, and many officials, high-society figures, major business leaders, and even members of the royal family were still unaware of it, the entertainment staff and guests in Roppongi had already learned the news and began to mourn for the Emperor!

Then, a very funny situation occurred.

The Emperor has passed away; entertainment is the future!

(End of this chapter)