Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 16, 1994 TAG: 9406170215
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By Alec Klein staff writer
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
First, there is the roar of a police escort - two motorcycles, two squad cars - followed by two black stretch limousines bearing Japanese and American flags.
Then, just down the red brick walkway, two well-cut figures emerge. They are trailed by attendants and Gov. George Allen and his wife, flanked by rolling cameras and clicking shutters, secured by scores of roving Secret Service agents packing heat, Marines in tough shades, Navy divers with buzzcuts and a bomb-sniffing dog named Wilson.
Not just your average tourists.
For 1,584 seconds Wednesday, Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko strolled the historic grounds of Thomas Jefferson's hilltop home as part of their two-week, 11-city goodwill tour of the United States.
Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev has been to the home of the author of the Declaration of Independence. So has the Dalai Lama. Even Barbra Streisand has graced Monticello. But never an emperor, unless you count the bust of Napoleon that Jefferson placed in his parlor and called a "demon in human form."
Emperors have changed. Now, imperial couples do the tourist thing, too.
They delighted in Jefferson's tea room, set with porcelain cups and saucers from France. Hardly anyone noticed former Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, in tow for the tour.
The emperor smiled appreciatively, his wife demurred gracefully. He wore a grey double-breasted suit and blue tie; she wore a stylish white tilted hat with a floral design and carried a white pocketbook draped over her delicate left arm. He murmured questions to their personal guides: Daniel P. Jordan, president of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, and his wife. The empress bent over to better appreciate sprinkles of flowers in the west lawn.
"What are those?" the empress inquired in English, pointing to yellow prickly poppies. Out of curiosity, she touched things in Jefferson's home, normally a no-no, but staffers had removed the `Please do not touch` signs until the majesties left to avoid offending.
They moved along smoothly, as if oblivious to the hordes of American and Japanese media just a glance away; they held forth with ease, giving no heed to the kougoukeisatsu, the imperial palace police.
And then they were ushered to a line of limousines with engines humming and men in blue suits standing by to whisk them away.
by CNB