Ready yourselves not just for the first sunrise of the new year, but the first sunrise of a new decade. For the significance of the rising sun has a long history in Japan.
In 607 AD, Empress Suiko sponsored a diplomatic mission to Sui Dynasty China. Of the varying messages and correspondences the mission carried with them was one that began with this salutation:
"From the Tenshi (Son of Heaven) of the land where the sun rises, to the Tenshi of the land where the sun sets ..."
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