TheCodeBreakers
In Tokyo, Togo had been received by the Emperor. He read the text of
Roosevelt's message, then a draft of the imperial reply that he and Tojo
had prepared. It stated that the 14-part note was to be considered as
Japan's response. Hirohito assented, and at 3:15 a.m. Togo withdrew
from the Divine Presence. Deeply moved, he recalled, "I passed solemnly,
guided by a Court official, down several hundred yards of corridors,
stretching serene and tranquil. Emerging at the carriage entrance of the
Sakashita Gate, I gazed up at the brightly shining stars, and felt bathed
in a sacred spirit. Through the Palace plaza in utter silence, hearing no
sound of the sleeping capital but only the crunching of the gravel
beneath the wheels of my car, I pondered that in a few short hours would
dawn one of the eventful days of the history of the world." Even as he
pondered, Japanese planes were circling over Pearl Harbor.
In stark contrast to the calm stillness of Tokyo was the hectic bustle
annaabi.ee 
