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From the outset, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko wanted to do something for those forced from their homes by the calamity that befell Japan in March 2011.
In an unprecedented gesture, the couple offered the use of an imperial villa for evacuees seeking shelter after the earthquake and tsunami disaster that triggered a nuclear crisis.
Princesses packed bath towels in boxes for the impromptu guests. Prince Fumihito, the couple's youngest son, shipped part of his art collection from Tokyo to the villa in Tochigi Prefecture outside Tokyo for the enjoyment of the evacuees.
Once the emperor made his views known, things moved swiftly.
Kunio Wachi, 61, headed the Administration Division at the Imperial Household Agency at the time. He recalls being summoned on March 18, 2011, by Shingo Haketa, the grand steward of the agency.
"Please come along with the department head," said Haketa, 72.
Takeshi Suzuki, 62, the head of the Maintenance and Works Department, went with Wachi to see Haketa.
Haketa said to the two, "I am wondering whether the Nasu Imperial Villa can be used as an evacuation center. That is the feeling of the emperor and empress. Do you think it can be done?"
The site of the Nasu Imperial Villa has 6.6 million square meters of forested land. There are a number of buildings that the imperial couple use when they are relaxing there. Their total floor space is in the range of 7,000 square meters.
Other structures are used by Crown Prince Naruhito and his family as well as serving as living quarters for Imperial Household Agency officials who accompany imperial family members to the villa.
Haketa wanted to know if those living quarters for agency employees could be used for evacuees.
Wachi said, "It may be difficult to turn it into an evacuation center."
Because the imperial villa was built to allow imperial family members to escape the summer heat of the capital, it does not have heating. With snow still remaining on the grounds of the imperial villa, it was felt the site would be too cold for the evacuees in March.
Wachi gave other reasons why the imperial villa was not suited as an evacuation center. Because of its location in a wooded area, the transportation network was inconvenient. There also was not enough linen and other bedding materials. With only six permanent workers based at the imperial villa, they would be unable to care for the large number of evacuees that might show up.
Haketa, while not entirely convinced, said, "You may be right."
"Could you think about how it might be used?" Haketa asked.
Within the Imperial Household Agency, there are only two individuals in a position of direct communication with the emperor and empress.
One is the grand steward, who is the top official among bureaucrats who make up the public side of the agency.
The other is the grand chamberlain, who is the top official among those who personally take care of the daily needs of the imperial couple.
When Haketa spoke of the "feeling" of the imperial couple to Wachi, it was clear he was conveying their express intention.
The persistent way Haketa made his request made Wachi realize that the emperor would not take "no" for an answer.
As of 4 p.m. on March 18, one week after the triple disaster, a total of 2,442 people had evacuated from the most seriously devastated areas to Tochigi Prefecture. Of that number, 2,277 were from Fukushima Prefecture.
The number from Fukushima was expected to rise sharply as a series of explosions struck the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
There were 461 evacuees in the town of Nasu, where the imperial villa is located.
When he returned to his office, Wachi recalled that a hot spring bath had been constructed at the villa. There were also three baths for agency workers. He felt those could be used by the evacuees. Wachi immediately returned to Haketa's office.
"What if we invited the evacuees to use the hot spring baths at the villa?" Wachi proposed.
Haketa smiled and said: "I understand. Please contact the prefectural government."
On the following Monday, March 21, plans were in place.
At that time, the imperial couple proposed providing the funds to pay for the bath towels to be used by the evacuees.
With the green light to use the baths, preparations moved quickly.
On March 24, about 3,400 towels to be used by the evacuees were packed into boxes at the auditorium of the Imperial Household Agency.
Princess Kiko, 47, and her two daughters, Princess Mako, 22, and Princess Kako, 19, helped with the packing.
On the previous day, Prince Fumihito called Wachi to his office. Wachi was accompanied by Hiroo Wada, 55, the head of the Secretariat Division. It was obvious Fumihito was already well-aware of the plan to use the Nasu Imperial Villa.
"It will be important to provide psychological care to the evacuees," Fumihito said.
The agency officials were also told later of Kiko's proposal to use paintings displayed at their Tokyo residence for the enjoyment of the evacuees.
Other plans were made at the Imperial Household Agency.
A rotation system was set up to have two agency workers spend three nights at the villa to take care of the evacuees. Two bodyguards assigned to the imperial family were also dispatched to the villa on a rotating system.
The futon and blankets to be used by those agency workers were transported from the agency. Arrangements were also made to restart the propane gas system that was normally shut down over the winter as well as to clean the baths.
Agency workers were asked to make donations to pay for the drinks and snacks to be provided after the evacuees took their baths and were relaxing. Workers in the Imperial Cuisine Division contacted companies to provide the food and drink.
The paintings borrowed from Fumihito's residence were displayed in the rest area for the evacuees.
The Tochigi prefectural government and the Nasu municipal government also cooperated by providing vans to transport the evacuees in Nasu to the villa.
On the morning of March 26, Wachi greeted the first group of evacuees.
"The villa has a very good hot spring so please take your time in using it," he said. "There are three baths and we are also providing beverages."
Until April 19, a total of 449 evacuees used the baths.
Wachi was subsequently called to Haketa's office.
"Can you distribute produce from the Imperial Stock Farm to the evacuees?" Haketa asked.
The farm in Tochigi Prefecture produces milk and eggs. The produce is normally used in meals prepared for the imperial family as well as for state banquets.
Wachi thought the imperial couple probably wanted the produce to go to the evacuees.
While he believed it would be possible, the first thing that had to be done was repair damage to the farm caused by the magnitude-9.0 earthquake.
Wachi received a phone call shortly after the quake struck.
"The lodging structure has collapsed. While there is also considerable damage to other buildings, all the workers have evacuated and are safe. The horses are calm and no animals have escaped."
Located about 13 kilometers northeast of Utsunomiya, the farm straddles the towns of Takanezawa and Haga. The 250-hectare farm has cows, horses and chickens. Vegetables are grown using organic farming techniques.
In addition to some of the buildings, the earthquake also damaged the pasteurization equipment used to process milk. For that reason, milk collected from the cows had to be thrown away. Meat smoking equipment was also damaged, meaning ham and sausage production was temporarily suspended.
Because emergency vehicles were given priority use of the Tohoku expressway, produce from the farm could not be delivered to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
Meat production only resumed in June after equipment was repaired. Produce, such as milk, resumed delivery to the Imperial Palace in July after roads became usable.
When Haketa asked Wachi about the possibility of donating produce from the farm to evacuees, Wachi said: "We cannot deliver milk because the equipment is damaged. But the eggs are alright. The eggs also passed radiation tests. We can distribute it."
The Tochigi prefectural government tested local produce and found that the eggs from the farm, along with canned goods and smoked produce that were kept in storage, were safe.
On March 24, 2011, Haketa held a news conference at the Imperial Household Agency and announced that produce from the imperial farm would be provided to Fukushima Prefecture evacuees who had fled to Mashiko, Tochigi Prefecture.
In total, 1,000 eggs, 280 cans of pork and sausage and 100 kilograms of sweet potatoes were distributed to six evacuation centers over a total of six occasions.
The Imperial Household Agency also invited about 600 individuals who had evacuated to Tokyo to the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace on days when they were not open to the public. Most of the evacuees were from Fukushima.
Those who visited the gardens were able to take in fully bloomed cherry blossoms at the Honmaru and the Ninomaru Garden.