The President, poets and a tree were on the itinerary of the Emperor and Empress of Japan yesterday.
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko paid a courtesy call on the President, Mary McAleese, in the morning during which they were shown the tree they planted at Áras an Uachtaráin 20 years ago.
Mrs McAleese was heard to tell the couple that the leaves of the Katsura tree were "really very beautiful in the autumn" and that their daughter, Princess Sayako had seen the tree at its red-gold best some years ago.
The couple were on the second day of a three-day unofficial visit to Ireland. Both have a "keen interest in natural life and its conservation" according to the Japanese ministry of foreign affairs.
The emperor "encourages research projects on natural life in the grounds of the imperial estates" and he has "made a taxonomic study of gobies, small fish found in fresh, brackish and marine waters".
He is also a member of the Ichthyological Society of Japan and has published 26 papers in the society's journal.
In the afternoon they attended a cultural reception at the Mansion House where, as well as meeting Lord Mayor of Dublin Michael Conaghan, they met poets Séamus Heaney, Brendan Kennelly, the singer Enya, musician James Galway, writer Ulick O'Connor, former president Patrick Hillery and former minister for foreign Affairs and chairman of the Irish Red Cross, David Andrews.
Empress Michiko has often spoken of her love of Irish poetry and legends.