WAIMEA, Hawai'i — Japan's royal couple watched Hawai'i-style cattle roping yesterday before returning to their homeland after a two-week tour of Canada and Hawai'i.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko stood on a perch overlooking the Pacific Ocean as 10 paniolo, or Hawai'i cowboys, lassoed two cattle on a grassy field on the slopes of Mauna Kea.

Using a technique pioneered by the first Hawai'i cowboys in the 1800s, the paniolo tied the cattle to a Y-shaped post.

The Parker Ranch cowboys rode their horses up to the emperor and empress when they finished, formed a line, took off their hats and bowed.

"He got to see real cowboys doing real cowboy stuff," said Keoki Wood, Parker Ranch's livestock manager. "It's really an honor for all of us."

The Big Island visit concluded the royal couple's three-day visit to Hawai'i. It was their first visit to Hawai'i since 1994.

The empress, who injured her leg playing tennis in February, limped slightly as she walked from the couple's car to the main house on the ranch. She also limped later when she walked to the spot where they watched the cowboys. The emperor supported his wife by holding her elbow as they climbed the few steps at the house entrance.

The Imperial Household Agency warned before the couple left Tokyo in early July that the emperor and empress' health was "not in top form" and there might be some changes to their itinerary as a result.

Akihito, 75, has osteoporosis and is still recovering from a stress-linked irregular pulse. He has also undergone surgery and treatment for cancer. Michiko, 74, has also suffered from stress-related illnesses over the years.

The royals also met with members of the Big Island's Japanese-American community at the main building on the ranch, the home of the late Richard Smart. Smart, whose family founded Parker Ranch in 1847, left the ranch in a trust to benefit the local community when he died in 1992.

The couple was greeted at Kona International Airport by about 60 dancing and chanting children. They performed "Welcoming the Rising Sun," which was written for the emperor and empress by Taupouri Tangaro of Hawai'i Community College.

Yesterday morning, Gov. Linda Lingle and others bid the royal couple farewell from Honolulu as their official Boeing 747 left from Hickam Air Force Base.

One reason for their visit was to celebrate the 50th anniversary of a scholarship foundation set up by Hawai'i residents as a wedding gift to the couple in 1959. They also laid a wreath at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific and attended a luncheon hosted by Lingle.

Francis Lum, former chief of protocol for the state, said the Hawai'i trip was a chance for the couple to rest before heading back to Japan. Although he is retired, Lum said he was asked to coordinate this visit because he had coordinated the emperor's previous visits to Hawai'i.

Lum said he considers these visits among the highlights of his career.

"It's not like the presidents," Lum said. "You see them all the time. Kings and queens, you see them all the time. But the emperor is something very special for me."

Akihito and Michiko thanked members of the Honolulu Police Department, which escorted the motorcade and helped provide security. Maj. Stephen Kornegay, with the Specialized Services Division, spoke to the emperor and promised to carry a message to the officers who escorted and protected him.