Difference between revisions of "Emperor Hirohito" - New World Encyclopedia

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{{Infobox_Ruler_Japan|infobox_name=Emperor Shōwa <br>(Hirohito)|
 
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image_name=[[Image:Emperor_Hirohito-1926.jpg|250px]]|
 
  
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given_name=Hirohito (裕仁)|
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[[image:macarthur hirohito.jpg|thumb|300px|General MacArthur and The Emperor]]
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childhood_name=Michinomiya|
 
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begin_reign=1926|
 
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end_reign=1989|
 
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era_name=''[[Shōwa period|Shōwa]]'' (昭和)|
 
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begin_era=[[December 25]], [[1926]]|
 
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end_era=[[January 7]], [[1989]]|
 
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posthumous_name_full=Emperor Shōwa (昭和天皇)|
 
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born=[[April 29]], [[1901]]|
 
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decease=[[January 7]], [[1989]]|
 
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father=[[Taisho Emperor|Emperor Taishō]]|
 
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mother=[[Empress Teimei]]|
 
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notes=After his death, he was renamed by Cabinet (see "[[posthumous name]]").
 
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His appellation is "Emperor Shōwa".|
 
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{{nihongo|'''Emperor Shōwa'''|昭和天皇|Shōwa Tennō}} ([[April 29]], [[1901]] — [[January 7]], [[1989]]) was the 124th [[Emperor of Japan|emperor]] of [[Japan]] according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from [[December 25]] [[1926]] until his death.
 
  
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His personal name was {{nihongo|'''Hirohito'''|裕仁}}. Like all his predecessors, he is known since his death by a [[posthumous name]], that, according to a tradition dating back to 1912, is the name of the [[Japanese era name|era]] coinciding with his reign. Having ruled during the [[Shōwa period|Shōwa era]] ''(Enlightened Peace)'', he is now known as ''Emperor Shōwa''. Although he is widely referred to as ''Hirohito'' or ''Emperor Hirohito'' outside of Japan, Japanese emperors are only referred to in Japan by their posthumous names, much like the regnal names taken in Europe except it is determined after death. The use of his personal name instead can be considered overly familiar, or almost derogatory.
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'''Emperor Hirohito''' or '''Emperor Shōwa''' (昭和天皇, Shōwa Tennō) (April 29, 1901 - January 7, 1989) was the 124th emperor of [[Japan]] according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death in 1989. His reign was the longest of any historical Japanese emperor, and he oversaw many significant changes to Japanese society.  
  
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His reign was the longest of any historical Japanese emperor, and he oversaw many significant changes to Japanese society.
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In 1937, Japan engaged in war with [[China]] for a second time, and in 1941, it entered the [[World War II|Second World War]] with the United States and its [[Allies]]. In early August 1945, Japan was the site of the only two atomic bomb attacks in history to date, and surrendered to the allied powers in 1945. From 1945–1952, Japan underwent its only foreign occupation in history. The 1960s and 1970s brought about an economic miracle, during which Japan became the second largest economy in the world.
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Emperor Hirohito was a capable and intelligent leader. Though shy and reclusive, he was intelligent and serious, and kept himself informed of political and military activities. There is much discussion about how much responsibility for Japan’s involvement in China and World War II can be attributed to Emperor Hirohito. After Japan surrendered at the end of World War II, he presented himself to General [[Douglas MacArthur]] and offered to do anything necessary to take responsibility for the war. Renouncing his quasi-divine status as a condition of surrender, he then went about transforming the role of the Imperial Family in Japan. He developed a public personality and began representing Japan as a ceremonial head of state in the manner of European constitutional monarchs, breaking many ancient precedents.
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==Name==
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Emperor Hirohito’s original name was Michinomiya Hirohito; like all his predecessors, he has been known since his death by a posthumous name, that, according to a tradition dating back to 1912, is the name of the Japanese era coinciding with his reign. Having ruled during the [[Showa period|Shōwa era]] ''(Enlightened Peace)'', he is now known as ''Emperor Shōwa''. Although he is widely referred to as ''Hirohito'' or ''Emperor Hirohito'' outside of Japan; Japanese emperors are only referred to in Japan by their posthumous names. In Japan, the use of his personal name instead can be considered overly familiar, almost derogatory.
  
 
== Early life ==
 
== Early life ==
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Born in the Aoyama Palace in [[Tokyo]], Hirohito was the first son of [[Crown Prince]] Yoshihito (the future [[Emperor Taishō]]) and Crown Princess Sadako (the future [[Empress Teimei]]). His childhood title was {{nihongo|Prince Michi|迪宮|Michi no miya}}. He became heir apparent upon the death of his grandfather, [[Emperor Meiji]], on [[July 30]], [[1912]]. His formal investiture as crown prince took place on [[November 2]], [[1916]].
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Michinomiya Hirohito (personal name '''Hirohito,''' 裕仁) was born in the Aoyama Palace in [[Tokyo]], on April 29, 1901, the first son of Crown Prince Yoshihito (the future Emperor Taishō) and Crown Princess Sadako (the future Empress Teimei). His childhood title was Prince Michi (迪宮, Michi no miya). He became heir apparent upon the death of his grandfather, [[Emperor Meiji]], on July 30, 1912. His formal investiture as crown prince took place on November 2, 1916.
  
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He attended the boy's department of [[Gakushuin]] Peer's School from 1908 to 1914 and then a special institute for the crown prince (Tōgū-gogakumonsho) from 1914 to 1921. On [[November 29]], [[1921]], he became [[regent]] of [[Japan]], in place of his ailing father. In 1921, Prince Regent Hirohito took a six month tour of [[Europe]], including the [[United Kingdom]], [[France]], [[Italy]], [[the Netherlands]] and [[Belgium]]. By doing this he became the first Japanese crown prince to travel abroad.
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From 1908 to 1914, he attended the boy's department of Gakushuin Peer's School, whose principal was Maresuke Nogi, the victorious infantry general of the Russo-Japanese war and an embodiment of ancient [[samurai]] virtues. (In 1912, on the day of Emperor Meiji's funeral, Nogi and his wife committed the ceremonial suicide of ''junshi,'' "following one's lord in death.") Nogi and two Confucian teachers tutored him about imperial duty. Hirohito then attended a special institute for the crown prince (Tōgū-gogakumonsho) from 1914 to 1921.  
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Early in life, he became interested in [[marine biology]], and later wrote several books on the subject. In 1921, Prince Regent Hirohito became the first Japanese crown prince to travel abroad when he took a six month tour of [[Europe]], including the [[United Kingdom]], [[France]], [[Italy]], [[Netherlands|the Netherlands]], and [[Belgium]]. On November 29, 1921, he became regent of [[Japan]], in place of his father, who was suffering from mental illness.
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==Family==
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On January 26, 1924, he married his distant cousin, Princess Nagako Kuni (the future Empress Kōjun), the eldest daughter of Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi, and they had two sons and five daughters:
  
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He married his distant cousin Princess Nagako Kuni (the future [[Empress Kōjun]]), the eldest daughter of [[Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi]], on [[January 26]], [[1924]]. They had two sons and five daughters:
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#'''Princess Shigeko,''' childhood appellation ''Teru no miya'' (照宮成子 ''teru no miya shigeko''), December 9, 1925—July 23, 1961; m. October 10, 1943, to Prince Higashikuni Morihiro (May 6, 1916—February 1, 1969), the eldest son of Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko and his wife, Princess Toshiko, the eighth daughter of Emperor Meiji; lost status as imperial family members, October 14, 1947
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#'''Princess Sachiko,''' childhood appellation ''Hisa no miya'' (久宮祐子 ''hisa no miya sachiko''), September 10, 1927—March 8, 1928
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#'''Princess Kazuko,''' childhood appellation ''Taka no miya'' (孝宮和子 ''taka no miya kazuko''), September 30, 1929—May 28, 1989; married May 5, 1950 to Takatsukasa Toshimichi (August 26, 1923—January 27, 1966), eldest son of Takatsukasa Nobusuke [peer]; and had a son, Naotake
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#'''Princess Ikeda, Atsuko,''' childhood appellation ''Yori no miya'' (順宮厚子 ''yori no miya atsuko''), March 7, 1931; married October 10, 1952 to Ikeda Takamasa (b. October 21, 1927), eldest son of former Marquis Nobumasa Ikeda
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#'''Crown Prince Akihito,''' childhood appellation ''Tsugu no miya'' (継宮明仁 ''tsugu no miya akihito'') became the present Emperor of Japan, b. December 23, 1933; married April 10, 1959, to Michiko (the present Shōda Empress of Japan, b. October 20, 1934), elder daughter of Shōda Hidesaburo, former president and chairman of Nisshin Flour Milling Company
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#'''Prince Masahito,''' childhood appellation ''Yoshi no miya'' (義宮正仁 ''yoshi no miya masahito''), b. November 28, 1935, titled '''Prince Hitachi''' (常陸宮 ''hitachi no miya'') since October 1964; m. October 30, 1964, to Tsugaru Hanako (b. July 19, 1940), fourth daughter of former Count Tsugaru Yoshitaka
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#'''Princess Shimazu, Takako,''' childhood appellation ''Suga no miya'' (清宮貴子 ''suga no miya takako''), b. March 3, 1939 ; m. March 3, 1960, Shimazu Hisanaga, son of former Count Shimazu Hisanori and has a son, Yoshihisa
  
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#'''Princess Shigeko''', childhood appellation ''Teru no miya'' (照宮成子 ''teru no miya shigeko''), [[9 December]] [[1925]] — [[23 July]] [[1961]]; m. [[October 10]] [[1943]] Prince [[Higashikuni Morihiro]] ([[May 6]] [[1916]] — [[February 1]] [[1969]]), the eldest son of Prince [[Prince Higashikuni|Higashikuni Naruhiko]] and his wife, Princess Toshiko, the eighth daughter of [[Emperor Meiji]]; lost status as imperial family members, [[October 14]], [[1947]];
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The daughters who lived to adulthood left the imperial family as a result of the American reforms of the Japanese imperial household in October 1947 (in the case of Princess Higashikuni), or under the terms of the Imperial Household Law at the moment of their subsequent marriages (in the cases of Princesses Kazuko, Atsuko, and Takako).
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#'''Princess Sachiko''', childhood appellation ''Hisa no miya''  (久宮祐子 ''hisa no miya sachiko''), [[10 September]] [[1927]] — [[8 March]] [[1928]];
 
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#'''Princess Kazuko''', childhood appellation ''Taka no miya'' (孝宮和子 ''taka no miya kazuko''), [[30 September]] [[1929]] — [[28 May]] [[1989]]; m. [[May 5]], [[1950]] Takatsukasa Toshimichi ([[August 26]] [[1923]] — [[January 27]] [[1966]]), eldest son of Takatsukasa Nobusuke [peer]; and had a son Naotake.
 
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#'''Princess [[Ikeda, Atsuko|Atsuko]]''', childhood appellation ''Yori no miya''  (順宮厚子 ''yori no miya atsuko''), b. [[7 March]] [[1931]]; m. [[October 10]] [[1952]] Ikeda Takamasa (b. [[October 21]] [[1927]]), eldest son of former Marquis Nobumasa Ikeda;
 
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#'''Crown Prince [[Akihito]]''', childhood appellation ''Tsugu no miya'' (継宮明仁 ''tsugu no miya akihito'') became the present [[Emperor of Japan]], b. [[23 December]] [[1933]]; m. [[April 10]] [[1959]] Shōda [[Empress Michiko of Japan|Michiko]] (the present Empress of Japan, b. [[October 20]] [[1934]]), elder daughter of Shōda Hidesaburo, former president and chairman of Nisshin Flour Milling Company;
 
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#'''Prince [[Prince Hitachi|Masahito]]''', childhood appellation ''Yoshi no miya'' (義宮正仁 ''yoshi no miya masahito''), b. [[28 November]] [[1935]], titled '''Prince Hitachi''' (常陸宮 ''hitachi no miya'') since [[1 October]] [[1964]]; m. [[October 30]] [[1964]] Tsugaru Hanako (b. [[July 19]] [[1940]]), fourth daughter of former Count Tsugaru Yoshitaka;
 
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#'''Princess [[Shimazu, Takako|Takako]]''', childhood appellation ''Suga no miya''  (清宮貴子 ''suga no miya takako''), b. [[3 March]] [[1939]]; m. [[March 3]] [[1960]] Shimazu Hisanaga, son of former Count Shimazu Hisanori and has a son Yoshihisa.
 
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The daughters who lived to adulthood left the imperial family as a result of the American reforms of the Japanese imperial household in October 1947 (in the case of Princess Higashikuni) or under the terms of the [[Imperial Household Law]] at the moment of their subsequent marriages (in the cases of Princesses Kazuko, Atsuko, and Takako).
 
  
 
==Accession==
 
==Accession==
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On [[December 25]], [[1926]], upon the death of his father Yoshihito, he succeeded him to the throne. The [[Taishō period|Taishō era]] ceased at once and a new era, the [[Shōwa period|Shōwa era]] (Enlightened Peace), was proclaimed. The deceased emperor was posthumously renamed [[Emperor Taishō]] a few days later. During his whole reign, the new emperor was [[naming taboo|never referred]] to by his given name, but rather was referred to simply as {{nihongo|'''"His Majesty the Emperor"'''|天皇陛下|tennō heika}}, which may be shortened to {{nihongo|'''"His Majesty"'''|陛下|heika}}. In writing, the emperor was also referred to formally as {{nihongo|"The Reigning Emperor"|今上天皇|kinjō tennō}}.
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On December 25, 1926, following the death of his father, Hirohito became the 124th emperor of Japan. His reign was designated Showa, or “Enlightened Peace.” According to the Japanese constitution, he was invested with supreme authority, but in practice he merely ratified the policies that were formulated by his ministers and advisers.  
  
 
==Early reign==
 
==Early reign==
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The first part of Emperor Shōwa's reign as sovereign (between [[1926]] and [[1945]]) took place against a background of increasing military power within the government, through both legal and extralegal means. The [[Imperial Japanese Army]] and [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] had held [[veto]] power over the formation of cabinets since [[1900]], and between [[1921]] and [[1944]] there were no fewer than 64 incidents of right-wing political violence.  
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The first part of Emperor Shōwa's reign as sovereign (between 1926 and 1945) saw an increase in the power of the military within the government, through both legal and extralegal means. The Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy had held veto power over the formation of cabinets since 1900, and between 1921 and 1944, there were no fewer than sixty-four incidents of right-wing political violence.  
  
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One notable case was the assassination of moderate [[Prime Minister of Japan|Prime Minister]] [[Inukai Tsuyoshi]] in [[1932]], which marked the end of any real [[civilian control of the military]]. This was followed by an attempted [[February 26 Incident|military coup]] in February 1936, the [[February 26 incident]], mounted by junior Army officers of the [[Kōdōha]] faction who had the sympathy of many high-ranking officers including [[Prince Chichibu]] (Yasuhito), one of the emperor's brothers. This revolt was occasioned by a loss of ground by the militarist faction in [[Diet of Japan|Diet]] elections. The coup resulted in the murder of a number of high government and Army officials, and was put down with Emperor Shōwa angrily assuming a major role in confronting them.
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The assassination of moderate Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi, in 1932, marked the end of any real civilian control of the military. This was followed by an attempted military coup in February 1936, the [[February 26 Incident]], mounted by junior Army officers of the Kōdōha faction who had the sympathy of many high-ranking officers including Prince Chichibu (Yasuhito), one of the emperor's brothers. The coup occurred when the militarist faction lost ground in Diet elections, and resulted in the murder of a number of high government and Army officials. Emperor Hirohito angrily assumed a major role in confronting the rebels. When Chief Aide-de-camp Shigeru Honjō informed him of the revolt, the emperor immediately ordered that it be put down, and referred to the officers as rebels ''(bōto)''. Shortly thereafter, he ordered Army minister Yoshiyuki Kawashima to suppress the rebels within one hour, and he asked for reports on the situation to be made every thirty minutes. The next day, when told by Honjō that little progress was being made by the high command in quashing the rebels, the emperor told him "I myself will lead the Konoe Division and subdue them." This was not necessary; on February 29, the rebellion was suppressed.<ref>Mikiso Hane, ''Emperor Hirohito and His Chief Aide-de-camp, The Honjō Diary'' (Hara Shobō, 1975).</ref>
  
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When Chief Aide-de-camp [[Shigeru Honjō]] informed him of the revolt, the emperor immediately ordered that it be put down and referred to the officers as rebels (bōto). Shortly thereafter, he ordered Army minister [[Yoshiyuki Kawashima]] to suppress the rebels within one hour, and he asked reports from Honjō every thirty minutes. The next day, when told by Honjō that little progress was being made by the high command in quashing the rebels, the emperor told him "I Myself, will lead the Konoe Division and subdue them". This, he was not forced to do but the rebellion was suppressed following his orders on [[February 29]].<ref>Mikiso Hane, ''Emperor Hirohito and His Chief Aide-de-camp, The Honjō Diary'', 1983; ''Honjō Nikki'', Hara Shobō, 1975</ref>
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From the 1930s, the military clique held almost all political power in Japan, and pursued policies that eventually led Japan to fight the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] (1937) and [[World War II]] (1945).
  
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Still, from the 1930s on, the military clique held almost all political power in Japan, and pursued policies that eventually led Japan to fight the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] ([[1937]]&ndash;[[1945]]) and [[World War II]].
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==[[World War II]]==
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Many historians have asserted that Emperor Hirohito personally had grave misgivings about war with the United States and opposed Japan's alliance with Germany and Italy, but was powerless to resist the military figures who dominated the armed forces and the government. Other historians claim that Emperor Hirohito might have been involved in the planning of Japan's expansionist policies from 1931 to World War II, in closed meetings with his cabinet and military advisers. Historical perception of the emperor may have been distorted by the secrecy in which he lived before World War II, and the efforts of the Allies to redefine the role of the Emperor after the war.  
  
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==The Sino-Japanese War and World War II==
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According to the traditional view, Emperor Shōwa was deeply concerned by the decision to place "war preparations first and diplomatic negotiations second," and he announced his intention to break with tradition. At the Imperial Conference on September 5, 1941, he directly questioned the chiefs of the Army and Navy general staffs, a quite unprecedented action. Nevertheless, all speakers at the Imperial Conference were united in favor of war rather than diplomacy. Baron Yoshimichi Hara, President of the Imperial Council and the emperor's representative, then questioned them closely, producing replies to the effect that war would only be considered as a last resort from some, and silence from others. At this point, Emperor Hirohito astonished all present by addressing the conference personally, and in breaking the tradition of Imperial silence left his advisers, "struck with awe." (Prime Minister Konoe's description of the event.) Emperor Shōwa stressed the need for peaceful resolution of international problems, expressed regret at his ministers' failure to respond to Baron Hara's probings, and recited a poem written by his grandfather, Emperor Meiji which, he said, he had read "over and over again: Methinks all the people of the world are brethren, then. Why are the waves and the wind so unsettled nowadays?"
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===The problem of imperial responsibility===
 
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Many people in China, Taiwan, Korea and Southeast Asia see Emperor Shōwa as the mastermind behind the atrocities committed by the imperial forces in the Second Sino-Japanese War and in World War II. Some feel that he, some members of the imperial family such as his brother [[Prince Chichibu]], his cousins [[Prince Takeda Tsuneyoshi|Prince Takeda]] and [[Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu|Prince Fushimi]], and his uncles [[prince Kan'in|Prince Kan'in]], [[Prince Asaka]], and [[Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko|Prince Higashikuni]], should have been tried for [[war crime]]s. Because of this, many Asians residing in countries that were subject to Japanese invasion retain a hostile attitude towards the [[Japanese imperial family]].  
 
  
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The central question is how much real control the emperor had over the Japanese military during the two wars. Officially, the imperial constitution, adopted under [[Emperor Meiji]], gave full power to the emperor. Article 4 prescribed that "''The Emperor is the head of the Empire, combining in Himself the rights of sovereignty, and exercises them, according to the provisions of the present Constitution''" while, according to article 6 "''The Emperor gives sanction to laws and orders them to be promulgated and executed''" and article 11, ''"The Emperor has the supreme command of the Army and the Navy".''
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Recovering from their shock, the ministers hastened to express their profound wish to explore all possible peaceful avenues.  
  
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However, the view promoted by both the Japanese Imperial Palace and the American occupation forces immediately after World War II had Emperor Shōwa as a powerless [[figurehead (metaphor)|figurehead]] behaving strictly according to protocol, while remaining at a distance from the decision-making processes.  
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Near the end of the war, in 1945, Japan was close to defeat and the country's leaders were divided between those wishing to surrender, and those insisting on a desperate defense of the home islands against an anticipated Allied invasion. Emperor Hirohito settled the dispute in favor of those who wanted peace. On August 15, 1945, he broke the precedent of imperial silence by making a national radio broadcast to announce Japan's acceptance of the Allies' terms of surrender. In a second historic broadcast on January 1, 1946, Hirohito publicly repudiated the traditional quasi-divine status of Japan's emperors.
  
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Many historians such as Akira Fujiwara (''Shōwa Tennō no Jū-go Nen Sensō'', 1991)  and Peter Wetzler (''Hirohito and War'', 1998), based on the primary sources and the monumental work of Shirō Hara,<ref>Former member of section 20 of War operations of the Army high command, Hara has made a detailed study of the way military decisions were made, including the emperor's involvement published in 5 volumes in 1973-74 under the title  ''Daihon'ei senshi; Daitōa Sensō kaisen gaishi; Kaisen ni itaru seisentyaku shidō'' (Imperial Headquarters war history; General history of beginning hostilities in the Greater East Asia War; Leadership and political strategy with respect to the beginning of hostilities).</ref> have produced evidence suggesting that the emperor worked through intermediaries to exercise a great deal of control over the military and was neither bellicose nor a pacifist, but an opportunist who governed in a pluralistic decision-making process. American historian [[Herbert P. Bix|Herbert Bix]] argues that Emperor Shōwa may even have been the prime mover of most of the events of the two wars. Historians such as Bix, Fujiwara, Wetzler and Akira Yamada recognize that the post-war view focusing on imperial conferences misses the importance of numerous "behind the chrysanthemum curtain" meetings where the real decisions were made between the emperor, his chiefs of staff and the cabinet.
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==Allied occupation==
  
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Primary sources, such as the "Sugiyama memo" and the diaries of Kido and Konoe, describe in detail the informal meetings Emperor Shōwa had with his chiefs of staff and ministers (For example, Prince [[Fumimaro Konoe]] had a very good firsthand view of the surrender events). These documents show that the emperor was kept informed of all main military operations and that he frequently questioned his senior staff and asked for changes.
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Emperor Shōwa chose his uncle, Prince Higashikuni, as prime minister to assist the occupation. There were attempts by various leaders, among them United States President [[Harry S. Truman]], to have the Emperor put on trial for alleged war crimes. Members of the imperial family, such as princes Chichibu, Takamatsu, and Higashikuni, pressured the emperor to abdicate so that one of the princes could serve as regent until Crown Prince Akihito came of age.<ref>Bix, p. 571-573.</ref> On February 27, 1946, the emperor's youngest brother, Prince Mikasa (Takahito), even stood up in the privy council and indirectly urged the emperor to step down and accept responsibility for Japan's defeat. According to the diary of Ashida, Minister of Welfare, "Everyone seemed to ponder Mikasa's words. Never have I seen His Majesty's face so pale."<ref>''Ashida Hitoshi Nikki, Dai Ikkan'' (Iwanami Shoten, 1986), p. 82.</ref>
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United States General [[Douglas MacArthur]], however, insisted that Emperor Shōwa retain the throne. MacArthur saw him as a symbol of the continuity and cohesion of the Japanese people. Many historians criticize this decision to exonerate the Emperor and the members of the imperial family implicated in the war from criminal prosecution.<ref>John Dower, ''Embracing Defeat'' (1999).</ref> Before the war crimes trials convened, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP), the International Peace and Security (IPS), and Shôwa officials worked behind the scenes to not only prevent the imperial family being indicted, but also to slant the testimony of the defendants to ensure that no one implicated the Emperor. While the individuals arrested as ''Class A'' suspects and incarcerated in Sugamo prison solemnly vowed to protect their sovereign against any possible taint of war responsibility.<ref>Ibid.</ref> High officials in court circles and the shôwa government collaborated with allied General Headquarters in compiling lists of prospective war criminals. Thus, "months before the Tokyo tribunal commenced, MacArthur's highest subordinates were working to attribute ultimate responsibility for the bombing of Pearl Harbor to Hideki Tōjō"<ref>Ibid.</ref> by allowing "the major criminal suspects to coordinate their stories so that the Emperor would be spared from indictment." According to John Dower, "This successful campaign to absolve the Emperor of war responsibility knew no bounds. Hirohito was not merely presented as being innocent of any formal acts that might make him culpable to indictment as a war criminal. He was turned into an almost saintly figure who did not even bear moral responsibility for the war."<ref>Ibid.</ref> According to Bix, "MacArthur's truly extraordinary measures to save Hirohito from trial as a war criminal had a lasting and profoundly distorting impact on Japanese understanding of the lost war."<ref>Ibid.</ref>
  
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===Entering World War II===
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The emperor was not put on trial, but he was forced to explicitly reject (in the ''Ningen-sengen,'' 人間宣言) the traditional claim that the emperor of Japan was divine, and a descendant of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu. According to the Japanese constitution of 1889, the emperor had a divine power over his country, which was derived from the mythology of the Japanese Imperial Family, who were said to be the offspring of the ancestor of Japan, [[Amaterasu]]. Before [[World War II]], Tatsukichi Minobe had caused a furor by advocating the theory that sovereignty resides in the states, of which the emperor is just an organ (the ''tennō kikan setsu''). He was forced to resign from the House of Peers and his post at the Tokyo Imperial University in 1935, his books were banned and an attempt was made on his life.<ref>Stephen S. Large, ''Emperor Hirohito and Showa Japan: A Political Biography'' (Routledge, 1992).</ref> It was not until 1946 that the emperor's title was altered from "imperial sovereign" to "constitutional monarch." Immediately after Emperor Shōwa's repudiation of divinity, he asked the occupation authorities for permission to worship the Sun Goddess. Some have seen this as an implicit reaffirmation of the claim to divine status; others have seen it as simply an expression of the emperor's personal religious beliefs, with no political or social implications.
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Prior to what is formally known as "[[World War II]]", Japan invaded [[Manchuria]] in 1931 and the rest of [[China]] in 1937 (the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]]). The primary sources reveal that Emperor Shōwa never really had any objection to the invasion of China in 1937, which was recommended to him by his chiefs of staff and prime minister [[Fumimaro Konoe]]. His main concern seems to have been the possibility of an attack by the Soviets in the north and his questions to his chief of staff [[prince Kan'in]] and minister of the army [[Hajime Sugiyama]] were mostly about the time it could take to crush the Chinese resistance.  
 
  
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According to Akira Fujiwara, the emperor even personally ratified the proposition of his army to remove the constraints of international law on the treatment of Chinese prisoners on [[August 5]].<ref>Fujiwara, ''Nitchū Sensō ni Okeru Horyo Gyakusatsu'', Kikan Sensō Sekinin Kenkyū 9, 1995, p.22</ref> Moreover, the works of Yoshiaki Yoshimi and Seiya Matsuno, show that he authorized by specific orders (rinsanmei) the use of chemical weapons against the Chinese. <ref>''Dokugasusen Kankei Shiryō II, Kaisetsu,'' 1997, pp.25-29</ref> For example, during the invasion of [[Wuhan]], from August to October 1938, the emperor authorized the use of toxic gas on 375 separate occasions,<ref>Yoshimi and Matsuno, ibid. p.28</ref> despite the resolution adopted by the [[League of Nations]] on [[May 14]] condemning the use of toxic gas by the Japanese Army.
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Although the emperor was compelled to reject claims to his own divine status, his public position was deliberately left vague, both because General MacArthur thought the Emperor could be useful in gaining Japanese acceptance of the occupation, and because Shigeru Yoshida wished to thwart attempts to cast him as a European-style monarch. While Emperor Shōwa was usually seen from abroad as a head of state, there is still a broad dispute about whether he became a common citizen or retained a special status related to his religious offices and participation in [[Shinto]] and [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] calendar rituals. Many scholars claim that today's ''tennō'' (usually translated “Emperor of Japan” in English) is not an emperor.  
  
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During [[World War II]], ostensibly under Emperor Shōwa's leadership, Japan formed [[military alliance|alliance]]s with [[Nazi Germany]] and [[Fascist Italy]], forming the [[Axis Powers]]. The emperor, who had a predilection for England, was reluctant to form this alliance. In July 1939, he even had a bad quarrel on this subject with one of his brothers, [[Prince Chichibu]], who was visiting him three times a week to support the treaty, and reprimanded the army minister [[Seishiro Itagaki]],<ref>Terasaki Hidenari, ''Shōwa tennō dokuhakuroku'', Bungei Shūnjusha, 1991, p.106-108, Wetzler, ''Hirohito and War'', pp.25, 231</ref> but he finally gave his consent after the success of the [[Wehrmacht]] in Europe.  
+
==Post-war reign==
 +
Under a new constitution drafted by the [[United States]] occupation authorities, Japan became a constitutional monarchy, with sovereignty residing in the people, and the emperor’s powers greatly curtailed. Emperor Hirohito began to make numerous public appearances and permitted unprecedented publication of pictures and stories about his personal and family life, in an effort to make the Japanese people feel closer to the imperial family. In 1959, his oldest son, Crown Prince Akihito, broke a 1,500-year tradition and married a commoner, Shoda Michiko, the daughter of the former president and chairman of Nisshin Flour Milling Company;
 +
In 1971, Hirohito toured Europe and broke another tradition by becoming the first reigning Japanese monarch to visit abroad. In 1975, he made a state visit to the United States.  
  
−
On [[September 4]], [[1941]], the Japanese Cabinet met to consider the war plans prepared by Imperial General Headquarters, and decided that:
+
For the rest of his life, Emperor Shōwa was an active figure in Japanese life, and performed many of the duties commonly associated with a constitutional head of state. The emperor and his family maintained a strong public presence, often holding public walk abouts, and making public appearances at special events and ceremonies. He also played an important role in rebuilding Japan's diplomatic image, traveling abroad to meet with many foreign leaders, including numerous American presidents and Queen [[Elizabeth II]]. In 1975, the emperor and the empress were honored guests at Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, the first such visit by Japanese royalty.
  
−
{{cquote
+
Emperor Hirohito was deeply interested in and well-informed about [[marine biology]], and the Imperial Palace contained a laboratory from which the emperor published several papers in the field under his personal name "Hirohito." His contributions included the description of several dozen species of [[jellyfish]] new to science.
−
|Our Empire, for the purpose of self-defence and self-preservation, will complete preparations for war ... <nowiki>[</nowiki>and is<nowiki>]</nowiki> ... resolved to go to war with the [[United States]], [[United Kingdom|Great Britain]] and the [[Netherlands]] if necessary. Our Empire will concurrently take all possible diplomatic measures vis-à-vis the United States and Great Britain, and thereby endeavor to obtain our objectives ... In the event that there is no prospect of our demands being met by the first ten days of October through the diplomatic negotiations mentioned above, we will immediately decide to commence hostilities against the United States, Britain and the Netherlands.}}
 
  
−
The "objectives" to be obtained were clearly defined: a free hand to continue with the conquest of [[China]] and [[Southeast Asia]], no increase in US or British military forces in the region, and cooperation by the West "in the acquisition of goods needed by our Empire".
+
==Death and state funeral==
−
 
 
−
On [[September 5]], Prime Minister [[Fumimaro Konoe|Konoe]] informally submitted a draft of the decision to the emperor, just one day in advance of the Imperial Conference at which it would be formally implemented. On this evening, Emperor Shōwa had a meeting with chief of staff of the army Sugiyama, chief of staff of the navy [[Osami Nagano]] and Konoe. The emperor then questioned Sugiyama about the chances of success of an open war with the Occident. As Sugiyama answered positively, the emperor scolded him:
 
−
 
 
−
{{cquote
 
−
|—At the time of the Shina [China] incident, the army told me that we could make Chiang surrender after three months but you still can't beat him even today! Sugiyama, you were minister at the time.<br />—China is a vast area with many ways in and ways out, and we met unexpectedly big difficulties.<br />—You say the interior of China is huge; isn't the Pacific Ocean even bigger than China? Didn't I caution you each time about those matters? Sugiyama, are you lying to me?<ref>Conversation in Bix, ''Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan'', pp.411, 745</ref>}}
 
−
 
 
−
Chief of Naval General Staff Admiral Nagano, a former Navy Minister and vastly experienced, later told a trusted colleague, "I have never seen the emperor reprimand us in such a manner, his face turning red and raising his voice."
 
−
 
 
−
According to the traditional view, Emperor Shōwa was deeply concerned by the decision to place "war preparations first and diplomatic negotiations second", and he announced his intention to break with tradition. At the Imperial Conference on the following day, he directly questioned the chiefs of the Army and Navy general staffs, a quite unprecedented action.
 
−
 
 
−
Nevertheless, all speakers at the Imperial Conference were united in favour of war rather than diplomacy. Baron [[Yoshimichi Hara]], President of the Imperial Council and the emperor's representative, then questioned them closely, producing replies to the effect that war would only be considered as a last resort from some, and silence from others.
 
−
 
 
−
At this point, the sovereign astonished all present by addressing the conference personally, and in breaking the tradition of Imperial silence left his advisors "struck with awe". (Prime Minister Konoe's description of the event.) Emperor Shōwa stressed the need for peaceful resolution of international problems, expressed regret at his ministers' failure to respond to Baron Hara's probings, and recited a poem written by his grandfather, [[Emperor Meiji]] which, he said, he had read "over and over again":
 
−
 
 
−
{{cquote|''Methinks all the people of the world are brethren, then.''<br />''Why are the waves and the wind so unsettled nowadays?''}}
 
−
 
 
−
Recovering from their shock, the ministers hastened to express their profound wish to explore all possible peaceful avenues. The emperor's presentation was in line with his practical role as leader of the [[Shinto]] religion.
 
−
 
 
−
At this time, Army Imperial Headquarters was continually communicating with the Imperial household in detail about the military situation. On [[October 8]], Sugiyama signed a 47-page report to the emperor (sōjōan) outlining in minute detail plans for the advance in Southeast Asia and, on the third week, gave him a 51-page document, "Materials in Reply to the Throne", about an operational outlook on the war.<ref>Wetzler, ''Hirohito and War'', pp.52-54</ref>
 
−
 
 
−
As the war preparations continued, however, Konoe found himself more and more isolated and gave his demission on [[October 16]]. He justified himself to his chief cabinet secretary, Kenji Tomita :
 
−
 
 
−
{{cquote|Of course His Majesty is a pacifist, and there is no doubt he wished to avoid war. When I told him that to initiate war was a mistake, he agreed. But the next day, he would tell me : You were worried about it yesterday, but you do not have to worry so much. Thus, gradually, he began to lead toward war. And the next time I met him, he leaned even more toward. In short, I felt the emperor was telling me : my prime minister does not understand military matters, I know much more. In short, the emperor had absorbed the view of the army and navy high commands.<ref>Fujiwara, ''Shôwa tennô no ju-go nen sensô'', 1991, p.126, citing Kenji Tomita's diary </ref>}}
 
−
 
 
−
The army and the navy recommended at this point the candidacy of [[prince Higashikuni]], one of the emperor's uncles. According to the Shōwa "Monologue", written after the war, the emperor then said that if the war were to begin while a member of the imperial house was prime minister, the imperial house would have to carry the responsibility and this he opposed.<ref> Hidenari, ibid., p.118</ref>
 
−
 
 
−
He thus chose the hard-line General [[Hideki Tōjō]], who was known for his devotion to the imperial institution and asked him to make a policy review of what had been sanctioned by the imperial conferences. On [[November 2]], Tōjō, Sugiyama and Nagano reported to the emperor that the review of eleven points had been in vain. Emperor Shōwa gave his consent to the war and then asked: "Are you going to provide justification for the war?"<ref>Bix, ibid p.421, Wetzler, ibid. pp.47-50.</ref>
 
−
 
 
−
On [[November 3]], Nagano explained in detail the Pearl Harbor attack plan to the emperor.<ref>Wetzler, ibid pp.29, 35</ref> On [[November 5]], Emperor Shōwa approved in imperial conference the operations plan for a war against Occident and had many meetings with the military and Tōjō until the end of the month. On [[December 1]], an imperial conference finally sanctioned the "War against the United States, England and Holland". On [[December 8]] ([[December 7]] in Hawaii) [[1941]], in simultaneous attacks, Japanese forces struck at the US Fleet in [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor]] and began the invasion of [[Malaysia]]. From this point, there was no turning back.
 
−
 
 
−
With the nation now fully committed to the war, Emperor Shōwa took a keen interest in military progress and sought to boost morale. According to Akira Yamada and Akira Fujiwara, the emperor even made major interventions in some military operations. For example, he pressed Sugiyama four times, on [[January 13]] and [[January 21|21]] and [[February 9]] and [[February 26|26]], to increase troop strength and launch an attack of [[Bataan]]. On [[February 9]], [[March 19]] and [[May 29]], he ordered the Army Chief of staff to examine the possibilities for an attack on [[Chungking]] which led to operation [[Gogo]].<ref>Yamada, ''Daigensui Shōwa tennō'', 1994, pp.180, 181, 185, Fujiwara, ''Shōwa tennō no jū-go nen sensō'', pp.135-138</ref>
 
−
 
 
−
As the tide of war gradually began to turn (around late [[1942]] and early [[1943]]), some people argue that the flow of information to the palace gradually began to bear less and less relation to reality, while others suggest that the emperor worked closely with Prime Minister Tōjō, continued to be well and accurately briefed by the military, and knew Japan's military position precisely right up to the point of surrender. The chief of staff of the General Affairs section of the Prime Minister's office, Shuichi Inada, remarked to Tōjō's private secretary, Sadao Akamatsu:
 
−
{{cquote|There has never been a cabinet in which the prime minister, and all the ministers, reported so often to the throne. In order to effect the essence of genuine direct imperial rule and to relieve the concerns of the emperor, the ministers reported to the throne matters within the scope of their responsibilities as per the prime minister's directives... In times of intense activities, typed drafts were presented to the emperor with corrections in red. First draft, second draft, final draft and so forth, came as deliberations progressed one after the other and were sanctioned accordingly by the emperor.<ref>Akamatsu's diary, in Wetzler, ibid. p.50</ref>}}
 
−
 
 
−
In the first six months of war, all the major engagements had been victories. However, as the tide turned in the summer of 1942 with the [[battle of Midway]] and the landing of the American forces on [[Guadalcanal]] and [[Tulagi]] in August, the Emperor immediately recognized the potential danger and pushed the navy and the army for greater efforts. When informed in August 1943 by [[Sugiyama]] that the American advance through the [[Solomon islands]] could not be stopped, he asked his chief of staff to consider other places to attack : "When and where on are you ever going to put up a good fight? And when are you ever going to fight a decisive battle?" <ref>Bix, ibid. p.466, citing the Sugiyama memo, p.24.</ref> On August 24, he reprimanded [[Nagano]] for the defeat of [[Bela Bela]] and on September 11, he ordered [[Sugiyama]] to work with the Navy to implement better military preparation and give adequate supply to soldiers fighting in [[Rabaul]]. <ref>Yamada, ibid. p. 240-242.</ref>
 
−
 
 
−
Throughout the following years, the sequence of drawn and then decisively lost engagements was also reported to the public as a series of great victories. Only gradually did it become apparent to the people in the home islands that the situation was very grim. U.S. air raids on the cities of Japan starting in [[1944]] made a mockery of the unending tales of victory. Later that year, with the downfall of Hideki Tōjō's government, two other prime ministers were appointed to continue the war effort, [[Kuniaki Koiso]] and [[Kantaro Suzuki]]&mdash;again, with at least the formal approval of the emperor, but whether he agreed with their policies is still disputed. Both were unsuccessful and Japan was nearing defeat.
 
  
−
===Last days of the war===
+
[[Image:Showa_Shrine.jpg|thumb|200px|The Shōwa Emperor's tomb in Hachioji]]
−
In early [[1945]], in the wake of the loss of [[Battle of Leyte|Leyte]], Emperor Shōwa began a series of individual meetings with senior government officials to consider the progress of the war. All but one advised continuing. The exception was ex-Prime Minister [[Fumimaro Konoe]], who feared a [[Communism|communist]] revolution even more than defeat and urged a negotiated surrender. According to some accounts, the emperor apparently took the view that peace was essential, but that the armed forces would have to engineer a conspicuous military victory somewhere in order to provide a stronger bargaining position. With each passing week this became less likely. In April the [[Soviet Union]] issued notice that it would not renew its neutrality agreement. Japan's ally [[Germany]] surrendered in early May [[1945]]. In June, the cabinet reassessed the war strategy, only to decide more firmly than ever on a fight to the last man. This was officially affirmed at a brief Imperial Council meeting, to which the emperor listened in stone-faced silence.
 
  
−
The following day, [[Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan|Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal]] [[Kōichi Kido]] prepared a draft document which summarised the hopeless military situation and proposed a negotiated settlement. According to some sources, {{who}} the emperor privately approved of it and authorised Kido to circulate it discreetly amongst the less hawkish cabinet members; others suggest that the emperor was indecisive, and that the delay cost many tens of thousands of Japanese and Allied lives. Extremists in Japan were also calling for a death-before-dishonor mass suicide, modeled on the "[[Forty-seven Ronin|47 Ronin]]" incident. By mid-June the cabinet had agreed to approach the Soviet Union to act as a mediator, though not before the bargaining position had been improved by a repulse of the coming Allied invasion of mainland Japan.  
+
On September 22, 1987, the emperor underwent surgery on his pancreas after having digestive problems for several months. This was the very first time a Japanese emperor underwent surgery. The doctors discovered that he had duodenal cancer, but in accordance with Japanese tradition, they did not tell him.<ref>J-Revolution.com, [http://j-revolution.com/?page=db/culturedb/hirohito Emperor Hirohito.] Retrieved February 27, 2007.</ref> He seemed to be recovering well for several months after his surgery. About a year later, however, on September 19, 1988, he collapsed in his palace, and his health worsened over the next several months as he suffered from continuous internal bleeding. On January 7, 1989, at 6:33 a.m., the emperor died. At 7:55 a.m., the grand steward of Japan's Imperial Household Agency, Shoichi Fujimori, officially announced the emperor's death, and revealed details about his cancer for the first time. Emperor Hirohito had been the longest-reigning Japanese emperor. He was succeeded at once by his son, Akihito.  
  
−
On [[June 22]], the emperor met his ministers, saying "I desire that concrete plans to end the war, unhampered by existing policy, be speedily studied and that efforts be made to implement them." The attempt to negotiate a peace via the Soviet Union came to nothing. There was always the threat that extremists would carry out a coup or foment other violence. The Allies were determined not to settle for anything short of [[unconditional surrender]], and as late as July [[1945]] the Japanese government council, the Big Six, considered that option and recommended one to three conditions, beginning with a guarantee of the emperor's continued position in Japanese society.
+
His death marked the end of the [[Showa period|Shōwa era]] and the immediate beginning of the Heisei era. From January 7 until January 31, the formal appellation of the late emperor was "Taikō Tennō (大行天皇)," which means “the departed emperor.” His definitive posthumous name was determined on January 13, and formally released on January 31, by the prime minister of Japan. Not surprisingly, he was renamed ''Emperor Shōwa (Shōwa Tennō),'' after the era during which he ruled.
  
−
On [[August 9]] [[1945]], following the [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]] and the Soviet declaration of war, Emperor Shōwa told Kido to "quickly control the situation" because "the Soviet Union has declared war and today began hostilities against us."<ref>Kido Kōichi Nikki, p.1223</ref> On [[August 10]], the cabinet drafted an "Imperial Rescript ending the War" following the emperor's indications that the declaration did not compromise any demand which prejudiced the prerogatives of His Majesty as a Sovereign Ruler.
+
On February 24, Emperor Shōwa's state funeral was held, and unlike that of his predecessor, it was formal but not done in a strictly [[Shinto]] manner. A large number of world leaders attended, including U.S. President [[George H.W. Bush]], a former naval aviator who had twice been shot down fighting the Japanese in World War II. The general feeling of public opinion throughout the world at this time was that Emperor Shōwa's regal presence on the throne had contributed substantially to helping Japan regain economic and political stability during the postwar era. He is buried in the Imperial mausoleum in Hachioji, Tokyo, alongside Emperor Taishō, his father.  
−
 
 
−
On [[August 12]], the emperor informed the imperial family of his decision to surrender. One of his uncles, [[Prince Asaka]], then asked whether the war would be continued if the ''[[kokutai]]'' (national policy) could not be preserved. The emperor simply replied "of course".<ref>Terasaki Hidenari, Shōwa tennō dokuhakuroku, 1991, p.129</ref> On [[August 14]], the Suzuki government notified the Allies that it had accepted the [[Potsdam Declaration]]. On [[August 15]], a recording of the emperor's [[Gyokuon-hōsō|surrender speech]]  was broadcast over the radio signifying the unconditional surrender of Japan's military forces (known as ''[[Gyokuon-hōsō]]'').
 
−
 
 
−
Objecting to the surrender, die-hard army fanatics attempted a [[coup d'etat]] by conducting a full military assault and takeover of the Imperial Palace. The physical recording of the surrender speech was hidden and preserved overnight, and the coup was quickly crushed on the emperor's order. The surrender speech noted that "the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage" and ordered the Japanese to "endure the unendurable" in surrender. It was the first time the public had heard the emperor's voice. He was purposely vague, because the emperor of Japan was not regarded merely as a human saying "We surrender to the Americans", but rather, was viewed as the sacred symbol, embodiment, and leader of Japan, and as such this required a more vague tone that preserved this mystique. Indeed, the formal, stilted Japanese used by the emperor in the speech was not readily understood by many common Japanese. According to historian Richard Storry in ''A History of Modern Japan'', the emperor typically used "a form of language familiar only to the well-educated" and to the more traditional [[samurai]] families. The most important immediate result of this surrender was that food relief shipments could be arranged within weeks, where otherwise the urban population of Japan was in danger of mass starvation similar to Germany and Central Europe after [[World War I]]. He was the only leader of the Axis Powers to remain alive and in office following the end of the Second World War.
 
−
 
 
−
==Post-war reign==
 
−
[[image:macarthur hirohito.jpg|thumb|300px|General MacArthur and The Emperor]]
 
−
 
 
−
As Emperor Shōwa chose his uncle Prince [[Higashikuni]] as prime minister to assist the occupation, there were attempts by numerous leaders, among them [[President of the United States|President]] [[Harry S. Truman]], to have him put on trial for alleged [[war crimes]]. Many members of the imperial family such as princes Chichibu, Takamatsu and Higashikuni pressured the emperor to abdicate so one of the princes could serve as regent until Crown Prince [[Akihito]] came of age.<ref>Bix, ibid, pp.571-573</ref> On [[February 27]], [[1946]], the emperor's youngest brother, [[Prince Mikasa]] (Takahito), even stood up in the privy council and indirectly urged the emperor to step down and accept responsibility for Japan's defeat. According to Minister of Welfare Ashida's diary, "Everyone seemed to ponder Mikasa's words. Never have I seen His Majesty's face so pale."<ref>''Ashida Hitoshi Nikki, Dai Ikkan'', Iwanami Shoten, 1986, p.82</ref>
 
 
   
 
   
−
U.S. General [[Douglas MacArthur]] insisted that Emperor Shōwa retain the throne. MacArthur saw him as a symbol of the continuity and cohesion of the Japanese people. Many historians criticize this decision to exonerate the Emperor and all members of the imperial family implicated in the war such as [[prince Chichibu]], [[prince Asaka]], [[prince Higashikuni]] and [[prince Fushimi]] from criminal prosecutions <ref>John Dower, ''Embracing defeat'', 1999, Bix, ibid.</ref> Before the war crimes trials actually convened, the [[Supreme_Commander_of_the_Allied_Powers|SCAP]], the [[International_Peace_and_Security|IPS]] and shôwa officials worked behind the scenes not only to prevent the imperial family being indicted, but also to slant the testimony of the defendants to ensure that no one implicated the Emperor. High officials in court circles and the shôwa government collaborated with allied GHQ in compiling lists of prospective war criminals, while the inviduals arrested as ''Class A'' suspects and incarcerated in [[Sugamo]] prison solemnly vowed to protect their sovereign against any possible taint of war responsibility. <ref>Dower, ibid., p.325 </ref> Thus,  "months before the [[Tokyo tribunal]] commenced, MacArthur's highest subordinates were working to attribute ultimate responsibility for [[Pearl Harbor]] to [[Hideki Tōjō]]"<ref>ibid., p.585 </ref> by allowing "the major criminal suspects to coordinate their stories so that the Emperor would be spared from indictment." <ref>ibid. p.583</ref> According to John Dower, "This successful campaign to absolve the Emperor of war responsibility knew no bounds. Hirohito was not merely presented as being innocent of any formal acts that might him culpable to indictment as a war criminal. He was turned into an almost saintly figure who did not even bear moral responsibility for the war." <ref>Dower, ibid. p. 326. </ref> According to Bix, "[[MacArthur]]'s truly extraordinary measures to save Hirohito from trial as a war criminal had a lasting and profoundly distorting impact on Japanese understanding of the lost war". <ref>Bix, ibid. p.545</ref>
+
<blockquote>In an odd way his presence and personality became the one persistent unifying factor for his countrymen in a century of sharp and unexpected transformation. The metamorphosis of his imperial image from the plumed militarist on horseback to the democratic monarch waving to crowds with his crushed fedora remains one of history's most puzzling, leaving basic questions about his ability and his legacy still unanswered a decade after his death.<ref>Frank Gibney, Sr., "Japan's wartime monarch outlived his role as god-king, but he oversaw the nation's modern transformation," ''Time'' 100: August 23-30, 1999 Vol. 154 No. 7/8.</ref></blockquote>
−
 
 
−
The emperor was not put on trial, but he was forced{{Fact|date=February 2007}} to explicitly reject (in the {{nihongo|''[[Ningen-sengen]]''|人間宣言}}) the traditional claim that the emperor of Japan was divine, and a descendant of the [[Amaterasu|Sun Goddess]]. According to the [[Constitution of Japan#The Constitution of the Empire of Japan .281889-1947.29|Japanese constitution of 1889]], the emperor had a divine power over his country, which was derived from the mythology of the Japanese Imperial Family who were said to be the offspring of the creator of Japan, [[Amaterasu]]. When Tatsukichi Minobe advocated the theory that sovereignty resides in the states, of which the emperor is just an organ (the ''tennō kikan setsu''), it caused a furor. He was forced to resign from the House of Peers and his post at the Tokyo Imperial University in 1935, his books were banned and an attempt was made on his life.<ref>Large, Stephen S.; Emperor Hirohito and Showa Japan: a political biography, p. 60; Routledge, 1992</ref> It was not until [[1946]] that the tremendous step was made to alter the emperor's title from "imperial sovereign" to "[[constitutional monarchy|constitutional monarch]]." Immediately after Emperor Shōwa's repudiation of divinity, he asked the occupation authorities for permission to worship the Sun Goddess. Some have seen this as an implicit reaffirmation of the claim to divine status; others have seen it as simply an expression of the emperor's personal religious beliefs, with no political or social implications.
 
−
 
 
−
Although the emperor was compelled to reject claims to his own divine status, his public position was deliberately left vague, partly because General MacArthur thought him likely to be a useful partner to get the Japanese to accept the occupation, and partly due to behind-the-scenes maneuverings by [[Shigeru Yoshida]] to thwart attempts to cast him as a European-style monarch. While Emperor Shōwa was usually seen abroad as a [[head of state]], there is still a broad dispute about whether he became a common citizen or retained special status related to his religious offices and participations in Shinto and Buddhist calendar rituals. Many scholars claim that today's ''tennō'' (usually translated [[Emperor of Japan]] in English) is not an [[emperor]]. See the ''[[Emperor of Japan]]'' article for discussion of the position of Emperor of Japan.
 
−
 
 
−
For the rest of his life, Emperor Shōwa was an active figure in Japanese life, and performed many of the duties commonly associated with a constitutional [[head of state]]. The emperor and his family maintained a strong public presence, often holding public walkabouts, and making public appearances on special events and ceremonies. He also played an important role in rebuilding Japan's diplomatic image, traveling abroad to meet with many foreign leaders, including numerous American presidents and Queen [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Elizabeth II]]. In [[1975]], the emperor and the empress were honored guests at [[Colonial Williamsburg]] in [[Virginia]], the first such visit by Japanese royalty. 
 
−
 
 
−
He was deeply interested in and well-informed about [[marine biology]], and the [[Kokyo|Imperial Palace]] contained a laboratory from which the emperor published several papers in the field under his personal name "Hirohito". His contributions included the description of several dozen species of [[jellyfish]] new to science.
 
−
 
 
−
===Yasukuni Shrine===
 
−
Although largely refraining from becoming involved in the politics surrounding [[Yasukuni Jinja]], since as a constitutional monarch he is barred from politics, Emperor Shōwa maintained an official boycott of the controversial monument from [[1978]] until the time of his death, after it was revealed to him that some wartime supporters of the alliance with Germany were being honored there. However, his motivations remain unclear as, even if he notoriously hated Minister [[Yosuke Matsuoka]], he never blamed leaders such as Prime Minister [[Hideki Tōjō]], calling him his "loyal servant". For journalist Masanori Yamaguchi, who analyzed comments made by Emperor Shōwa in the Tomita "memo" and in his first-ever press conference in [[1975]], the evasive and opaque attitude of the emperor about his responsibility for the war and his comment that the bombing of Hiroshima "could not be helped", is significant that the emperor was afraid that the enshrinement of the Class-A war criminals would "reignite" debate over his own responsibility for the war. 
 
  
−
This boycott has been maintained by his son [[Akihito]], who has also refused to worship at Yasukuni since [[1978]].
+
==Notes==
−
 
+
<references/>
−
==Death and state funeral==
 
−
[[Image:Showa_Shrine.jpg|thumb|200px|The Shōwa Emperor's tomb in [[Hachioji]]]]
 
−
On [[September 22]], [[1987]], the emperor underwent surgery on his pancreas after having digestive problems for several months. This was the very first time a Japanese emperor underwent surgery. The doctors discovered that he had [[duodenal cancer]], but in accordance with Japanese tradition, they did not tell him.<ref>[http://j-revolution.com/?page=db/culturedb/hirohito Emperor Hirohito], J-Revolution.com; Last accessed on Feb 21, 2007.</ref> He seemed to be recovering well for several months after his surgery. About a year later, however, on [[September 19]], [[1988]], he collapsed in his palace, and his health worsened over the next several months as he suffered from continuous internal bleeding. On [[January 7]], [[1989]], at 6:33 AM, the emperor died. At 7:55 AM, the grand steward of Japan's Imperial Household Agency, Shoichi Fujimori, officially announced the emperor's death, and revealed details about his cancer for the first time. He was succeeded at once by his son, [[Akihito]].
 
−
 
 
−
His death put at once an end to the [[Shōwa period|Shōwa era]] and on the same day a new [[Japanese era name|era]] began: the [[Heisei|Heisei era]]. From [[January 7]] until [[January 31]], the formal appellation of the late emperor was "Taikō Tennō ({{lang|ja|大行天皇}})", which means the departed emperor. His definitive posthumous name was determined on [[January 13]] and formally released on [[January 31]] by Japanese prime minister. Without surprise, he was renamed ''Emperor Shōwa (Shōwa Tennō)'', after the era during which he ruled.
 
−
 
 
−
On [[February 24]], Emperor Shōwa's state funeral was held, and unlike that of his predecessor, it was formal but not done in a strictly [[Shinto]] manner. A large number of world leaders attended it, including U.S. President [[George H.W. Bush]], a former naval aviator who had twice been shot down fighting the Japanese in World War II. The general feeling of public opinion throughout the world at this time was that Emperor Shōwa's regal presence on the throne had greatly helped Japan to regain economic and political stability during the postwar era. He is buried in the Imperial mausoleum in [[Hachioji, Tokyo|Hachioji]], alongside [[Emperor Taishō]], his father.
 
−
 
 
−
==See also==
 
−
* [[Fumimaro Konoe]]
 
−
* [[Gyokuon-hoso|Gyokuon-hōsō]]
 
−
* [[Hideki Tojo]]
 
−
* [[Japanese nationalism]]
 
−
* [[Showa period|Shōwa period]]
 
−
* [[Tanaka Memorial]]
 
−
* [[World War II]]
 
−
* [[Imperial Japan]]
 
−
* [[The Sun (film)]] - a biographical film about the Emperor
 
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
−
<div class="references-small">
+
* Behr, Edward. ''Hirohito: Behind the Myth.'' New York: Villard Books, 1989. ISBN 0394580729 
−
* Behr, Edward ''Hirohito: Behind the Myth'', Villard, New York, 1989. - A controversial book that posited that Hirohito had a more active role in WWII than had publicly been portrayed; it contributed to the re-appraisal of his role.
+
* Bix, Herbert P. ''Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan.'' Harper Collins, 2000. ISBN 0-06-019314-X  
−
* Bix, Herbert P. ''Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan'', HarperCollins, 2000. ISBN 0-06-019314-X, A recent scholarly (and copiously sourced) look at the same issue.
+
* Dower, John W. ''Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II.'' New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1999. ISBN 0393046869
−
* Fujiwara, Akira, ''Shōwa Tennō no Jū-go Nen Sensō (Shōwa Emperor's Fifteen-year War)'', Aoki Shoten, 1991. ISBN 4-250-91043-1 (Based on the primary sources)
+
* Honjō, Shigeru and Mikiso Hane. ''Emperor Hirohito and his Chief Aide-de-Camp: The Honjō Diary, 1933-36.'' Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1982. ISBN 0860083195
−
* Hoyt, Edwin P. ''Hirohito: The Emperor and the Man'', Praeger Publishers, 1992. ISBN 0-275-94069-1
+
* Harvey, Robert. ''American Shogun: General MacArthur, Emperor Hirohito and the Drama of Modern Japan''. Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press, 2006. ISBN 1585676829 
−
* Kawahara, Toshiaki ''Hirohito and His Times: A Japanese Perspective'', Kodansha International, 1997. ISBN 0-87011-979-6 (Japanese official image)
+
* Hoyt, Edwin P. ''Hirohito: The Emperor and the Man.'' Praeger Publishers, 1992. ISBN 0-275-94069-1
−
* Mosley, Leonard ''Hirohito, Emperor of Japan'', Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 1966. ISBN 1-111-75539-6 ISBN 1-199-99760-9, The first full-length biography, it gives his basic story.
+
* Kawahara, Toshiaki. ''Hirohito and His Times: A Japanese Perspective.'' Kodansha International, 1997. ISBN 0-87011-979-6  
−
* Wetzler, Peter ''Hirohito and War: Imperial Tradition and Military Decision Making in Prewar Japan'', University of Hawaii Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8248-1925-X
+
* Large, Stephen S. ''Emperor Hirohito and Shōwa Japan: A Political Biography''. London: Routledge, 1992. ISBN 0415032032
−
* Yamada, Akira, ''Daigensui Shōwa Tennō (Shōwa Emperor as Commander in Chief)'', Shin-Nihon Shuppansha, 1994. ISBN 4-406-02285-6 (Based on the primary sources)
+
* Mosley, Leonard. ''Hirohito, Emperor of Japan.'' Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1966. ISBN 1-111-75539-6
−
</div>
+
* Seagrave, Sterling and Peggy Seagrave. ''The Yamato Dynasty: The Secret History of Japan's Imperial Family.'' New York: Broadway Books, 1999. ISBN 0767904966 
−
 
+
* Wetzler, Peter. ''Hirohito and War: Imperial Tradition and Military Decision Making in Prewar Japan.'' University of Hawaii Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8248-1925-X
−
==Footnotes==
 
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* [http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/esyouwa/esyouwa.html#koujyun Kunaicho |Emperor Showa]
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Latest revision as of 18:28, 13 February 2024


General MacArthur and The Emperor

Emperor Hirohito or Emperor Shōwa (昭和天皇, Shōwa Tennō) (April 29, 1901 - January 7, 1989) was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death in 1989. His reign was the longest of any historical Japanese emperor, and he oversaw many significant changes to Japanese society.

In 1937, Japan engaged in war with China for a second time, and in 1941, it entered the Second World War with the United States and its Allies. In early August 1945, Japan was the site of the only two atomic bomb attacks in history to date, and surrendered to the allied powers in 1945. From 1945–1952, Japan underwent its only foreign occupation in history. The 1960s and 1970s brought about an economic miracle, during which Japan became the second largest economy in the world.

Emperor Hirohito was a capable and intelligent leader. Though shy and reclusive, he was intelligent and serious, and kept himself informed of political and military activities. There is much discussion about how much responsibility for Japan’s involvement in China and World War II can be attributed to Emperor Hirohito. After Japan surrendered at the end of World War II, he presented himself to General Douglas MacArthur and offered to do anything necessary to take responsibility for the war. Renouncing his quasi-divine status as a condition of surrender, he then went about transforming the role of the Imperial Family in Japan. He developed a public personality and began representing Japan as a ceremonial head of state in the manner of European constitutional monarchs, breaking many ancient precedents.

Name

Emperor Hirohito’s original name was Michinomiya Hirohito; like all his predecessors, he has been known since his death by a posthumous name, that, according to a tradition dating back to 1912, is the name of the Japanese era coinciding with his reign. Having ruled during the Shōwa era (Enlightened Peace), he is now known as Emperor Shōwa. Although he is widely referred to as Hirohito or Emperor Hirohito outside of Japan; Japanese emperors are only referred to in Japan by their posthumous names. In Japan, the use of his personal name instead can be considered overly familiar, almost derogatory.

Early life

Michinomiya Hirohito (personal name Hirohito, 裕仁) was born in the Aoyama Palace in Tokyo, on April 29, 1901, the first son of Crown Prince Yoshihito (the future Emperor Taishō) and Crown Princess Sadako (the future Empress Teimei). His childhood title was Prince Michi (迪宮, Michi no miya). He became heir apparent upon the death of his grandfather, Emperor Meiji, on July 30, 1912. His formal investiture as crown prince took place on November 2, 1916.

From 1908 to 1914, he attended the boy's department of Gakushuin Peer's School, whose principal was Maresuke Nogi, the victorious infantry general of the Russo-Japanese war and an embodiment of ancient samurai virtues. (In 1912, on the day of Emperor Meiji's funeral, Nogi and his wife committed the ceremonial suicide of junshi, "following one's lord in death.") Nogi and two Confucian teachers tutored him about imperial duty. Hirohito then attended a special institute for the crown prince (Tōgū-gogakumonsho) from 1914 to 1921.

Early in life, he became interested in marine biology, and later wrote several books on the subject. In 1921, Prince Regent Hirohito became the first Japanese crown prince to travel abroad when he took a six month tour of Europe, including the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium. On November 29, 1921, he became regent of Japan, in place of his father, who was suffering from mental illness.

Family

On January 26, 1924, he married his distant cousin, Princess Nagako Kuni (the future Empress Kōjun), the eldest daughter of Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi, and they had two sons and five daughters:

  1. Princess Shigeko, childhood appellation Teru no miya (照宮成子 teru no miya shigeko), December 9, 1925—July 23, 1961; m. October 10, 1943, to Prince Higashikuni Morihiro (May 6, 1916—February 1, 1969), the eldest son of Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko and his wife, Princess Toshiko, the eighth daughter of Emperor Meiji; lost status as imperial family members, October 14, 1947
  2. Princess Sachiko, childhood appellation Hisa no miya (久宮祐子 hisa no miya sachiko), September 10, 1927—March 8, 1928
  3. Princess Kazuko, childhood appellation Taka no miya (孝宮和子 taka no miya kazuko), September 30, 1929—May 28, 1989; married May 5, 1950 to Takatsukasa Toshimichi (August 26, 1923—January 27, 1966), eldest son of Takatsukasa Nobusuke [peer]; and had a son, Naotake
  4. Princess Ikeda, Atsuko, childhood appellation Yori no miya (順宮厚子 yori no miya atsuko), March 7, 1931; married October 10, 1952 to Ikeda Takamasa (b. October 21, 1927), eldest son of former Marquis Nobumasa Ikeda
  5. Crown Prince Akihito, childhood appellation Tsugu no miya (継宮明仁 tsugu no miya akihito) became the present Emperor of Japan, b. December 23, 1933; married April 10, 1959, to Michiko (the present Shōda Empress of Japan, b. October 20, 1934), elder daughter of Shōda Hidesaburo, former president and chairman of Nisshin Flour Milling Company
  6. Prince Masahito, childhood appellation Yoshi no miya (義宮正仁 yoshi no miya masahito), b. November 28, 1935, titled Prince Hitachi (常陸宮 hitachi no miya) since October 1964; m. October 30, 1964, to Tsugaru Hanako (b. July 19, 1940), fourth daughter of former Count Tsugaru Yoshitaka
  7. Princess Shimazu, Takako, childhood appellation Suga no miya (清宮貴子 suga no miya takako), b. March 3, 1939 ; m. March 3, 1960, Shimazu Hisanaga, son of former Count Shimazu Hisanori and has a son, Yoshihisa

The daughters who lived to adulthood left the imperial family as a result of the American reforms of the Japanese imperial household in October 1947 (in the case of Princess Higashikuni), or under the terms of the Imperial Household Law at the moment of their subsequent marriages (in the cases of Princesses Kazuko, Atsuko, and Takako).

Accession

On December 25, 1926, following the death of his father, Hirohito became the 124th emperor of Japan. His reign was designated Showa, or “Enlightened Peace.” According to the Japanese constitution, he was invested with supreme authority, but in practice he merely ratified the policies that were formulated by his ministers and advisers.

Early reign

The first part of Emperor Shōwa's reign as sovereign (between 1926 and 1945) saw an increase in the power of the military within the government, through both legal and extralegal means. The Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy had held veto power over the formation of cabinets since 1900, and between 1921 and 1944, there were no fewer than sixty-four incidents of right-wing political violence.

The assassination of moderate Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi, in 1932, marked the end of any real civilian control of the military. This was followed by an attempted military coup in February 1936, the February 26 Incident, mounted by junior Army officers of the Kōdōha faction who had the sympathy of many high-ranking officers including Prince Chichibu (Yasuhito), one of the emperor's brothers. The coup occurred when the militarist faction lost ground in Diet elections, and resulted in the murder of a number of high government and Army officials. Emperor Hirohito angrily assumed a major role in confronting the rebels. When Chief Aide-de-camp Shigeru Honjō informed him of the revolt, the emperor immediately ordered that it be put down, and referred to the officers as rebels (bōto). Shortly thereafter, he ordered Army minister Yoshiyuki Kawashima to suppress the rebels within one hour, and he asked for reports on the situation to be made every thirty minutes. The next day, when told by Honjō that little progress was being made by the high command in quashing the rebels, the emperor told him "I myself will lead the Konoe Division and subdue them." This was not necessary; on February 29, the rebellion was suppressed.[1]

From the 1930s, the military clique held almost all political power in Japan, and pursued policies that eventually led Japan to fight the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937) and World War II (1945).

World War II

Many historians have asserted that Emperor Hirohito personally had grave misgivings about war with the United States and opposed Japan's alliance with Germany and Italy, but was powerless to resist the military figures who dominated the armed forces and the government. Other historians claim that Emperor Hirohito might have been involved in the planning of Japan's expansionist policies from 1931 to World War II, in closed meetings with his cabinet and military advisers. Historical perception of the emperor may have been distorted by the secrecy in which he lived before World War II, and the efforts of the Allies to redefine the role of the Emperor after the war.

According to the traditional view, Emperor Shōwa was deeply concerned by the decision to place "war preparations first and diplomatic negotiations second," and he announced his intention to break with tradition. At the Imperial Conference on September 5, 1941, he directly questioned the chiefs of the Army and Navy general staffs, a quite unprecedented action. Nevertheless, all speakers at the Imperial Conference were united in favor of war rather than diplomacy. Baron Yoshimichi Hara, President of the Imperial Council and the emperor's representative, then questioned them closely, producing replies to the effect that war would only be considered as a last resort from some, and silence from others. At this point, Emperor Hirohito astonished all present by addressing the conference personally, and in breaking the tradition of Imperial silence left his advisers, "struck with awe." (Prime Minister Konoe's description of the event.) Emperor Shōwa stressed the need for peaceful resolution of international problems, expressed regret at his ministers' failure to respond to Baron Hara's probings, and recited a poem written by his grandfather, Emperor Meiji which, he said, he had read "over and over again: Methinks all the people of the world are brethren, then. Why are the waves and the wind so unsettled nowadays?"

Recovering from their shock, the ministers hastened to express their profound wish to explore all possible peaceful avenues.

Near the end of the war, in 1945, Japan was close to defeat and the country's leaders were divided between those wishing to surrender, and those insisting on a desperate defense of the home islands against an anticipated Allied invasion. Emperor Hirohito settled the dispute in favor of those who wanted peace. On August 15, 1945, he broke the precedent of imperial silence by making a national radio broadcast to announce Japan's acceptance of the Allies' terms of surrender. In a second historic broadcast on January 1, 1946, Hirohito publicly repudiated the traditional quasi-divine status of Japan's emperors.

Allied occupation

Emperor Shōwa chose his uncle, Prince Higashikuni, as prime minister to assist the occupation. There were attempts by various leaders, among them United States President Harry S. Truman, to have the Emperor put on trial for alleged war crimes. Members of the imperial family, such as princes Chichibu, Takamatsu, and Higashikuni, pressured the emperor to abdicate so that one of the princes could serve as regent until Crown Prince Akihito came of age.[2] On February 27, 1946, the emperor's youngest brother, Prince Mikasa (Takahito), even stood up in the privy council and indirectly urged the emperor to step down and accept responsibility for Japan's defeat. According to the diary of Ashida, Minister of Welfare, "Everyone seemed to ponder Mikasa's words. Never have I seen His Majesty's face so pale."[3]

United States General Douglas MacArthur, however, insisted that Emperor Shōwa retain the throne. MacArthur saw him as a symbol of the continuity and cohesion of the Japanese people. Many historians criticize this decision to exonerate the Emperor and the members of the imperial family implicated in the war from criminal prosecution.[4] Before the war crimes trials convened, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP), the International Peace and Security (IPS), and Shôwa officials worked behind the scenes to not only prevent the imperial family being indicted, but also to slant the testimony of the defendants to ensure that no one implicated the Emperor. While the individuals arrested as Class A suspects and incarcerated in Sugamo prison solemnly vowed to protect their sovereign against any possible taint of war responsibility.[5] High officials in court circles and the shôwa government collaborated with allied General Headquarters in compiling lists of prospective war criminals. Thus, "months before the Tokyo tribunal commenced, MacArthur's highest subordinates were working to attribute ultimate responsibility for the bombing of Pearl Harbor to Hideki Tōjō"[6] by allowing "the major criminal suspects to coordinate their stories so that the Emperor would be spared from indictment." According to John Dower, "This successful campaign to absolve the Emperor of war responsibility knew no bounds. Hirohito was not merely presented as being innocent of any formal acts that might make him culpable to indictment as a war criminal. He was turned into an almost saintly figure who did not even bear moral responsibility for the war."[7] According to Bix, "MacArthur's truly extraordinary measures to save Hirohito from trial as a war criminal had a lasting and profoundly distorting impact on Japanese understanding of the lost war."[8]

The emperor was not put on trial, but he was forced to explicitly reject (in the Ningen-sengen, 人間宣言) the traditional claim that the emperor of Japan was divine, and a descendant of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu. According to the Japanese constitution of 1889, the emperor had a divine power over his country, which was derived from the mythology of the Japanese Imperial Family, who were said to be the offspring of the ancestor of Japan, Amaterasu. Before World War II, Tatsukichi Minobe had caused a furor by advocating the theory that sovereignty resides in the states, of which the emperor is just an organ (the tennō kikan setsu). He was forced to resign from the House of Peers and his post at the Tokyo Imperial University in 1935, his books were banned and an attempt was made on his life.[9] It was not until 1946 that the emperor's title was altered from "imperial sovereign" to "constitutional monarch." Immediately after Emperor Shōwa's repudiation of divinity, he asked the occupation authorities for permission to worship the Sun Goddess. Some have seen this as an implicit reaffirmation of the claim to divine status; others have seen it as simply an expression of the emperor's personal religious beliefs, with no political or social implications.

Although the emperor was compelled to reject claims to his own divine status, his public position was deliberately left vague, both because General MacArthur thought the Emperor could be useful in gaining Japanese acceptance of the occupation, and because Shigeru Yoshida wished to thwart attempts to cast him as a European-style monarch. While Emperor Shōwa was usually seen from abroad as a head of state, there is still a broad dispute about whether he became a common citizen or retained a special status related to his religious offices and participation in Shinto and Buddhist calendar rituals. Many scholars claim that today's tennō (usually translated “Emperor of Japan” in English) is not an emperor.

Post-war reign

Under a new constitution drafted by the United States occupation authorities, Japan became a constitutional monarchy, with sovereignty residing in the people, and the emperor’s powers greatly curtailed. Emperor Hirohito began to make numerous public appearances and permitted unprecedented publication of pictures and stories about his personal and family life, in an effort to make the Japanese people feel closer to the imperial family. In 1959, his oldest son, Crown Prince Akihito, broke a 1,500-year tradition and married a commoner, Shoda Michiko, the daughter of the former president and chairman of Nisshin Flour Milling Company; In 1971, Hirohito toured Europe and broke another tradition by becoming the first reigning Japanese monarch to visit abroad. In 1975, he made a state visit to the United States.

For the rest of his life, Emperor Shōwa was an active figure in Japanese life, and performed many of the duties commonly associated with a constitutional head of state. The emperor and his family maintained a strong public presence, often holding public walk abouts, and making public appearances at special events and ceremonies. He also played an important role in rebuilding Japan's diplomatic image, traveling abroad to meet with many foreign leaders, including numerous American presidents and Queen Elizabeth II. In 1975, the emperor and the empress were honored guests at Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, the first such visit by Japanese royalty.

Emperor Hirohito was deeply interested in and well-informed about marine biology, and the Imperial Palace contained a laboratory from which the emperor published several papers in the field under his personal name "Hirohito." His contributions included the description of several dozen species of jellyfish new to science.

Death and state funeral

The Shōwa Emperor's tomb in Hachioji

On September 22, 1987, the emperor underwent surgery on his pancreas after having digestive problems for several months. This was the very first time a Japanese emperor underwent surgery. The doctors discovered that he had duodenal cancer, but in accordance with Japanese tradition, they did not tell him.[10] He seemed to be recovering well for several months after his surgery. About a year later, however, on September 19, 1988, he collapsed in his palace, and his health worsened over the next several months as he suffered from continuous internal bleeding. On January 7, 1989, at 6:33 a.m., the emperor died. At 7:55 a.m., the grand steward of Japan's Imperial Household Agency, Shoichi Fujimori, officially announced the emperor's death, and revealed details about his cancer for the first time. Emperor Hirohito had been the longest-reigning Japanese emperor. He was succeeded at once by his son, Akihito.

His death marked the end of the Shōwa era and the immediate beginning of the Heisei era. From January 7 until January 31, the formal appellation of the late emperor was "Taikō Tennō (大行天皇)," which means “the departed emperor.” His definitive posthumous name was determined on January 13, and formally released on January 31, by the prime minister of Japan. Not surprisingly, he was renamed Emperor Shōwa (Shōwa Tennō), after the era during which he ruled.

On February 24, Emperor Shōwa's state funeral was held, and unlike that of his predecessor, it was formal but not done in a strictly Shinto manner. A large number of world leaders attended, including U.S. President George H.W. Bush, a former naval aviator who had twice been shot down fighting the Japanese in World War II. The general feeling of public opinion throughout the world at this time was that Emperor Shōwa's regal presence on the throne had contributed substantially to helping Japan regain economic and political stability during the postwar era. He is buried in the Imperial mausoleum in Hachioji, Tokyo, alongside Emperor Taishō, his father.

In an odd way his presence and personality became the one persistent unifying factor for his countrymen in a century of sharp and unexpected transformation. The metamorphosis of his imperial image from the plumed militarist on horseback to the democratic monarch waving to crowds with his crushed fedora remains one of history's most puzzling, leaving basic questions about his ability and his legacy still unanswered a decade after his death.[11]

Notes

  1. ↑ Mikiso Hane, Emperor Hirohito and His Chief Aide-de-camp, The Honjō Diary (Hara Shobō, 1975).
  2. ↑ Bix, p. 571-573.
  3. ↑ Ashida Hitoshi Nikki, Dai Ikkan (Iwanami Shoten, 1986), p. 82.
  4. ↑ John Dower, Embracing Defeat (1999).
  5. ↑ Ibid.
  6. ↑ Ibid.
  7. ↑ Ibid.
  8. ↑ Ibid.
  9. ↑ Stephen S. Large, Emperor Hirohito and Showa Japan: A Political Biography (Routledge, 1992).
  10. ↑ J-Revolution.com, Emperor Hirohito. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  11. ↑ Frank Gibney, Sr., "Japan's wartime monarch outlived his role as god-king, but he oversaw the nation's modern transformation," Time 100: August 23-30, 1999 Vol. 154 No. 7/8.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Behr, Edward. Hirohito: Behind the Myth. New York: Villard Books, 1989. ISBN 0394580729
  • Bix, Herbert P. Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan. Harper Collins, 2000. ISBN 0-06-019314-X
  • Dower, John W. Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1999. ISBN 0393046869
  • Honjō, Shigeru and Mikiso Hane. Emperor Hirohito and his Chief Aide-de-Camp: The Honjō Diary, 1933-36. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1982. ISBN 0860083195
  • Harvey, Robert. American Shogun: General MacArthur, Emperor Hirohito and the Drama of Modern Japan. Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press, 2006. ISBN 1585676829
  • Hoyt, Edwin P. Hirohito: The Emperor and the Man. Praeger Publishers, 1992. ISBN 0-275-94069-1
  • Kawahara, Toshiaki. Hirohito and His Times: A Japanese Perspective. Kodansha International, 1997. ISBN 0-87011-979-6
  • Large, Stephen S. Emperor Hirohito and Shōwa Japan: A Political Biography. London: Routledge, 1992. ISBN 0415032032
  • Mosley, Leonard. Hirohito, Emperor of Japan. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1966. ISBN 1-111-75539-6
  • Seagrave, Sterling and Peggy Seagrave. The Yamato Dynasty: The Secret History of Japan's Imperial Family. New York: Broadway Books, 1999. ISBN 0767904966
  • Wetzler, Peter. Hirohito and War: Imperial Tradition and Military Decision Making in Prewar Japan. University of Hawaii Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8248-1925-X

External links

All links retrieved February 13, 2024.

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