Hirohito

Hirohito (April 29, 1901 – January 7, 1989) was the 124th Emperor of Japan who reigned from 1926 to 1989. Since his death he has been known as Emperor Sh?wa (????, Sh?wa tenn?) in Japan, although he is widely referred to as Hirohito, or Emperor Hirohito, outside of Japan. Before his death, he was simply addressed as Tenn? Heika (lit. His Majesty the Son of Heaven).

Post-war reign

On August 15, 1945, following the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the entry of the Soviet Union into the war against Japan, Hirohito, after more hesitation, abandoned the condition of preserving his own position and finally made the radio broadcast announcing the unconditional surrender of Japan's military forces (known as Gyokuon-h?s?). This broadcast exhorted the Japanese to "accept the unacceptable" in surrender. Because Hirohito was in charge of the cause of Pacific War, there were attempts to put him on trial for war crimes by numerous leaders, among them President Harry S. Truman, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur insisted that Hirohito remain Emperor to keep him as a symbol of continuity and cohesion of the Japanese people. Hirohito was spared trial and retained the throne, but Hirohito was forced to explicitly reject (in the Ningen-sengen ????, lit. "declaration of human being") the traditional claim that the Emperor of Japan was divine, and a descendant of the Sun Goddess. According to the Japanese constitution of 1889, Hirohito 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 or Amaterasu. The imperial title was thus transformed from 'imperial sovereign' to 'constitutional monarch' in 1946. It should, however, be noted that immediately after Hirohito's repudiation of divinity, he implicitly reaffirmed it by asking the occupation authorities for permission to worship an ancestress and then worshipping the Sun Goddess; this reaffirmation would have been comprehensible to all Japanese though not necessarily by the occupation authorities.

Related Topics:
August 15 - 1945 - Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Entry of the Soviet Union - Gyokuon-h?s? - War crimes - President - Harry S. Truman - Douglas MacArthur - Ningen-sengen - Sun Goddess - Japanese constitution of 1889 - Constitutional monarch - 1946

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Although Hirohito was forced to reject any claims to his own divine status, his status was deliberately left vague, partly because General MacArthur thought him likely to be a useful tool to get the Japanese to accept the occupation, and partly due to behind-the-scenes maneuverings by Yoshida Shigeru to thwart MacArthur's attempts at casting Hirohito as a European-style monarch. While Hirohito was usually seen as a head of state, there is still a broad dispute about whether he became a mere citizen or something else. Many scholars claim that today's tenn? (usually translated into Emperor of Japan in English) is not an emperor. That view determines whether Japan is a democratic republic or a constitutional monarchy. See the "Emperor of Japan" article for discussion of the position of Emperor of Japan.

Related Topics:
Yoshida Shigeru - Head of state - Emperor of Japan - Emperor

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Regardless, for the rest of his life, Hirohito was an active figure in Japanese life, and performed many of the duties commonly associated with a figurehead 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 holidays. 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 the United Kingdom's Elizabeth II.

Related Topics:
Head of state - United Kingdom - Elizabeth II

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In his lifetime, he was interested in marine biology, and the Imperial Palace contained a laboratory from which Hirohito published several papers in the field.

Related Topics:
Marine biology - Imperial Palace

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