
according to the traditional order, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death in 1989. Although better known outside of Japan by his personal name Hirohito, in Japan he is now referred to exclusively by his posthumous name
Emperor Shōwa. The word Shōwa is the name of the era
that corresponded with the Emperor's reign, and was made the Emperor's own name upon his death.
At the start of his reign, Japan was already one of the great powers – the ninth largest economy in the world after Italy, the third largest naval country
, and one of the five permanent members of the council of the League of Nations
.
After pondering deeply the general trends of the world and the actual conditions obtaining in Our Empire today, We have decided to effect a settlement of the present situation by resorting to an extraordinary measure. We have ordered Our Government to communicate to the Governments of the United States, Great Britain, China and the Soviet Union that Our Empire accepts the provisions of their Joint Declaration.
To strive for the common prosperity and happiness of all nations as well as the security and well-being of Our subjects is the solemn obligation which has been handed down by Our Imperial Ancestors and which lies close to Our heart.
The hardships and sufferings to which Our nation is to be subjected hereafter will be certainly great. We are keenly aware of the inmost feelings of all of you. Our subjects. However, it is according to the dictates of time and fate that We have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come by enduring the unendurable and suffering what is unsufferable.
Beware most strictly of any outbursts of emotion which may engender needless complications, or any fraternal contention and strike which may create confusion, lead you astray and cause you to lose the confidence of the world. Let the entire nation continue as one family from generation to generation, ever firm in its faith in the imperishability of its sacred land, and mindful of its heavy burden of responsibility and of the long road before it.
Unite your total strength, to be devoted to construction for the future. Cultivate the ways of rectitude, foster nobility of spirit, and work with resolution — so that you may enhance the innate glory of the Imperial State and keep pace with the progress of the world.
according to the traditional order, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death in 1989. Although better known outside of Japan by his personal name Hirohito, in Japan he is now referred to exclusively by his posthumous name
Emperor Shōwa. The word Shōwa is the name of the era
that corresponded with the Emperor's reign, and was made the Emperor's own name upon his death.
At the start of his reign, Japan was already one of the great powers – the ninth largest economy in the world after Italy, the third largest naval country
, and one of the five permanent members of the council of the League of Nations
. He was the head of state
under the limitation of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan during Japan's imperial expansion, militarization, and involvement in World War II
. After the war, he was not prosecuted for war crimes
as others were. During the postwar period
, he became the symbol of the new state.
Early life
Born in the Aoyama Palace in Tokyo, Prince Hirohito was the first son of Crown PrinceYoshihito (the future Emperor Taishō
) and Crown Princess Sadako (the future Empress Teimei). His childhood title was . In 1908, he began elementary studies at the Gakushūin
(Peers School).
Upon the death of his grandfather, Emperor Meiji
, on July 30, 1912, Hirohito's father, Yoshihito succeeded him on the throne, he thus became the heir apparent. At the same time, he was formally commissioned in both the army and in the navy as a second lieutenant and ensign, respectively, and was also decorated with the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum
. In 1914, he was promoted to the ranks of lieutenant in the army and sub-lieutenant in the navy, then to captain and lieutenant in 1916. He was formally proclaimed Crown Prince and heir apparent
on November 2, 1916; but an investiture ceremony was not strictly necessary to confirm this status as heir to the throne.
Prince Hirohito attended the Y.M.C.A. of Gakushūin
Peers' School from 1908 to 1914 and then a special institute for the crown prince (Tōgū-gogakumonsho) from 1914 to 1921.
In 1920, Prince Hirohito was promoted to the rank of Major in the army and Lieutenant Commander in the navy. In 1921, Prince Hirohito took a six month tour of Europe, including the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium, becoming the first Japanese crown prince to travel abroad. After his return to Japan, he became Regent
of Japan (Sesshō
) on November 29, 1921, in place of his ailing father who was affected by a mental illness.
During Prince Hirohito's regency, a number of important events occurred:
In the Four-Power Treaty
on Insular Possessions signed on December 13, 1921, Japan, the United States, Britain and France agreed to recognize the status quo in the Pacific, and Japan and Britain agreed to terminate formally the Anglo-Japanese Alliance
. The Washington Naval Treaty
was signed on February 6, 1922. Japan completed withdrawal of troops from the Siberian Intervention
on August 28, 1922. The Great Kantō earthquake devastated Tokyo on September 1, 1923. On December 27, 1923, communist
Daisuke Namba attempted to assassinate him in the Toranomon Incident
but his attempt failed and he was executed. The General Election Law
was passed on May 5, 1925, giving all men above age 25 the right to vote.
In 1923, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the army and Commander in the navy, and to army Colonel and Navy Captain in 1925.
Marriage and issue

), the eldest daughter of Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi
, on January 26, 1924. They had two sons and five daughters:
- Princess ShigekoShigeko Higashikuniwas the wife of Prince Higashikuni Morihiro and eldest daughter of Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun. As such, she was the elder sister to the present Emperor of Japan, Emperor Akihito.-Biography:...
, childhood appellation , December 9, 1925 – July 23, 1961; m. October 10, 1943 Prince Higashikuni MorihiroHigashikuni Morihiro, formerly was a member of a branch line of the Japanese imperial family and husband of the Emperor Hirohito's eldest daughter.- Early life :The eldest son and heir of Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni, Prince Morihiro had the distinction of being a grandson of Emperor Meiji and simultaneously both a...
(May 6, 1916 – February 1, 1969), the eldest son of Prince Higashikuni NaruhikoPrince Higashikuniwas the 43rd Prime Minister of Japan from 17 August 1945 to 9 October 1945 for a period of 54 days. An uncle of Emperor Hirohito twice over, Prince Higashikuni was the only member of the Japanese imperial family to head a cabinet...
and his wife, Princess Toshiko, the eighth daughter of Emperor MeijiEmperor MeijiThe or was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 3 February 1867 until his death...
; lost status as imperial family members, October 14, 1947; - Princess Sachiko, childhood appellation , September 10, 1927 – March 8, 1928;
- Princess KazukoKazuko Takatsukasa-External links:***...
, childhood appellation , September 30, 1929 – May 28, 1989; m. May 5, 1950 Takatsukasa ToshimichiTakatsukasa Toshimichi, son of duke Nobusuke, was a Japanese researcher of trains. He worked at TEI Park, a museum in Tokyo. He married the third daughter of Hirohito, Princess Kazuko; they adopted a son from Ogyū-Matsudaira, Naotake.-References:* Japanese Wikipedia...
(August 26, 1923 – January 27, 1966), eldest son of NobusukeTakatsukasa NobusukeDuke , son of Hiromichi, was a Japanese politician of the Meiji period who served as a member of House of Peers in the Diet of Japan. Nobuhiro was his brother, and Toshimichi was his son.-References:* Japanese Wikipedia...
[peer]; and adopted a son Naotake. - Princess AtsukoAtsuko Ikeda, is the wife of Marquis Takamasa Ikeda and fourth daughter of Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun. As such, she is the older sister to the present Emperor of Japan, Emperor Akihito.- Biography :...
, childhood appellation , b. March 7, 1931; m. October 10, 1952 Ikeda Takamasa (b. October 21, 1927), eldest son of former Marquis Nobumasa Ikeda; - Crown Prince AkihitoAkihitois the current , the 125th emperor of his line according to Japan's traditional order of succession. He acceded to the throne in 1989.-Name:In Japan, the emperor is never referred to by his given name, but rather is referred to as "His Imperial Majesty the Emperor" which may be shortened to . In...
, childhood appellation , the present Emperor of JapanEmperor of JapanThe Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...
, b. December 23, 1933; m. April 10, 1959 Shōda MichikoEmpress Michiko of JapanEmpress Michiko of Japan is the wife and consort of Emperor Akihito, the current monarch of Japan. She was the first commoner to marry into the Japanese Imperial Family. As crown princess and later as empress consort, she has become the most visible and widely-travelled imperial consort in...
(the present Empress of Japan, b. October 20, 1934), elder daughter of Shōda Hidesaburo, former president and chairman of Nisshin Flour Milling Company; - Prince MasahitoPrince Hitachiis a member of the Imperial House of Japan and the younger brother of current Emperor Akihito. He is the second son and sixth born child of HIM Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun and is fourth in line to the Chrysanthemum throne...
, childhood appellation , b. November 28, 1935, titled since October 1, 1964; m. September 30, 1964 Tsugaru Hanako (b. July 19, 1940), fourth daughter of former Count Tsugaru Yoshitaka; - Princess TakakoTakako Shimazu-Notes:...
, childhood appellation , b. March 3, 1939; m. March 3, 1960 Shimazu Hisanaga, son of former Count Shimazu Hisanori and has a son Yoshihisa.

at the moment of their subsequent marriages (in the cases of Princesses Kazuko, Atsuko, and Takako).
Ascension
On December 25, 1926, Hirohito assumed the throne upon the death of his father Yoshihito; and the Crown Prince was said to have received the succession (senso). The Taishō eraceased at once and a new era, the Shōwa era
(Enlightened Peace), was proclaimed. The deceased Emperor was posthumously renamed Emperor Taishō
a few days later. Following Japanese custom, the new Emperor was never referred
to by his given name, but rather was referred to simply as , which may be shortened to . In writing, the Emperor was also referred to formally as .
In November 1928, the Emperor's ascension was confirmed in ceremonies
(sokui) which are conventionally identified as "enthronement" and "coronation" (Shōwa no tairei-shiki); but this formal event would have been more accurately described as a public confirmation that his Imperial Majesty possesses the Japanese Imperial Regalia
, also called the Three Sacred Treasures, which have been handed down through the centuries.
Early reign

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 political violence.
Hirohito narrowly missed assassination by a hand grenade
thrown by a Korean independence activist, Lee Bong-chang
in Tokyo on January 9, 1932, in the Sakuradamon Incident
.
Another notable case was the assassination of moderate Prime Minister
Inukai Tsuyoshi
in 1932, which marked the end of 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. This revolt was occasioned by a loss of ground by the militarist faction in Diet
elections. The coup resulted in the murder of a number of high government and Army officials.
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 rebellion within the 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." The rebellion was suppressed following his orders on February 29.
Sino-Japanese War and World War II

Entering World War II
Prior to World War II, Japan invaded Manchuriain 1931 and the rest of China in 1937 (the Second Sino-Japanese War
). Primary sources reveal that Hirohito 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 Soviet Union in the north. 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.
According to Akira Fujiwara, Hirohito personally ratified the proposal by the Japanese Army to remove the constraints of international law on the treatment of Chinese prisoners on August 5. Moreover, the works of Yoshiaki Yoshimi
and Seiya Matsuno show that the Emperor authorized, by specific orders (rinsanmei), the use of chemical weapons against the Chinese. During the invasion of Wuhan
, from August to October 1938, the Emperor authorized the use of toxic gas on 375 separate occasions, despite the resolution adopted by the League of Nations
on May 14 condemning the use of toxic gas by the Japanese Army.
During World War II, ostensibly under Hirohito's leadership, Japan formed alliances with Nazi Germany
and Fascist Italy
, forming the Axis Powers
. In July 1939, the Emperor quarreled with one of his brothers, Prince Chichibu
, who was visiting him three times a week to support the treaty, and reprimanded the army minister Seishirō Itagaki. However, after the success of the Wehrmacht
in Europe, the Emperor consented to the alliance.
On September 4, 1941, the Japanese Cabinet met to consider war plans prepared by Imperial General Headquarters, and decided that:
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."
On September 5, Prime Minister 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, the Emperor had a meeting with the chief of staff of the army, Sugiyama, chief of staff of the navy, Osami Nagano, and Prime Minister Konoe. The Emperor questioned Sugiyama about the chances of success of an open war with the Occident
. As Sugiyama answered positively, the Emperor scolded him:
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, the Emperor directly questioned the chiefs of the Army and Navy general staffs, which was quite an 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, the Emperor 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":
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. During the third week of October, Sugiyama gave the Emperor a 51-page document, "Materials in Reply to the Throne", about the operational outlook for the war.
As war preparations continued, Prime Minister Konoe found himself more and more isolated and gave his resignation on October 16. He justified himself to his chief cabinet secretary, Kenji Tomita :
The army and the navy recommended 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 he was opposed to this.
Instead, the Emperor 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?" The decision for war (against United States) was presented for approval to Hirohito (Emperor Shōwa) by General Tōjō, Naval Minister Admiral Shigetarō Shimada
, and Japanese Foreign Minister Shigenori Tōgō
.
On November 3, Nagano explained in detail the Pearl Harbor attack plan to the Emperor. On November 5, Emperor Shōwa approved in imperial conference the operations plan for a war against the Occident and had many meetings with the military and Tōjō until the end of the month. On December 1, an Imperial Conference sanctioned the "War against the United States, United Kingdom and the Kingdom of the Netherlands." On December 8 (December 7 in Hawaii) 1941, in simultaneous attacks, Japanese forces struck at the US Fleet in Pearl Harbor
and in the Philippines
and began the invasion of Malaysia.
With the nation fully committed to the war, the Emperor took a keen interest in military progress and sought to boost morale. According to Akira Yamada and Akira Fujiwara, the Emperor made major interventions in some military operations. For example, he pressed Sugiyama four times, on January 13 and 21 and February 9 and 26, to increase troop strength and launch an attack on Bataan
. On February 9, March 19 and May 29, the Emperor ordered the Army Chief of staff to examine the possibilities for an attack on Chungking, which led to Operation Gogo.
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:

and the landing of the American forces on Guadalcanal
and Tulagi
in August, the Emperor recognized the potential danger and pushed the navy and the army for greater efforts. In September 1942, Emperor Hirohito signed the Imperial Rescript condemning to death American Fliers: Lieutenants Dean E. Hallmark and William G. Farrow and Corporal Harold A. Spatz and commuting to life sentences: Lieutenants Robert J. Meder
, Chase Nielsen
, Robert L. Hite and George Barr and Corporal Jacob DeShazer
. When informed in August 1943 by Sugiyama that the American advance through the Solomon Islands
could not be stopped, the Emperor 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?" On August 24, the Emperor reprimanded Nagano 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
.
Throughout the following years, the sequence of drawn and then decisively lost engagements was 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 Kantarō Suzuki
—each with the formal approval of the Emperor. Both were unsuccessful and Japan was nearing defeat.
Civilian deaths and suicides
As the tide of war turned against the Japanese, Hirohito personally found the threat of defection of Japanese civilians disturbing because there was a risk that live civilians would be surprised by generous U.S. treatment. Native Japanese sympathizers would hand the Americans a powerful propaganda weapon to subvert the "fighting spirit" of Japan in radio broadcasts. At the end of June 1944 during the Battle of Saipan, Hirohito sent out the first imperial order encouraging all Japanese civilians to commit suicide rather than be taken prisoner.
The Imperial order authorized Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saito
, the commander of Saipan
, to promise civilians who died there an equal spiritual status in the afterlife with those of soldiers perishing in combat. General Tojo
intercepted the order on 30 June and delayed its sending, but it was issued anyway the next day. By the time the Marines
advanced on the north tip of the island, from 8–12 July, most of the damage had been done. Over 10,000 Japanese civilians committed suicide in the last days of the battle to take the offered privileged place in the afterlife, some jumping from "Suicide Cliff" and "Banzai Cliff".
Emperor and atomic bomb
Japan was doing basic research on the atomic bomb, However Hirohito was opposed to the atomic bomb plan from the beginning. The Emperor thought that use of an atomic bomb would bring about the extermination of mankind.Research of the Japanese atomic bomb was finally abolished by command of the Emperor. In August 15, 1945, he expressed his anger towards the use of an atomic bomb by Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War
. However, in his first ever press conference given in Tokyo in 1975, when he was asked what he thought of the bombing of Hiroshima, the Emperor answered: "It's very regrettable that nuclear bombs were dropped and I feel sorry for the citizens of Hiroshima but it couldn't be helped (Shikata ga nai
) because that happened in wartime."
Last days of the war
In early 1945, in the wake of the loss of Leyte, Emperor Hirohito began a series of individual meetings with senior government officials to consider the progress of the war. All but ex-Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe advised continuing the war. Konoe feared a communist revolution even more than defeat in war and urged a negotiated surrender. In February 1945, during the first private audience with the Emperor which he had been allowed in three years, Konoe advised Hirohito to begin negotiations to end World War II. According to Grand Chamberlain Hisanori Fujita
, the Emperor, still looking for a tennozan (a great victory) in order to provide a stronger bargaining position, firmly rejected Konoe's recommendation.
With each passing week a great victory 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 strategy was officially affirmed at a brief Imperial Council meeting, at which, as was normal, the Emperor did not speak.
The following day, Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
Kōichi Kido
prepared a draft document which summarized the hopeless military situation and proposed a negotiated settlement. According to some commentators, the Emperor privately approved of it and authorized Kido to circulate it discreetly amongst 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 "47 Ronin
" incident. By mid-June 1945, the cabinet had agreed to approach the Soviet Union to act as a mediator for a negotiated surrender, but not before Japan's bargaining position had been improved by repulse of the anticipated Allied invasion of mainland Japan.
On June 22, the Emperor met with 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. On July 26, 1945, the Allies issued the Potsdam Declaration
demanding unconditional surrender
. The Japanese government council, the Big Six, considered that option and recommended to the Emperor that it be accepted only if one to four conditions were agreed, including a guarantee of the Emperor's continued position in Japanese society
. The Emperor decided not to surrender.
On August 9, 1945, following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
and the Soviet declaration of war, Emperor Hirohito told Kido to "quickly control the situation" because "the Soviet Union has declared war and today began hostilities against us." 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 August 12, 1945, the Emperor informed the imperial family of his decision to surrender. One of his uncles, Prince Asaka
, asked whether the war would be continued if the kokutai
(national polity) could not be preserved. The Emperor simply replied "of course." 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 surrender speech
was broadcast over the radio (the first time the Emperor was heard on the radio by the Japanese people) signifying the unconditional surrender of Japan's military forces. The historic broadcast is known as the Gyokuon-hōsō
("Jewel Voice Broadcast").
Objecting to the surrender, die-hard army fanatics attempted a coup d'état
by conducting a full military assault and takeover of the Imperial Palace. Known as the Kyūjō Incident
, 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. The speech, using formal, archaic Japanese was not readily understood by many commoners. 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.
Issue of the Emperor's responsibility for war crimes
Many historians see Emperor Hirohito as responsible for the atrocitiescommitted by the imperial forces in the Second Sino-Japanese War and in World War II and feel that he, some members of the imperial family such as his brother Prince Chichibu
, his cousins Prince Takeda and Prince Fushimi
, and his uncles Prince Kan'in, Prince Asaka
, and Prince Higashikuni, should have been tried for war crime
s. Because of this perception of responsibility for war crimes and lack of accountability, many inhabitants of countries conquered by Japan, as well as others in nations that fought Japan, retain a hostile attitude towards the Japanese imperial family.
The issue of Hirohito's responsibility for war crimes is a debate regarding 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." The Emperor was thus the leader of the Imperial General Headquarters
.
In 1971, David Bergamini showed how 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. Bergamini concluded that the Emperor was kept informed of all main military operations and that he frequently questioned his senior staff and asked for changes.
Historians such as Herbert Bix, Akira Fujiwara, Peter Wetzler, and Akira Yamada
assert 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. Historians such as Fujiwara and Wetzler, based on the primary sources and the monumental work of Shirō Hara, 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 Bix
argues that Emperor Shōwa might have been the prime mover of most of the events of the two wars.
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
behaving strictly according to protocol, while remaining at a distance from the decision-making processes. This view was endorsed by Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita
in a speech on the day of Hirohito's death, in which Takeshita asserted that the war had broken out against [Hirohito's] wishes. Takeshita's statement provoked outrage in nations in East Asia and Commonwealth nations such as the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. For Fujiwara, however, "the thesis that the Emperor, as an organ of responsibility, could not reverse cabinet decision, is a myth fabricated after the war."
In Japan, debate over the Emperor's responsibility was taboo while he was still alive. After his death, however, debate began to surface over the extent of his involvement and thus his culpability.
In the years immediately after Hirohito's death, the debate in Japan was fierce. Susan Chira reported that, "Scholars who have spoken out against the late Emperor have received threatening phone calls from Japan's extremist right wing." One example of actual violence occurred in 1990 when the mayor of Nagasaki, Hitoshi Motoshima
, was shot and critically wounded by a member of the ultranationalist group, Seikijuku
; Motoshima managed to recover from the attack. In 1989, Motoshima had broken what was characterized as "one of [Japan's] most sensitive taboos" by asserting that Emperor Hirohito bore some responsibility for World War II.
Kentaro Awaya argues that post-war Japanese public opinion supporting protection of the Emperor was influenced by US propaganda promoting the view that the Emperor together with the Japanese people had been fooled by the military.
Postwar reign

came of age. 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."
U.S. General Douglas MacArthur
insisted that Emperor Shōwa retain the throne. MacArthur saw the emperor as a symbol of the continuity and cohesion of the Japanese people. Some historians criticize the decision to exonerate the Emperor and all members of the imperial family who were implicated in the war, such as Prince Chichibu
, Prince Asaka
, Prince Higashikuni and Prince Hiroyasu Fushimi, from criminal prosecutions.
Before the war crime trials actually convened, the SCAP
, the IPS, and Japanese officials worked behind the scenes not only to prevent the Imperial family from 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 Japanese government collaborated with Allied GHQ in compiling lists of prospective war criminals, 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. Thus, "months before the Tokyo tribunal commenced, MacArthur's highest subordinates were working to attribute ultimate responsibility for Pearl Harbor
to Hideki Tōjō
" 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." 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."
Apology rebuffed
Toward the end of the occupation, Hirohito let it be known to SCAP that he was prepared to apologize formally to U.S. Gen. MacArthur for Japan's actions during World War II – including an apology for the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
According to Patrick Lennox Tierney
, on the day the Emperor came to offer this apology, MacArthur refused to admit him or acknowledge him. Tierney was an eye witness because his office was on the fifth floor of the Dai-Ichi Insurance Building
in Tokyo, the same floor where MacArthur's suite was situated. Many years later, Tierney made an effort to explain his understanding of the significance of what he had personally witnessed: "Apology is a very important thing in Japan."
Imperial status
The Emperor was not put on trial, but he was forced to explicitly reject (in the ) the State Shintoclaim that the Emperor of Japan was an arahitogami
, i.e., an incarnate divinity. This was motivated by the fact that, according to the Japanese constitution of 1889
, the Emperor had a divine power over his country, which was derived from the shinto
belief that the Japanese Imperial Family was the offspring of the sun goddess Amaterasu
. Hirohito was however persistent in the idea that the emperor of Japan should be considered a descendant of the gods. In December 1945 he told his vice-grand chamberlain Michio Kinoshita: "It is permissible to say that the idea that the Japanese are descendants of the gods is a false conception; but it is absolutely impermissible to call chimerical the idea that the emperor is a descendant of the gods." In any case, the "renunciation of divinity" was noted more by foreigners than by Japanese, and seems to have been intended for the consumption of the former.
Although the Emperor had supposedly repudiated claims to 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
.

. The emperor and his family maintained a strong public presence, often holding public walkabouts, and making public appearances on special events and ceremonies.
Emperor Hirohito also played an important role in rebuilding Japan's diplomatic image, traveling abroad to meet with many foreign leaders, including Queen Elizabeth II (1971) and President Gerald Ford
(1975).
The emperor 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 Hydrozoa
new to science.
Yasukuni Shrine
Emperor Hirohito maintained an official boycott of the Yasukuni Shrineafter it was revealed to him that Class-A war criminals had secretly been enshrined after its post-war rededication. This boycott lasted from 1978 until the time of his death. This boycott has been maintained by his son Akihito
, who has also refused to attend Yasukuni.
On July 20, 2006, Nihon Keizai Shimbun
published a front page article about the discovery of a memorandum detailing the reason that the Emperor stopped visiting Yasukuni. The memorandum, kept by former chief of Imperial Household Agency
Tomohiko Tomita, confirms for the first time that the enshrinement of 14 Class A War Criminals in Yasukuni was the reason for the boycott. Tomita recorded in detail the contents of his conversations with the emperor in his diaries and notebooks. According to the memorandum, in 1988, the emperor expressed his strong displeasure at the decision made by Yasukuni Shrine to include Class-A war criminals in the list of war dead honored there by saying, "At some point, Class-A criminals became enshrined, including Matsuoka
and Shiratori
. I heard Tsukuba acted cautiously." Tsukuba is believed to refer to Fujimaro Tsukuba, the former chief Yasukuni priest at the time, who decided not to enshrine the war criminals despite having received in 1966 the list of war dead compiled by the government. "What's on the mind of Matsudaira's son, who is the current head priest?" "Matsudaira had a strong wish for peace, but the child didn't know the parent's heart. That's why I have not visited the shrine since. This is my heart." Matsudaira is believed to refer to Yoshitami Matsudaira, who was the grand steward of the Imperial Household immediately after the end of World War II. His son, Nagayoshi, succeeded Fujimaro Tsukuba as the chief priest of Yasukuni and decided to enshrine the war criminals in 1978. Nagayoshi Matsudaira died in 2006, which some commentators have speculated is the reason for release of the memo.
For journalist Masanori Yamaguchi, who analyzed the "memo" and comments made by the emperor in his first-ever press conference in 1975, the emperor's evasive and opaque attitude about his own responsibility for the war and the fact he said that the bombing of Hiroshima "could not be helped", could mean that the emperor was afraid that the enshrinement of the war criminals at Yasukuni would reignite the debate over his own responsibility for the war.
Hirohito met some American celebrities over the post-war years. In 1959, he sat in the same room for a viewing of the classic film Ben Hur with the film's star, Charlton Heston.
Death and state funeral

after having digestive problems for several months. The doctors discovered that he had duodenal cancer
. The emperor appeared to be making a full recovery for several months after the 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 7:55 AM, the grand steward of Japan's Imperial Household Agency, Shoichi Fujimori, officially announced the death of Emperor Hirohito, and revealed details about his cancer for the first time. The emperor was succeeded by his son, Akihito
.
The emperor's death ended the Shōwa era
. On the same day a new era
began: the Heisei era, effective at midnight the following day. From January 7 until January 31, the emperor's formal appellation was . His definitive posthumous name
, , was determined on January 13 and formally released on January 31 by Toshiki Kaifu
, the prime minister.
On February 24, Emperor Hirohito's state funeral was held, and unlike that of his predecessor, it was formal but not conducted in a strictly Shinto
manner. A large number of world leaders attended the funeral, including U.S. President George H. W. Bush
, French President François Mitterrand
, the Duke of Edinburgh
, and many others. Emperor Shōwa is buried in the Imperial mausoleum in Hachiōji
, alongside Emperor Taishō
, his father.
Japanese honors
- Collar and Grand Cordon (Sovereign) of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum
- Grand Cordon (Sovereign) of the Order of the Rising SunOrder of the Rising SunThe is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese Government, created on April 10, 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight from the rising sun...
with PaulowniaPaulowniaPaulownia is a genus of from 6 to 17 species of plants in the monogeneric family Paulowniaceae, related to and sometimes included in the Scrophulariaceae. They are native to much of China, south to northern Laos and Vietnam, and long cultivated elsewhere in eastern Asia, notably in Japan and Korea...
Blossoms - Grand Cordon (Sovereign) of the Order of the Golden KiteOrder of the Golden KiteThe ' was an order of the Empire of Japan, established on 12 February 1890 by Emperor Meiji "in commemoration of Jimmu Tennō, the Romulus of Japan."-Background:...
- Grand Cordon (Sovereign) of the Order of the Sacred TreasureOrder of the Sacred TreasureThe is a Japanese Order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan as the Order of Meiji. It is awarded in eight classes . It is generally awarded for long and/or meritorious service and considered to be the lowest of the Japanese orders of merit...
Foreign honors
- Order of the White Eagle (Poland)
- Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the White Rose of Finland; conferred in 1942 (Finland and Japan were on the same side in World War II 1941–1944), the swastikaSwastikaThe swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
collar was replaced by firFirFirs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
cross collar within the state visit of the president of FinlandPresident of FinlandThe President of the Republic of Finland is the nation's head of state. Under the Finnish constitution, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people of Finland for a term of six years....
Mauno KoivistoMauno KoivistoMauno Henrik Koivisto is a Finnish politician who served as the ninth President of Finland from 1982 to 1994. He also served as Prime Minister 1968–1970 and 1979–1982...
in 1986 - Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Saint Olav
- Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian OrderRoyal Victorian OrderThe Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
(GCVO) - conferred in May 1921, revoked in 1941 - Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the BathOrder of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(GCB) - conferred in May 1921, revoked in 1941. - Knight of the Order of the Garter (KG); conferred in 1929, revoked in 1941, restored in 1971
- Knight of the Order of the Golden FleeceOrder of the Golden FleeceThe Order of the Golden Fleece is an order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1430, to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Infanta Isabella of Portugal, daughter of King John I of Portugal. It evolved as one of the most prestigious orders in Europe...
- Honorary GeneralGeneralA general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
in the British ArmyBritish ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
; conferred in May 1921 - Honorary Field Marshal in the British Army; conferred in June 1930, revoked in 1941.
- Fellow of the Royal Society of London
Scientific publications
- (1967) A review of the hydroids of the family Clathrozonidae with description of a new genus and species from Japan.
- (1969) Some hydroids from the Amakusa Islands.
- (1971) Additional notes on Clathrozoon wilsoni Spencer.
- (1974) Some hydrozoans of the Bonin Islands
- (1977) Five hydroid species from the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea.
- (1983) Hydroids from Izu Oshima and Nijima.
- (1984) A new hydroid Hydractinia bayeri n. sp. (family Hydractiniidae) from the Bay of Panama.
- (1988) The hydroids of Sagami Bay collected by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan.
- (1995) The hydroids of Sagami Bay II. (posthumous)
See also
- Gyokuon-hōsōGyokuon-hosoThe , lit. "Jewel Voice Broadcast", was the radio broadcast in which Japanese emperor Hirohito read out the , announcing to the Japanese people that the Japanese Government had accepted the Potsdam Declaration demanding the unconditional surrender of the Japanese military at the end of World War II...
- Japanese nationalismJapanese nationalismencompasses a broad range of ideas and sentiments harbored by the Japanese people over the last two centuries regarding their native country, its cultural nature, political form and historical destiny...
- Empire of JapanEmpire of JapanThe Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
- The SunThe Sun (film)The Sun is a 2005 Russian biographical film surrounding Japanese Emperor Shōwa during the final days of World War II. The film is the third drama in director Aleksandr Sokurov's trilogy following on the leaders of Russia and Germany's .-Plot:Towards the conclusion of the Second World War, Japan...
—a biographical film about the Emperor - Otoya YamaguchiOtoya Yamaguchiwas a Japanese ultranationalist, a member of a right-wing Uyoku dantai group, who assassinated Inejiro Asanuma by wakizashi on October 12, 1960 at Tokyo's Hibiya Hall during a political debate in advance of parliamentary elections...
External links
- Hirohito biography and timeline at the Rotten LibraryRotten.comRotten.com is a United States-hosted shock site with the slogan "An archive of disturbing illustration" it is operated by Soylent Communications....
- Reflections on emperor Hirohito's death
- Video | Gakushūin, Principal's Official Residence, Peers' School, Hirohito graduate