Concept

Hirohito

Summary
Hirohito (29 April 1901 - 7 January 1989) was the 124th emperor of Japan, reigning from 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Nagako, had two sons and five daughters; he was succeeded by his fifth child and eldest son, Akihito. By 1979, Hirohito was the only monarch in the world with the title "Emperor". He was the longest-reigning historical Japanese emperor and one of the longest-reigning monarchs in the world. He was the head of state under the Meiji Constitution during Japan's imperial expansion, militarization, and involvement in World War II. Japan waged a war across Asia in the 1930s and 1940s in the name of Hirohito, who was revered as a god. After Japan's surrender, Hirohito was not prosecuted for war crimes, for General Douglas MacArthur thought that an ostensibly cooperative emperor would help establish a peaceful Allied occupation and would help the U.S. achieve its postwar objectives. On 1 January 1946, under pressure from the Allies, the Emperor formally renounced his divinity. The Constitution of Japan of 1947 declared the Emperor to be a mere "symbol of the State ... deriving his position from the will of the people in whom resides sovereign power." In Japan, the emperor is never referred to by his given name; reigning emperors are known only as "the Emperor". Hirohito is now referred to in Japanese by his posthumous name, Emperor Shōwa, which is the name of the era coinciding with his reign. Hirohito was born at Aoyama Palace in Tokyo (during the reign of his grandfather, Emperor Meiji) on 29 April 1901, the first son of 21-year-old Crown prince Yoshihito (the future Emperor Taishō) and 16-year-old Crown Princess Sadako (the future Empress Teimei). He was the grandson of Emperor Meiji and Yanagiwara Naruko. His childhood title was Prince Michi. Ten weeks after he was born, Hirohito was removed from the court and placed in the care of Count Kawamura Sumiyoshi, who raised him as his grandchild. At the age of 3, Hirohito and his brother Yasuhito were returned to court when Kawamura died – first to the imperial mansion in Numazu, Shizuoka, then back to the Aoyama Palace.
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