HIROHITO (b. 29.4.1901, Tokyo), from 1926 Emperor of Japan (124th), Army Colonel and Navy Captain (1926). During the 2nd World War, he was the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Japan, headed the headquarters. Before the defeat of Japan in the war, he had full power of state. His cult (tennoism) was intensively planted in the country, which was used by the ruling circles to incite fanaticism and chauvinism among the people, as well as among the military personnel of the imperial army and navy. With the entry into force of the constitution of 1947 X. was declared a "symbol of the state."

Materials of the Soviet military encyclopedia are used.

Hirohito (1901–1989), 124th Emperor of Japan Born in Aoyama Palace in Tokyo on April 29, 1901. Son of Emperor Yoshihito. Hirohito's upbringing was entrusted to Count and Countess Kawamura, in accordance with the Japanese tradition of bringing up imperial offspring in a family free from the influence of the palace. This family was also entrusted with the care of Prince Chichibu, Hirohito's younger brother. When Hirohito was five years old, he and his brother returned to the palace. At the age of eight, Hirohito went to the School of Peers. Hirohito proved to be a capable student, showing an interest in biology, geography, and history. In 1912, after the death of his grandfather, Emperor Mutsuhito, Hirohito became heir to the throne. He received further education at the Institute of Crown Princes. After graduating from the Institute in 1921, it was decided that Hirohito should undertake a long trip to Asia and Europe. Until that moment, no future emperor had visited Western countries. During the trip, which lasted from March to September 1921, Hirohito showed himself to be a democratic and intelligent person. Upon his return, he learned that his father's health had deteriorated greatly, and in November 1921 he, as Prince Regent, was entrusted with the affairs of the state. On January 26, 1924, Hirohito married Princess Nagako Kuni. After the death of Yoshihito on December 25, 1926, Hirohito became emperor. He officially ascended the throne in November 1928, taking the name Showa, which means "Enlightened World". After surrender Japan in World War II, the Allies allowed the Emperor to retain his title. On January 1, 1946, just ten years after his title was changed to "Dai Nippon Teikoku Tennō," meaning "Emperor, Son of Heaven in Omnipotent Japan," Hirohito renounced his divine origin in an address to the people. In 1962, he published the first of several of his books on marine biology, which he studied for a long time and seriously. In 1971 Hirohito toured Europe. In 1975 he paid an official visit to the USA. Hirohito died at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on January 7, 1989.

Materials of the Encyclopedia "Krugosvet" - http://www.krugosvet.ru

Photo from the book: The 20th century a chronicle in pictures. new york. 1989.

HIROHITO (Hirohito), Showa (April 29, 1901, Tokyo - January 7, 1989, ibid.), 124th emperor (sumera-mikoto) of Japan. The eldest of the 4 sons of Emperor Yoshihito (Taisho). From 1915, his tutor was the prominent statesman Sai-onji Kimmochi; as a child X. was fond of natural sciences and biology of the sea. Graduated from the Gakushuin Lyceum. Nov. 1916 officially declared heir to the throne. The first member of the imperial family of Japan made a trip (March - September 1921) to Western Europe, visiting Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy. At the end of 1921, due to the illness of his father, he was proclaimed Prince Regent. In Jan. 1924 married Princess Nagako (eldest daughter of Prince Kuniyoshi). After the death of his father on December 24, 1926, he ascended the throne. Until 1945, according to the Meiji Constitution (1889), he had absolute power in the country - legislative, executive, judicial, military - and was considered "special sacred and inviolable." Possessed great sacred power, revered by the Japanese as a deity. The cult of the emperor in Japan has become one of the main components of the life of Japanese society. By tradition, the emperor in Japan presided over all meetings of the cabinet of ministers, but did not participate in discussions and only gave sanction to one or another decision (usually the emperor voted all decisions of the cabinet). Nevertheless, all specific matters were handled by the government, as well as genro, an unofficial deliberative body composed of the largest retired statesmen and court figures. For X. same remained only the overall leadership of Japan. At 4 p.m. on December 1, 1941, he announced his decision to begin military operations against the United States. 9/8/1945 - after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the entry into the war against Japan, the USSR approved the proposal of Prime Minister K. Suzuki to decide on the unconditional surrender of Japan. Japan's only condition was that the allies guarantee the preservation of the monarchy. On August 14, 1945, he recorded an appeal to his subjects for the radio (it went on the air the next day), announcing the need to stop the war and Japan's acceptance of unconditional surrender - "accept the unacceptable, endure the unbearable." This was the first time that a Japanese emperor addressed the people. After the surrender of the question, the left forces demanded that Japan be declared a republic and that X. be brought to justice. However, the American occupation administration decided to keep the monarchy in Japan by democratizing it. 1.1.1946 in pursuance of these agreements X. publicly renounced his divine origin. The new status of the emperor was fixed in the Constitution of 1947, according to which the emperor was proclaimed "a symbol of the state and the unity of the people." Died after a long illness. After X's death, his eldest son, Prince Akihito, succeeded to the throne.

Hirohito Emperor Showa was born on April 29, 1901 in Tokyo, Japan. The boy was born into the family of Crown Prince Yoshihito, who later became emperor, and Princess Sadako. His childhood title: Prince Mitya. He became the heir to the throne after the death of his grandfather, Emperor Meiji on July 30, 1912. He received the title of crown prince on November 2, 1916.

In accordance with his status, Miti received his primary education in kazoku, where the prince met representatives of many influential families, who later became faithful servants of the emperor. Further training took place at the personal University of the Crown Prince, where Hirohito studied military skills, learned the experience of Western powers.

Returning from a trip abroad, Hirohito faced a serious illness of his father, in connection with which the reins of government of the state as a regent passed to the future emperor. The position of the crown prince also required for Mitya a wife of a high family. She became the charming Nagako, the daughter of Prince Kinyoshi.

In 1926, Yoshihoto died after a long illness, and on December 26, 1926, Prince Miti officially assumed the office of emperor under the name of Showa. First of all, the new emperor took up the improvement of the military infrastructure and the military complex as a whole. The harbinger of a new global conflict was in the air, and Hirohito must prepare the country for the impending storm.

Until 1944, there were at least sixty-four domestic and foreign policy incidents in which the political right used violence to achieve its goals, the most significant being the assassination of Japanese Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi. Since that time, the military had almost complete control over the entire political life of Japan, which led Japan to enter first into the Second Sino-Japanese War, and then into the Second World War.

In the beginning, everything went well for the Japanese army. Soon the initiative passed to the allies, after which the members of the government began to misinform Hirohito about the state of affairs.

In 1945, the situation became critical, due to the defeat of Germany on all fronts. The Japanese commanders, on the other hand, sought to continue the war, despite the increasing losses in personnel and the retreat from previously captured positions.

During this difficult period, the emperor showed composure and once again broke the tradition of silence. He personally offered to negotiate with the USSR, which could become a mediator in peace negotiations. Stalin announced that he would agree to make a deal only in conditions of complete surrender, which even Hirohito was not ready for, not to mention the members of the government.

The delay of the Japanese leaders led to a US nuclear strike, after which the government agreed to surrender. The emperor issued a corresponding decree, on the same day an unsuccessful attempt was made to overthrow the remaining military elite. On August 15, 1945, Hirohito delivered a speech to the people in which he acknowledged complete defeat in the war.

In Japan, the occupation administration of General MacArthur was established, while the emperor continued to perform formal leadership functions. During the Tokyo Tribunal, there were even demands for the execution of the emperor, but the general convinced the world community to refrain from harsh and hasty actions. Still, the emperor served as a symbol of the unity of the entire nation and the guarantor of the peaceful coexistence of Japan.

Hirohito had to renounce the divine origin of Japanese monarchs and approve a new constitution in 1946. Despite the loss of status, Hirohito actively participated in the life of the Japanese people until the end of his life. In addition, his travels abroad, together with the imperial family, restored diplomatic confidence in the state.

In his personal life, he was fond of marine biology and back in the 1920s he organized a scientific laboratory in the Imperial Palace, where he conducted research and published several works on this topic.

Emperor Hirohito of Japan died on January 7, 1989. He was buried in the imperial mausoleum of the capital. The eldest son Akihito after the death of his father became Emperor Heisei.

Hirohito Awards

Japan awards

Sovereign of the Order of the Chrysanthemum
Sovereign of the Order of the Rising Sun
Sovereign of the Order of the Golden Kite
Sovereign of the Order of the Sacred Treasure

Awards of foreign countries

Belgium - Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold I
Brunei - Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Brunei SPMB
Germany - Knight Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Brazil - Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Southern Cross
Norway - Knight Grand Cross on the Chain of the Order of St. Olaf
Greece - Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Savior
Greece - Knight Grand Cross on the Chain of the Royal Dynastic Order of Saints George and Constantine
Sweden Commander of the Order of the Seraphim
Poland - Commander of the Order of the White Eagle
Denmark - Commander of the Order of the Elephant
Spain - Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece
United Kingdom - Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
United Kingdom - Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
United Kingdom - Commander of the Order of the Garter
Finland - Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose
Thailand - Companion of the Order of the Rajamitrabhorn
Italy - Knight Grand Cross decorated with a ribbon of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic

Hirohito family

Wife - Princess Nagako (March 6, 1903 - June 16, 2000), daughter of Prince Kuni-no-miya Kuniyoshi. From this marriage 7 children were born:

Princess Teru (Shigeko), December 9, 1925 - July 23, 1961; from October 10, 1943, she was married to Prince Morihito (May 6, 1916 - February 1, 1969), the eldest son of Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko and Princess Toshiko, the 8th daughter of Emperor Meiji; lost the status of members of the imperial family on October 14, 1947.
Princess Hisa (Sachiko), 10 September 1927 – 8 March 1928
Princess Taka (Kazuko), September 30, 1929 - May 26, 1989; since May 5, 1950, she has been married to Takatsukasa Toshimichi (August 26, 1923 - January 27, 1966), the eldest son of the peer Takatsukasa Nubusuke.
Princess Yeri (Atsuko), b. March 7, 1931; since October 10, 1952, she has been married to Ikeda Takamasa (born October 21, 1927), the eldest son of the former Marquis Ikeda Nobumasa.
Crown Prince Tsugu (Akihito), later Emperor of Japan, b. December 23, 1933; since April 10, 1959, he has been married to Shoda Michiko (born October 20, 1934), the eldest daughter of businessman Shoda Hidesaburo, former president and chairman of a large flour milling company.
Prince Yeshi (Masahito)), b. November 28, 1935; since October 30, 1964, he has been married to Tsugaru Hanako (b. July 19, 1940), the fourth daughter of the former Count Tsugaru Yoshitaka.
Princess Suga (Takako), b. March 2, 1939; March 3, 1960 married to Shimazu Hisanaga, son of the former Count Shimazu Hisanori.

- -
A kihito(jap.; December 23, 1933, Tokyo) - the reigning emperor of Japan, the 125th in the dynasty. His posthumous name will be Hey eisei.
Akihito is the eldest son and fifth child of Emperor Showa (Hirohito) and Empress Nagako. Prince Akihito attended the Gakushuin Peer School from 1940 to 1952. Along with the traditional Japanese tutor of the imperial family, S. Koizumi, the prince also had an American tutor - Elizabeth Gray Wining (English), a well-known author of children's books, who helped the prince in learning English and Western culture.
In 1952, the prince entered the Department of Politics of the Faculty of Politics and Economics of Gakushuin University, in November of the same year he was officially declared Crown Prince.
- -
The university was successfully completed in March 1956, and in April 1959 the crown prince married Shoda Michiko, the eldest daughter of Shoda Hidesaburo, president of a large flour milling company. Thus, centuries-old traditions were violated, ordering members of the imperial family to choose their wives from girls of exclusively aristocratic origin.
- -
And Empress Michiko(b. October 20, 1934, Tokyo, Japan), nee Michiko Shoda - Empress of Japan since January 7, 1989, wife of the current Emperor of Japan Akihito.
Two members of the Michiko family were awarded the Order of Cultural Merit, the highest academic award bestowed by the emperor on outstanding scholars.
Akihito met Crown Prince at the tennis court. The marriage took place on April 10, 1959.
Despite having to participate in many official activities, Akihito and Michiko raised three children on their own: sons Naruhito and Akishino and daughter Sayako.
After the death of Emperor Hirohito, Michiko, as the wife of the new Emperor Akihito, received the title of Empress of Japan.
Michiko plays the piano and harp, and also enjoys embroidery and knitting. In addition, she is interested in literature and flowers.
- -
N aruhito(Jap. February 23, 1960, Tokyo) - the eldest son of Emperor Akihito and the Crown Prince of Japan. Became heir to the throne after the death of Emperor Showa (Hirohito) on January 7, 1989.
In 1983-85 he studied in England at Merton College, Oxford. He holds a Master's degree in History from Gakushuin University in 1988. In his free time, the prince plays the viola, enjoys jogging, hiking, and mountain climbing.
The Prince courted and twice proposed to 29-year-old Owada Masako, who served as a diplomat in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs under her father, Owada Hisashi, who is currently a judge at the International Court of Justice and was previously Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Japan's Ambassador to the United Nations. . On January 19, 1993, the engagement was announced.
- -
On June 9, 1993, the Crown Prince of Japan and Owada Masako were married at the Imperial Shinto Shrine in Tokyo in front of 800 invited guests and 500 million people around the world watching them through the media. Also present at the wedding were many of the crowned heads and most of the heads of state of Europe.
- -
Masako Owada(December 9, 1963) - wife of Crown Prince Naruhito, first son of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. She has been a member of the Japanese Imperial Family since her marriage on June 9, 1993. Masako is the eldest daughter of Hisashi Owada. She has two younger sisters, the twins Setsuko and Reiko.
Masako moved to Moscow with her parents when she was two years old, where she attended and completed kindergarten. After returning to Japan, she studied at Denenchofu Futaba Girls' Private School in Tokyo from elementary school through her second year of high school.
Masako enrolled at Harvard, where she graduated with a degree in economics, and at Balliol College, Oxford, for a specialist in international relations courses, but did not complete them. In 1986
In addition to his native Japanese, Masako knows English and French, and can also speak German, Russian and Spanish.
-
-
Only 8 years after her marriage, Masako was able to give birth to her only child, Princess Aiko, born on December 1, 2001. Before that, all Masako's pregnancies ended in miscarriages. People around began to accuse Masako of being unable to give birth to the Heir. All this was aggravated with the birth of a daughter who has no right to the throne, after which Masako's health finally deteriorated. Masako began to suffer from a severe form of depression, diagnosed as "Adaptation Disorder Syndrome" and rarely appears in public.
- -
Prince Akishino (Fumihito)(November 30, 1965, Tokyo) - the youngest son of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. He is second in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne. After his marriage in June 1990, he received the title of Akishino nomiya (Prince Akishino) and led his sovereign branch of the Imperial House. After the death of his grandfather Emperor Showa (Hirohito) in January 1989, he became second in line to the throne after his elder brother Crown Prince Naruhito .
In April 1984, he entered the law department of Gakushuin University, where he studied law and biology. After graduation, Fumihito studied fish taxonomy at St. John's College, Oxford University in the UK from October 1988 to June 1990. In 1996 he was awarded a doctorate by the National University for his extensive research.
Prince Fumihito is a big fan of the Beatles and is also an active tennis player. As a student, Prince Fumihito was in the top ten doubles tennis players in the Kanto region.
On June 29, 1990, Prince Fumihito married Kiko Kawashima.
- -
K Iko, Princess Akishino, nee Kiko Kawashima (born September 11, 1966 at 11:40 pm (JST) in Shizuoka) is the wife of Prince Akishino, the youngest son of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. The daughter of a university professor, she became the second commoner to marry a member of the imperial family; her mother-in-law, Empress Michiko, was the first in 1959.
Princess Kiko is the eldest daughter of Tatsuhiko Kawashima, an economics professor at Gakushuin University, and his wife, Kazuyo Sugimoto. As a child, she was affectionately called Kiki by friends and relatives. Before high school, she lived in the United States, where her father received a doctorate in regional economics from Pennsylvania State University and later taught there.
Prince Akishino first proposed to Kiko Kawashima on June 26, 1986, when they were students at Gakushuin. The couple, however, did not announce their intention to marry for three years. The betrothal received the formal sanction of 10 members of the Council of the Imperial House on September 12, 1989.
-
-
The wedding took place at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on June 29, 1990. The Economic Council of the Imperial Household had previously granted the prince permission to create a new sovereign branch of the imperial family, and the Emperor allowed him to be titled Akishino-no-miya (Prince Akishino) on his wedding day. After the marriage, his fiancée became Her Imperial Highness Princess Akishino, known informally as Princess Kiko.
Princess Kiko continued her post-graduate studies in psychology while pursuing official duties and received the Magister Artium in Psychology in 1995. She is known for her active attention and involvement with people who are deaf and as a skilled simultaneous interpreter from their sign language.
-
-
Prince and Princess Akishino have two daughters and one son:
Princess Mako Akishino(born 10/23/1991)
Princess Kako Akishino(born 12/29/1994)
Prince Hisahito Akishino(born 6.09.2006)
Since the third child is a boy, he is a direct contender to the throne and will ultimately inherit it unless Hisahito's uncle, Crown Prince Naruhito, produces a male heir, or unless the succession laws change.
- -
With Ayako Kuroda(born April 18, 1969 at 20.36 (JST) in Tokyo), formerly Her Imperial Highness Princess Nori (Sayako) of Japan- the third child and only daughter of Emperor Akihito of Japan and his wife Empress Michiko. She married Yoshiki Kuroda on November 15, 2005. As a result of the misalliance, she was forced to leave the aristocratic title and leave the imperial family, in accordance with the requirements of Japanese law.
Graduated from the Department of Japanese Language and Literature, Gakushuin University (1992). She was later accepted as a research fellow at the Yamashina Institute of Ornithology. In 1998 she received the position of a researcher. Author of articles and academic publications about birds.
- -
On December 30, 2004, the Imperial Household Affairs Office announced the engagement of Princess Nori to Yoshiki Kuroda, a 40-year-old urban designer working in the Tokyo City Planning Department and a longtime friend of Prince Akishino. After the wedding, which took place at noon on November 15, 2005 at the Tokyo Imperial Hotel, Princess Nori left the imperial family, taking the name of her husband, a man of non-aristocratic origin.
Sayako Kuroda left her job as an ornithologist to focus on family life and eventual motherhood. Although she is no longer eligible for imperial allowance after her marriage, she received a dowry of $1,300,000, according to a spokesman for the Imperial Household Administration.

"When a society prospers, the people are happy." This Chinese saying formed the basis of the name of the 124th Emperor of Japan - Hirohito. During his reign, which lasted from 1926 to 1989, the Land of the Rising Sun experienced the glory of the largest colonial power, the humiliation of capitulation and the transformation into one of the leaders of the world economy. The image of the emperor himself underwent no less amazing metamorphoses. He was considered a god, then a war criminal, and he ended his earthly journey "a symbol of the state and the unity of the people."

Hirohito was born to Crown Prince Yoshihito and Princess Sadako on April 21, 1901. It was a difficult time for Japan: she made desperate efforts to ward off the threat of enslavement by the great powers that began to actively colonize Northeast Asia. For the first time, with all evidence, this threat confronted Japan in 1854, when the American Admiral Matthew Colbright Perry came to its shores with a squadron of steam cruisers and forced the samurai who ruled the country to sign an agreement with the United States. This treaty opened the ports of Hakodate and Shimoda to American merchants and put an end to the samurai's policy of voluntary self-isolation, which allowed the country to maintain its identity and independence for a long time. A number of unequal treaties were imposed on Japan, effectively limiting its sovereignty. This caused outrage in the community. The aristocracy, which ceded power to the samurai several centuries ago, took advantage of this indignation and began a struggle to restore the power of the emperor, who had been turned into a decorative figure by military rulers. The struggle ended with the victory of the supporters of the young emperor Meiji, who ascended the throne at the age of 15 in 1867. To consolidate his success, he carried out a series of radical reforms, which received the name of the "Meiji revolution" after his name. Samurai were eliminated as an estate. And according to the constitution adopted in 1889, the emperor is "divine, surrounded by a halo of holiness, the messenger of heaven." And he descends directly from the goddess of the Sun Amaterasu - therefore the Japanese empire is under the protection of Shinto deities.

Emperor Meiji

However, the protection of the gods alone was not enough to protect the country from the encroachments of the great powers. Japan began to actively master the achievements of Western culture, science and technology, using them in creating industry and modernizing the army and navy. And to pursue an expansionist foreign policy on the principle of "beat your own so that others are afraid." The successful war with China in 1894-1895 and the annexation of Taiwan lifted the glory of Emperor Meiji to the skies. Probably, it was this person (or rather, stories about his deeds) that had the greatest influence on the formation of the worldview of Crown Prince Hirohito.

From childhood, the prince began to prepare for the fact that he would have to rule the country. Previously, when samurai ruled Japan, all science for future emperors who performed decorative and representative functions was reduced to studying the rules of etiquette, Confucian texts, and memorizing Shinto prayers. Hirohito also studied mathematics, physics, economics, law, French and Chinese, ethics, history and calligraphy. And also, as the future high priest of the state religion - Shinto rites. And as a future ruler - the teachings of Confucius. And as the future supreme commander - the Bushido code (the way of the warrior) and many modern military disciplines. Among his military mentors were many participants in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905, by winning which Japan proved to the whole world that it should by no means be considered as an object of possible colonization.

Empress with her son

In addition to generals and admirals, Hirohito's teachers were leading scientists from Tokyo Imperial University.

Professor Shigetake Sugiura inspired Hirohito: the heirs to the Japanese throne have absolute moral perfection, therefore the Japanese monarchy is immeasurably higher than the monarchies of other states. The course of the whole history of the world is determined by the rivalry between the white and yellow races, and in the future the white race will still challenge the yellow. Hirohito's ideas about the role of the monarch in Japanese history were formed by the teacher of jurisprudence, Toru Shimizu. He convinced the prince that the emperor was not obliged to follow anyone's advice, since he stood not only above parliament, but also above the constitution.

Hirohito was set up to be the successor to the great deeds of his grandfather, Emperor Meiji. And they recalled a lesson from Russian history: Tsar Peter the Great laid the foundations of the Russian Empire, but his heirs could not continue the work he started, which led to a coup d'état in 1917.

Emperor Hirohito as a child

As a child, according to the reviews of guardians and educators, Hirohito was thoughtful and phlegmatic. True, behind the phlegmatic nature, not alien to passions, was hidden. Hirohito's purposefulness during his school years was manifested in his predilection for science. The prince instilled a taste for it in his natural history and physics teacher Hirotaro Hattori. He encouraged Hirohito's interest in marine biology and taxonomy—the systematics of plants and animals. In 1925, the prince equipped a well-equipped biological laboratory in his palace. The pursuit of science not only suited Hirohito's methodical nature. They taught the future emperor to be a free thinker, able to perceive someone else's point of view.

In general, he was well prepared to take the lead of the nation. But his first appearances after he came of age in May 1919 revealed a number of features that were not entirely appropriate for the future monarch. A high-pitched voice, a dislike of public speaking, a puny physique were perceived by some as obvious shortcomings. But behind this "non-secular" facade was a strong personality, already fully aware of himself as the future ruler of the country.

Emperor Hirohito at school age

In January 1920, in an essay about his impressions of the conclusion of the Treaty of Versailles in Europe, Hirohito wrote:

"I look forward to the day when I take on the great responsibility of making and making political decisions."

Asked by himself what he should do in order to "fulfill his duty and establish world peace", Hirohito came up with the following formula: Japan will be a great colonial power, on equal terms, but respectfully talking to others. And for this, it must strengthen military power.

Hirohito first showed his character by overcoming the resistance of some of the courtiers and insisting on his marriage to Princess Nagako (their wedding took place on January 26, 1924). And then - when, after the birth of the heir (December 15, 1924), he violated the age-old tradition of giving children to foster parents. And in addition, he refused the imperial concubines.

He was talked about as "the brainchild of Taisho democracy" - a strange era that came to Japan after the death of Hirohito's grandfather, Emperor Meiji, on June 30, 1912. Hirohito's father, Yoshihito, ascended the throne, who immediately after that received the name Taise. He began his reign with an increase in the staff of court doctors. His weakness and apathy provoked courtiers, ministers and generals to insubordination, and the people to demand democratic reforms. In the early 1920s, he completely retired, and Hirohito became regent. In the conditions of political confusion in the country and the struggle of various groups for influence on the throne, Hirohito preferred to rely on the military. In 1925 he approved the creation of a military high command completely independent of civilian control. The Japanese armed forces began to carry out the task entrusted to them in accordance with the military doctrine of 1923: to prepare for war on the Asian continent.

Emperor Hirohito on the road

On December 25, 1926, Emperor Taisho died. Hirohito ascended the throne three days later, becoming the 124th Emperor of Japan. The new era that began in the empire was called Seva - radiance, harmony, shining peace. In mid-November 1927, throughout Japan, including its overseas territories - Korea, Taiwan and South Sakhalin, celebrations were held for the enthronement ceremony of Hirohito. “In the beginning era, Japan has a global mission. Our country is called upon to lead the world, ”Japanese newspapers wrote in those days.

The opinion about the "global mission" of Japan was shared by the court group of aristocrats, who were rapidly gaining political weight. The tone in it was set by Prince Fumimaro Konoe, a supporter of the creation in Asia of a kind of superstate under the rule of Japan, which, due to racial, historical and geographical factors, is simply obliged to annex China - for the benefit of its own population.

Hirohito, however, still respected the international treaties signed by Japan on the renunciation of war as a means of resolving conflicts and on limiting the size of the Japanese fleet. This caused dissatisfaction among the radical young officers, who believed that Hirohito was a plaything in the hands of some "Jewish government" that perverted his will. In the early 1930s, they made several attempts to carry out a coup d'etat and establish a military fascist dictatorship. The conspirators were invariably arrested by the police, but Hirohito did not punish any of them. How did not punish the command of the Kwantung Army, which had been guarding the CER, which had belonged to Japan since 1905, for the invasion of Manchuria and the creation of the pro-Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo there. He only took a number of measures to prevent the military from coming to political power.

Emperor Hirohito and the Empress with her son

Feeling impunity and regarding it as actual support from the emperor, some of the radical officers in February 1936 raised a rebellion in Tokyo. One of its reasons was the dissatisfaction of the radicals in uniform with the results of the recent parliamentary elections, where the candidates of the leftist parties, who opposed the militarization of the country, achieved great success. The rebels killed several high-ranking officials. Hirohito gave the order to put down the rebellion. Although, in order not to tease the army, he ordered to increase military appropriations. This intensified Japan's preparations for a major war in Asia.

The war began in 1937 with the takeover of China. Hirohito led military operations through the "Emperor's Headquarters" created on November 27, 1937, which ordered not to take prisoners and use chemical and bacteriological weapons against the Chinese army. The war was accompanied by massacres of civilians by Japanese troops. Hirohito did not condemn these atrocities. However, despite the brutality with which the war was waged, the Japanese army could not break the resistance of Chiang Kai-shek's troops and Mao Zedong's partisan detachments.

The Chinese campaign demanded more and more funds. In July 1940, the Cabinet of Ministers of Prince Konoe offered to get them in a military campaign in Southeast Asia. At the same time, in order to protect themselves from attack by the USSR, which was considered in Tokyo as enemy number one, on April 13, 1941, the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact was signed. And on July 29, Japanese troops began the occupation of South Indochina. This angered the United States, which threatened to block oil supplies to Japan. Attempts to negotiate with the Americans did not lead to anything. Japan's economy would not survive a long war against them, and Prince Konoe insisted on avoiding open confrontation with the US. However, Hirohito took the side of those who offered to take America out of the game in the Pacific with one blow. On December 7, 1941, Japanese bombers attacked Pearl Harbor, the US Navy base in Hawaii. Then the Japanese troops landed on the Malay Peninsula, the islands of Oceania, Hong Kong and Singapore. By the spring of 1942, an area of ​​3.8 million square kilometers with a population of almost 150 million people was in the hands of Japan. On February 18, 1942, Hirohito celebrated the fleet's victory by riding a white horse across the Nijuboshi Bridge in Tokyo for about ten minutes in front of crowds of enthusiastic applause from the townspeople. These days he was in a great mood. Evenings the emperor spent in the company of adjutants, playing chess and cards with them and telling them about his hobbies in entomology.

Emperor Hirohito with his family

However, Japan's military successes could not last forever. The Americans gathered forces and began to take away their spans and crumbs. By August 1944, they had liberated most of the territories in Southeast Asia from the Japanese. Japan was about to be defeated. But Hirohito refused to accept it as inevitable.

“The nation needs to gather all its will into a fist and achieve a remarkable victory, which would be comparable to that which our fathers won in the Russo-Japanese War!” he told Deputy Chief of the General Staff Admiral Shimada on June 17.

On September 7, 1944, in a rescript dedicated to the opening of the 85th session of Parliament, the emperor noted: “Today, the empire faces the task of achieving victory with all its urgency. You, the best sons of the nation, must purposefully strengthen your resolve in order to destroy the insidious plans of the enemy and ensure the continued existence and prosperity of the country.

In the battle against the US fleet, inevitably approaching the shores of Japan, suicide bombers were thrown - kamikaze. But the "wind of the gods" could not scatter the American squadron, as once, in the 13th century, it smashed Kublai's ships.

In February 1945, Prince Konoe recommended that Hirohito immediately begin negotiations with the United States for peace, arguing that the USSR would enter the war at the first opportunity. But the emperor was sure that the Kremlin really did not want to defeat Japan, which in the future could become his ally in the inevitable confrontation with the US and Britain. His confidence was not shaken by reports from intelligence and Foreign Minister Shigemitsu that at the Yalta Conference just held, the USSR confirmed its readiness to go to war with Japan after the defeat of Germany.

On March 9-10, more than three hundred B-29 bombers destroyed 40% of Tokyo's city blocks during a night raid. Between 80,000 and 100,000 people died in the fires. The morale of the people of Tokyo began to decline. On April 8, Hirohito urged kamikaze pilots to "throw the wild ambitions of hostile states into smoke" and "achieve the goals set in our holy war."

American bombing did not stop; bombs were already falling on the territory of the imperial court. On June 8, Marquis Koichi Kido began to prepare an appeal to the USSR with a request for mediation in the negotiations on a truce between Japan and the United States. However, on July 26, 1945, in the Potsdam Declaration, the United States, the USSR and Great Britain demanded unconditional surrender from Japan.

In Tokyo, this document was ignored. Hirohito hoped that Moscow would help him achieve less ultimatum terms of surrender - above all, guarantees of the preservation of the traditional monarchical system. But Stalin refused the role of mediator. He was not seduced by the promises of the Japanese to provide him with oil concessions in Northern Sakhalin in exchange for this service. The allies for entering the war against Japan promised him more important trophies.

The refusal to accept the terms of the Potsdam Declaration was seen in Washington as a desire to continue the war. To break the resistance of the Japanese, on August 6, the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. On August 8, the USSR entered the war against Japan. On August 9, the atomic bombing of Nagasaki followed.

At a meeting with the emperor on August 9-10, the opinions expressed by the ministers were contradictory. The retired Admiral Suzuki, whom Hirohito personally instructed to negotiate peace at the end of June, asked the emperor himself to speak. Hirohito's answer was unequivocal: “Let's endure the unbearable and suffer what is impossible to suffer ... After carefully analyzing the current situation in the world, as well as the internal situation of our country, I came to the conclusion that it is difficult to continue the war. I am not concerned about what will become of me, but I want all my subjects to be saved."

On August 10, Foreign Minister Togo Shigenori summoned Soviet Ambassador Yakov Malik to his residence on Kasumigaseki and informed him of the readiness of the Japanese government to capitulate. The USSR immediately notified the governments of the USA, Great Britain and China about this.

Not wanting to give up, part of the Japanese generals rebelled. But it was suppressed, and on August 15 Japan announced that it accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. On the same day, Emperor Hirohito spoke for the first time to his subjects by radio. He informed them that he "accepts the terms set out in their joint declaration" in order to "save human civilization from total annihilation" and "pave the way for future generations to lasting peace." Not a word was said about military defeat and surrender.

Emperor Hirohito with ministers in a bunker during the war

The speech of the emperor was accompanied by acts of suicide of senior officials, politicians and generals. Archival documents testifying to Japanese war crimes and the responsibility for the war of state leaders were destroyed in the government office.

Japan began to prepare for an unprecedented event in its history - a meeting of the occupying forces. Prince Higashikuni, appointed by the Prime Minister, in his radio address to the citizens of the country tried to outline their future prospects: “Acting in full accordance with the will of the emperor, we ... will create the most advanced science and culture in the world ... In conclusion, I want to express support for the widest and most constructive exchange of views. The government will welcome the creation of any associations that are ready to serve the interests of society.”

Even before the landing of American troops in Japan, Hirohito began the disarmament and demobilization of 7 million army and navy personnel. On December 5, 1945, in a written response to a parliamentary question, the British government clarified: “It was not the atomic bomb that led to the surrender of Japan, but an imperial rescript ordering the Japanese to do so. Without him, we would have had a costly invasion... If we were to put the emperor on trial, we would immediately be faced with seventy million hostile, not cooperating, Japanese."

On August 30, the commander of the Allied Forces in the war against Japan, General Douglas MacArthur, arrived in Tokyo, who was instructed to head the occupation administration. And on September 2, Japan signed the act of surrender.

They had to decide what to do with Emperor Hirohito. Stalin demanded that he be declared a war criminal and hanged. Great Britain, New Zealand and the left forces of Japan demanded the same. Similar calls were heard in the US Senate. On September 27, a meeting between MacArthur and Hirohito took place.

In his memoirs, General Douglas MacArthur recalled: “I had the uneasy feeling that he might be asking for his own cause to keep him from being tried as a war criminal… But my fears were unfounded. He said the following: "I have come to you, General MacArthur, to offer myself to the court of the Powers you represent, as the one who bears sole responsibility for every political and military decision taken and for all actions taken by my people during the course of the war." .

The opinion of MacArthur, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, proved decisive: “When Washington seemed to be leaning towards the British point of view, I indicated that I would need to increase the number of troops by at least a million people, if such an action was taken. I believed that if the emperor were put on trial and possibly hanged as a war criminal, a military administration would have to be established throughout Japan and a guerrilla war would probably have unfolded.

Nevertheless, calls to hold the emperor accountable for unleashing the war did not stop. MacArthur insisted that Hirohito was not actually the ruler of Japan. On January 25, 1946, in a telegram to Dwight Eisenhower, he said: “To date, no documentary evidence has been found of the participation of Emperor Hirohito in the development and adoption of political decisions over the past ten years. As a result of the analysis of very numerous data, I came to the conclusion that the role of the monarch in managing the affairs of the state was purely auxiliary and came down to getting to know the opinions of his advisers ... "

This version was greatly shaken when the Tokyo Tribunal for Japanese war criminals began. The main defendant on it was the prime minister during the war, Hideki Tojo. On December 28, in response to a question from his lawyer William Logan: “Do you remember at least one case when Kido (Marquis Koichi Kido, like Prince Konoe, was part of the emperor’s circle of secret advisers) proposed something or acted contrary to the emperor’s desire for peace ? Tojo replied, “As far as I know, this has never happened. None of the Japanese subjects, not to mention the highest government officials, will not go against the will of the emperor.

Hirohito's advisers, who visited Tojo in Sugamo Prison, and the chief US prosecutor, Joseph Keenan, persuaded the former premier to change his testimony. However, the court already had the opinion that Hirohito could not stand aside from the declaration of war.

MacArthur again contacted Washington: “The conviction of the emperor will lead Japanese society to the deepest emotional shock ... Hirohito is a unifying symbol of the nation, without him this ethnic community will fall apart. In my opinion, it is likely that the development of events in such a scenario will end with sending here to maintain about a million of our soldiers - for an indefinite period ... ”He convinced the US leadership that the occupation authorities needed the emperor to maintain order in Japan, whose population was ready to obey him , as before.

In 1975, during a visit to the United States, in an interview with Newsweek magazine, Hirohito said: “I personally decided to end the war ... But the decision to open hostilities was made by the cabinet, I did not have the authority to cancel it. I believe that my actions were in full accordance with the constitution of Japan ... "

The monarchy was preserved, but decided to "democratize". On January 1, 1946, Hirohito publicly, albeit in a very florid manner, renounced his divine origin. Then the emperor was “degraded” from the gods in the new constitution of Japan, developed under the control of Admiral MacArthur, adopted by the Japanese parliament on August 24, 1946 and entered into force on May 3, 1947. In it, he was proclaimed only a symbol - "a symbol of the state and the unity of the people." The emperor was removed from participation in politics, leaving him with several easy representative functions. Now he could devote his free time to scientific studies in his biological laboratory, equipped in the imperial palace back in 1925.

Emperor Hirohito. One of the last photos

In the mid-1950s, the newly formed Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, in which right-wing parties united in the face of the threat from socialists and communists, began a campaign to return the emperor to the status of head of state and half of the powers vested in him under the Meiji constitution. The campaign, however, quickly petered out.

Only the ultra-right spoke openly about the restoration of the former empire. True, the matter, as a rule, did not go further than conversations. The only real act in the name of the emperor was performed by Yukio Mishima, known not only for his books and films, but also for his nationalist views. On November 25, 1970, together with the fighters of the Tate no Kai (Shield Society) group he created, he tried to incite the soldiers of the Tokyo garrison to rebel in order to restore the power of the emperor. But his calls to protect the emperor's Japanese traditions were met with ridicule by the soldiers. Realizing that the putsch had failed, Mishima committed seppuku ritual suicide by opening his stomach. One of the members of the government, having learned about the incident, said that Mishima was "crazy." But the ultra-right, who had never thought of Mishima before, wrote him down as heroes and martyrs of the idea of ​​reviving Greater Japan. Japan, which dreamed of those whom the Tokyo Tribunal sentenced to death for war crimes.

On January 7, 1989, at 6:33 am, Hirohito died. He left a prosperous Japan, five daughters and two sons. The eldest son Akihito after the death of his father became Emperor Heisei. This word translates as "peace and prosperity." Ironically, just in the early 1990s, prosperity in the Japanese economy temporarily gave way to stagnation. Peace and tranquility left the souls of the Japanese. Perhaps that is why they increasingly began to think about their former greatness. About the humiliation that the American occupation authorities subjected the nation to, planting their own, far from Japanese values. Isn't it time to go back to basics? they spoke in Japan. And, apparently, they decided that it was time. And they recently adopted a draft amendment to the constitution, according to which the emperor again turns from a symbol into the head of state. And they brought to trial the school director, who showed disrespect for the anthem of Imperial Japan "Kimigae". What will happen next?

According to Japanese legends and in particular according to the epic "Kojiki" Jimmu was the great-grandson of the goddess of the sun and therefore he himself is considered not only the founder of the Japanese state, but also the second after the celestial. With the help of divine origin, the rulers of ancient Japan tried to exalt the imperial power and unite the country. Just as the Empire of Japan claims the title of the oldest state on Earth, so the imperial house of Japan can rightfully claim the title of the oldest in the world. According to the legends, the current dynasty has ruled the Land of the Rising Sun for over 2,600 years. Such longevity can only be envied. The ruling dynasties of European and other countries are much younger. The oldest in Europe - Danish, for example, traces its history back to 899, i.e. is a little over 1100 years old.

However, historians have serious doubts about the existence of the first 25 Japanese emperors. The first emperor whose existence is documented was Keitai(507-531), 26th in a row. In any case, even the biggest skeptics admit that the Japanese monarchy is at least one and a half thousand years old, which still makes it the oldest on the planet. her yellow chrysanthemum, a flower with 16 petals. Until that time, the list of Japanese emperors consisted of 121 names. Incl. and 8 women's. Of the 120 rulers of Japan, only two ruled twice. By a strange coincidence, these were empresses: Koken (Shotoku during the second reign) and Kougyoku Saimei.

Of course, not all emperors from the long list of divine rulers of the Land of the Rising Sun had real power. Some may well be called absolute rulers, others were puppets in the hands of the shoguns. At first, this title was given by emperors to influential princes who led an army to wage some kind of war or suppress an uprising of peasants or impostors. Later, the title of shogun received a broader interpretation. Shoguns were called the most influential princes from the most powerful families, who were considered something like the first ministers, guardians of the state or heads of the imperial office, i.e. were the second persons in Japan. Often they ruled instead of weak emperors. The era of the shogunate lasted almost seven centuries and ended in 1867 with the accession of the emperor to the throne. Meiji. The last shogun was Yoshinobu from the genus Tokugawa.

State symbol

The last emperor of old Japan was Komei(1846-67). succeeded him on the throne Meiji became the first emperor of modern, according to generally accepted chronology, Japan. He ruled for almost half a century - from 1867 to 1912 and carried out major reforms that allowed Japan, which had pursued a policy of isolation from the outside world for many centuries, to quickly become one of the world powers. The significance of Meiji is also evidenced by the fact that historians named a whole period in the history of the country after him. Under Meiji, in 1889, a constitution was adopted based on the constitutions of Western countries. She became the first not only in Japan, but throughout East Asia. The emergence of a new world power took place at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and was accompanied by victorious wars: the Japanese-Chinese and Russian-Japanese, as well as the annexation of Taiwan and Korea.

Japanese emperors, unlike their European counterparts, never had surnames. By this, they obviously wanted to emphasize the divinity of their origin and government. And although after the adoption of the new constitution in 1947, the Japanese emperors lost their divinity, the tradition remained. The last divine emperor was Hirohito, the father of the current "symbol of the state and the unity of the people", as the monarch is called in the constitution. Hirohito also left a big mark in the history of the country. He ruled for 63 (!) years and became the last ruler of Japan with real power. He, along with the Japanese people, had to endure two wars, defeat in World War II and a difficult period of restoration of the destroyed country.

The constitution of 1947 took away from the emperors not only the divine origin, but also deprived them of real power. For the past seven decades, Japan has been about as much an empire as the United Kingdom, with kings and queens playing a ceremonial role.

An oasis of peace and tranquility

For a century and a half, the imperial family has been living in the Koiko Palace, in the very center of the multi-million bustling Tokyo. There, behind water-filled moats and high stone walls, hides an oasis of peace and tranquility, where about 70 species of birds live in parks, gardens and groves.

The palace is located on the site of the medieval Edo Castle, which was considered the largest on the planet (there were 99 gates in it). In the walls of the palace, towers and gates, you can still see rare stones left over from Edo. According to the shogun Yeasu Tokugawa, the first ruler to unify all of Japan, Koiko was to become the economic and political center of the nation.

The construction of the palace lasted more than a century. In 1710, it was the largest residential complex on the islands, occupying almost 20 square meters. km. Koiko became the royal palace much later. After the surrender of the last shogun in 1868, Emperor Meiji moved from Kyoto to Koiko. During World War II, the Koiko Palace was heavily damaged by American air raids. It was restored to its original form by 1968. The Imperial Palace is still the country's largest residential complex. There are more than a thousand people here alone! FROM Koyo Guyen, a huge square in front of the palace, offers a stunning view of Niyubashi, two beautiful bridges through which you can get into the inner chambers. Niyubashi is the most photographed place in Japan.

Tourists have access to the Eastern Garden. It is especially beautiful in March and April, when cherries and plums bloom. Mere mortals can get into the palace itself only twice a year: December 23, the emperor’s birthday Akihito, and January 2, New Year's Day. Visitors can see the emperor and family members who go out onto the balcony several times.

Women on the sidelines

Now sits on the Chrysanthemum Throne Akihito, the fourth emperor of modern Japan and the 125th in a row, the eldest son of Hirohito. He ascended the throne on January 7, 1989 after the death of his father and celebrated the 25th anniversary of his reign in the first days of the year. Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko have three children: two sons - Crown Prince Naruhito, who will turn 54 in less than two weeks, and Prince Akishino(Fumihito), as well as a daughter - a princess Sayako.

The emperor is 80 years old. His health leaves much to be desired. In 2012, he underwent heart surgery, 9 years before that, a prostate tumor was removed. The health of the emperor and empress is monitored by four doctors in shifts 24 hours a day. At the court, there is a closed polyclinic with 8 departments and 42 doctors and nurses, which consumes more than 3 million dollars of Japanese taxpayers every year. It has everything except the lines. The record, according to the doctors themselves, was once 28 patients in one day.

Akihito's health is poor, but the inheritance situation in Japan remains confusing. The 1947 law confirmed the law of 1889, which prohibited the transfer of the throne through the female line. Meanwhile, the crown prince only has a daughter. All attempts by his wife, Princess Masako, to give birth to an heir were unsuccessful, as a result of which she basically suffered a severe nervous breakdown, which she has been treating without much success for several years.

In 2005, a group of experts submitted a proposal to the government to repeal the salic law. At the beginning of 2006 the prime minister Junichiro Koizumi promised to send the bill to Parliament. However, there was no need to repeal the old law. Existed since 2001, the year of birth Aiko, daughter of the Crown Prince, a potential dynastic crisis resolved itself. The emperor's second son, the prince Akishino, after two daughters, in September 2006, a son was finally born, the first male child in the imperial family in 40 years. Formally Prince Hisahito is now third in the list of candidates for the Chrysanthemum throne, after his uncle and father.

For 70 years, the position of women in Japanese society has changed significantly. Nevertheless, the Japanese government is in no hurry to repeal the law on male succession to the throne. Shinzo Abe during his first premiership in 2007, he announced that he was withdrawing the proposal to change the Law of the Imperial House, and would hardly change anything now. Understanding the government is not difficult. Firstly, the second son of the emperor has an heir, and secondly, the prime minister obviously hopes for the longevity of both Akihito and Naruhito and wants to pass the abolition of the salic law on to posterity.