Emperor Hirohito

Emperor Hirohito of Japan was born to Crown Prince Yoshihito (later the Emperor Taisho) and Crown Princess Sadako at the Aoyama Palace in Tokyo on April 29th, 1901. His grandfather, the Meiji Emperor, was in power at this time. Hirohito, whose name means “broad-minded benevolence”, was a member of the oldest reigning family in the world and 124th in a long, unbroken line of Japanese emperors. According to Japanese tradition, he was a direct descendent of the Sun Goddess, Amterasu Omikami, giving him a divine status. In keeping with Japanese tradition for heirs to the Imperial throne, Hirohito was separated from his parents when he was just three months old and put in the care of foster parents. At the age of five, he returned to his parents’ palace for tutoring. He rarely saw his father and his mother was only permitted to visit him once a week. Young Hirohito met with his grandfather, Emperor Meiji, a few times a year, an important influence on his childhood.

Hirohito continued his education, following a rigorous curriculum including geography, science, English, French, Japanese and Chinese literature, mathematics, law, ethics, and art history. Occasionally, he would disagree with some of his tutors because of his disdain for war and skepticism about his divinity. He enjoyed studying nature and particularly took an interest to marine biology. On September 9th, 1912, Hirohito was proclaimed heir to the Japanese throne shortly after the death of Emperor Meiji and the succession of his father, Yoshihito, who assumed the name Taisho. Hirohito was also appointed a sub-lieutenant in the army and a second sub-lieutenant in the navy at around the same time. In 1916, he was formally installed as Crown Prince and by 1920 he had achieved the ranks of an army major and a navy lieutenant commander.

Bibliography:

http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar257720&st=hirohito

http://www.factcite.com/biographies/3013073.html

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=SUIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CK1618000956&mode=view

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=SUIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CK1631003057&mode=view

http://www.notablebiographies.com/He-Ho/Hirohito.html

http://factsanddetails.com/japan.php?itemid=584&catid=16&subcatid=111

Moritz, Charles, ed. “Hirohito, Emperor of Japan.” Current Biography Yearbook 1976. 37th ed. Vol. 1976. New York: H.W. Wilson, 1977. 186-89. Print.

This source gave me a lot of information about Hirohito’s early life, education, and how he became emperor. It also described his role in World War II.

Pictures on Poster

Japan Emperor War Shrine. 1986. Photograph. Tokyo, Japan.
http://www.apimages.com/OneUp.aspx?st=k&kw=emperor%20hirohito&showact=results&sort=relevance&page=1&intv=None&sh=10&kwstyle=or&adte=1333241858&pagez=60&cfasstyle=AND&rids=83e3faeef517db11af9f0014c2589dfb&dbm=PY2000&xslt=1&mediatype=Photo

This is a photo of Emperor Hirohito addressing a crowd of people at the Imperial Palace in Japan.

Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako. 1956. Photograph. Tokyo, Japan. http://www.apimages.com/OneUp.aspx?st=k&kw=emperor%20hirohito&showact=results&sort=relevance&page=1&intv=None&sh=10&kwstyle=or&adte=1333241858&pagez=60&cfasstyle=AND&rids=190fd65eb36c413f83c354bb06e585d4&dbm=SContent&xslt=1&mediatype=Photo

This is a picture of Emperor Hirohito with his wife, Empress Nagako.

Emperor Hirohito. 1926. Photograph. Kyoto, Japan.
http://www.apimages.com/OneUp.aspx?st=k&kw=emperor%20hirohito&showact=results&sort=relevance&page=1&intv=None&sh=10&kwstyle=or&adte=1333241858&pagez=60&cfasstyle=AND&rids=8b5ce4269ae5da11af9f0014c2589dfb&dbm=PY2000&xslt=1&mediatype=Photo

This is a photo of Hirohito posing in the traditional imperial robes.

Emperor Hirohito Disneyland. 1975. Photograph. Anaheim, California. http://www.apimages.com/OneUp.aspx?st=k&kw=emperor%20hirohito&showact=results&sort=relevance&page=1&intv=None&sh=10&kwstyle=or&adte=1333241858&pagez=60&cfasstyle=AND&rids=b5ad17db9ae5da11af9f0014c2589dfb&dbm=PY2000&xslt=1&mediatype=Photo

This website gave me a picture of Emperor Hirohito with Mickey Mouse during his trip to Disneyland in 1975.