He married an imperial princess, Nagako, in and they had seven children. Hirohito became emperor when his father died in The emperor was regarded as divine by many Japanese. In reality he had little power, with civilian and increasingly military officials deciding national policy. He reluctantly supported the invasion of Manchuria and the war against China, and attempted to encourage cooperation with Britain and the USA. However, he had no choice but to approve the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that led to war between Japan and the United States in December Despite his lack of enthusiasm over the decision to go to war, he was pleased with the Japanese military and naval successes that followed.
He frequently appeared in military uniform to raise morale. In the young prince was sent to a special class of twelve boys at the Peers' School, reserved for the children of aristocratic families. The subjects taught included English, geography, drawing, calligraphy, singing and gymnastics.
The headmaster was a battle-scarred veteran, General Maresuki Nogi, whose own two sons had been killed under his command in the siege of Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War. He was an incarnation of bushido, the warrior code of the samurai, which he inculcated in his pupils, and a warm relationship developed between him and the prince. The relationship was broken when Hirohito was eleven, when the Meiji Emperor died. General Nogi sent for the boy, expressed his approval of Hirohito's progress and told him that he must always work hard for the sake of Japan.
The level of his involvement with Japan's military during World War II has remained debatable, though he announced the country's surrender to the Allied Forces in After the war, the new constitution drafted by the United States transformed Japan into a constitutional monarchy so that sovereignty lay with the people instead of the emperor. Hirohito died in Tokyo on January 7, His son, Akihito, succeeded him. As a child, Hirohito was separated from his parents, as was custom, and given an imperial education at the Gakushuin School, also known as the Peers' School.
He later attended a special institute which conditioned him to become emperor and was formally given the title of crown prince on November 2, Years later, in , he became the first crown prince of Japan to travel abroad and study, voyaging to Europe.
In November , shortly after his return to Japan, Hirohito was appointed acting ruler of Japan due to his father's failing health. On January 26, , he married Princess Nagako later Empress Nagako , a distant cousin of royal blood. The couple would eventually have seven children. On December 25, , following the death of his father, Hirohito succeeded him as emperor, taking the th Chrysanthemum Throne. In July hostilities with China broke out. During the late s Hirohito's advisers in the palace urged him to stay away from direct involvement in politics or be forced to compromise the position of the imperial family.
The emperor followed this advice, and agreed to whatever policies the governments decided upon. There is every evidence that the emperor felt uneasy about the unfolding of events, particularly after Similarly, he had grown distrustful of the judgments of the military leaders who kept assuring him of a quick end to the war in China.
But when the final decision on war with the United States was made on September 6, , he barely opposed it. During the war Hirohito refused to leave the imperial palace at Tokyo, even after air raids began to demolish the city and fires destroyed many buildings on the palace grounds. He wished to share the hardships of his subjects. By the summer of it was clear that defeat was at hand.
But the decision to surrender did not come until after atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese towns of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. At a historic imperial conference on August 9, , the emperor made clear his opinion in favor of surrendering to the allied powers led by the United States. Following Japan's formal surrender in September , there was much discussion about whether Emperor Hirohito should be punished as a war criminal.
Hirohito himself frequently expressed his willingness to step down as a token of his responsibility for the war. But the U. On January 1, , however, the emperor once and for all gave up any claims to being a sacred ruler by issuing a law that denied his god-like status as a descendant of the sun goddess. During the years of the occupation and afterward, every effort was made to "democratize" the throne by having the emperor mingle with the people.
Even though he was personally distant and somewhat awkward in public, the emperor nevertheless became a popular figure. Pictures of the imperial family and stories of their activities became a steady part of weekly magazine and newspaper copy. A respected marine biologist with a number of books on that subject to his credit, Emperor Hirohito lived a modest, sober, and retired life when not involved in official functions.
In he traveled to Europe and was met with hostile demonstrations. A trip to the United States resulted in a more friendly reception.
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