Japan's wartime monarch outlived his role as god-king, but he oversaw the nation's modern transformation.

People & Events Emperor Hirohito (1901-1989) If ever a picture was worth a thousand words, it was the image of General MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito standing side by side during their historic first meeting on September 27, 1945. In it, a casually dressed MacArthur towers over the stiff, formally attired Emperor. What does it say asks historian Carol Gluck. It says, I'm MacArthur, Supreme ...

Emperor Hirohito, Accepting the Potsdam Declaration, Radio Broadcast. Transmitted by Domei and Recorded by the Federal Communications Commission, 14 August 1945 To our good and loyal subjects: 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 ...

Emperor Hirohito On April 29, 1901, Michinomiya, who would later become Emperor Hirohito, was the first son of Emperor Taisho (Yoshihito) and Empress Teimei (Sadako). When he was a boy, Michinomiya respectfully doubted that the Japanese emperor was a god, but was made to understand that this was a sacred myth. Michinomiya agreed that when he was emperor, he would hold the tradition, but only ...