Michinomiya Hirohito
(April 29, 1901 - January 7, 1989)
Hirohito was born in Tokyo and was the 124th emperor of the Japanese Empire. Hirohito had many unique differences to previous emperors, including being the first person in the Imperial family to travel outside of Japan, taking a six month trip to Europe. After the death of his father on December 25th, 1926, Hirohito became the new emperor, choosing the name “Enlightened Harmony”, as the name of his reign.
In the late 1930s, Japan was involved in conflicts with China and increasing hostility and expansionism of the empire lead to clashes with their former allies, the United States. In 1940, a major trade agreement lapsed with the United States sanctions and embargoes were placed on Japan. Later that year, Japan joined the Axis with Germany and Italy, supporting them in the Second World War. In December of 1941, Hirohito agreed to the surprise bombing of the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor. The following day, the United States declared war on Japan and the battles in the Pacific began. In August of 1945, two nuclear bombs were dropped on the Japanese towns of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, On August 15th, Hirohito declared Japan’s surrender over the radio, the first time an emperor’s voice had been heard by the general public.