Showa Period
Showa is the name given to the reign of the Japanese emperor commonly known as Hirohito (1901–1989). Lasting sixty-three years (1926–1989), the Showa period was not only one of the longest imperial reigns in Japanese and world history but also one of the most dramatic. War and peace, devastation and prosperity, authoritarianism and democracy all fit into the puzzle of Showa. Showa still elicits mixed emotions, divided loyalties, and political controversy. To think about modern Japanese history is ultimately to confront the meaning of this period.
The years 1926 and 1989 do not mark obvious turning points. Hirohito became de facto emperor in 1920 as regent for his ailing father, the Taisho emperor (1879–1926, reigned 1912–1926). The grand ceremony for Hirohito's enthronement came in 1928, a year remembered more for persecution of Communists and other leftists. At the closing end, historians see 1991, a year of economic crisis, as the sharp break from the mood of the late Showa period. In between, Hirohito never provided charismatic leadership, despite the potent cult of emperor worship that rose up around him. His intervention in national events occurred infrequently, and for the last forty years, he was politically insignificant. The most important year of his reign was 1945, the year of Japan's surrender at the end of the Pacific phase of World War II (1937–1945).
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