This photograph of the Emperor Hirohito as a child reveals a figure who during this period personified the military chauvinism rapidly expanding throughout Japan. To begin, the flag he is waving is not the flag of Japan; rather, it is the flag of the Japanese military, showing the close relationship between Hirohito and the Imperial Army from when he was a child. While he should not be credited with his actions as a baby, the photograph does show how he was brought up as a symbol of Japan and Japanese militarism. Even as he grew older and developed his own ideas, he avoided sharing them to protect the persona he had developed since birth.
|
An important quote by his personal tutor, Shinjiro Yamamoto, mirrors this idea, reading “I wish I were free to tell you what the Emperor thinks of his own divinity. You would find it highly interesting.” [1] This quote shows how Hirohito could not express his own personal beliefs, as he personified Japan. Along with being a symbol of the nation itself, Hirohito symbolized of the strength of Japan before the fall of the Empire. He represented its growth as an imperial power, and the success of Japan was tied to the success of Hirohito. As Shōwa, the official name of Hirohito, he was as much a personification of his nation as a living person. It seems only natural, then, that he would by extension be treated as a divine being, as he represented the entire Japanese people.
|
This painting reflects a belief by many that Hirohito did not experience the hardships of his people, and that he was blind to the terrible atrocities of the war. Teruo Kanoh, a Japanese painter whose entire family died in the 1945 Tokyo Firebombing, has expressed his beliefs through countless images of that fateful event. [2] The Tokyo Firebombing is considered the most devastating aerial attack in history, killing upwards of 100,000 people over less than 24 hours. [3] When Showa visited the site of the bombing, the survivors blamed themselves for not fighting the fires effectively, offering to kill themselves to restore his honor. [4] This response raises the idea that Showa represented the nation of Japan, and the hardships and loss of honor of his people were as much his failures as the failures of individuals living in Japan.
|
Teruo Kanoh claims in his title that the "victims are kept out of sight," meaning that the Emperor was shielded from their suffering. However, evidence suggests that he blamed himself for their failures, and he attempted to live through their hardships as they did. One biography of Hirohito reveals that, "during the war [he] refused to leave the imperial palace at Tokyo, even after air raids began to demolish the city and fires destroyed many buildings on palace grounds. He wished to share hardships of his subjects." [5] Hirohito was not a distant figure, protected by his position in society. Rather, he was a symbol of their pain, just as he personified their success.
|
This image of General MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito is considered one of the most iconic images from modern Japan. The photograph was taken after the meeting between the two leaders concerning the restoration of Japan. This meeting, more than any other moment, epitomizes Hirohito's position as the symbol of Japan. At his arrival, the Emperor offered his life as a sacrifice to MacArthur to end the hostilities and to save his people. According to the testimony of the interpreter at the event, Hirohito begged to MacArthur, "Kill me, but not those who acted in my name." [6] He understood that his people fought for their emperor, just as they fought for Japan.
|
After all, Hirohito acted as the purpose of his nation and the one responsible for all actions taken by his people on behalf of the state. However, MacArthur was "so astonished that he knew, from that moment, that here was a very precious man that had to be preserved... and he did." [7] MacArthur understood the essential fact that the Emperor and the nation were inseparable. If he were to depose of the Emperor, the nation would have no uniting power to hold together its disparate roots. While Hirohito could not claim to be a divine figure, his position as a symbol of the unity of Japan remained an essential part of the post-war nation.
|