With the renunciation of his divinity, Emperor Hirohito transitioned from a being apart from his subjects to a symbol of the Japanese people and their nation in the post-war period. While Hirohito lost the tangible power he had wielded as a divine emperor, he remained a symbol of the state, giving the new government legitimacy. According to historian Gerald L. Curtis, "[Emperor Hirohito became] a symbol of the Japanese people and of the Japanese faith. He was… a living flag for Japan.” [1] Although Hirohito had lived his entire life as a symbol of his nation, the Japan that he represented was entirely different in the post-war period. As a young man, he personified the Empire, and he embodied the Japanese military, not the Japanese people. In a childhood photo below, Hirohito waves the Japanese military flag, not the national flag, reflecting this essential distinction. (see a further analysis of this photo here)
Prince Hirohito of Japan at Rally in 1902 [A]
Emperor Hirohito Visiting Ogaki in 1946 [B]
However in the years following the war, Hirohito attempted to interact with his people on a more personal level. The documentation of his visits to towns across Japan, as shown in the second photo, reveals a figure who dressed like, lived with, and embodied his people, rather than the military. A distinction between Hirohito as a symbol before and after the war is important in understanding how his relationship with his people shifted with his declaration of humanity. When Hirohito renounced his divinity, he implicitly declared that he was one of the people of Japan. The fact that the citizens of Japan had never heard the Emperor's voice before the Jewel Voice Broadcast illustrates the development of a personal bond between Hirohito and his people after the war. [2] The speech kickstarted a new dynamic in his relationship with his people, giving them a direct connection and portraying him as man, rather than a god. Over time, Hirohito became a present figure in Japanese society. His interactions with Japanese mass culture, exemplified by his love for Disney, show a man who attempted to understand the lives of his people to an extent unprecedented by a Japanese emperor. [3] Hirohito symbolized unity in his nation, holding together the disparate groups in the new democracy. As a democratic state, the people of Japan were essentially the government, so Hirohito's position to unite his people preserved the new government and assured the necessary balance for the new nation to develop. He brought together his people as a nation by becoming one of them, and his more equal relationship with them created stability in the new Japan.
[B] Prince Hirohito of Japan at Rally. 1902. Photograph. Accessed November 17, 2016. http://ww2db.com/photo.php?source=color=all&list=search&foreigntype=P&foreigntype_id=107.
[1] Curtis, Gerald L. "The Emperor after the Second World War." The Government of Modern Japan: The Emperor. Columbia University. Video. Accessed November 30, 2016. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/at/jp_emperor/govtmb02.html.
[2] "The Jewel Voice Broadcast." Atomic Heritage Foundation. Accessed November 30, 2016. http://www.atomicheritage.org/key-documents/jewel-voice-broadcast.
[3] Moffat, Susan. "Image-Building a Goal of Japan Emperor's Visit." Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA), June 20, 1994. Accessed November 30, 2016. http://articles.latimes.com/1994-06-20/news/mn-6343_1_emperor-hirohito.