Okla-homey
8/15/2008, 06:19 AM
Aug. 15, 1945: Hirohito announces unconditional surrender
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/876/hirohitoti1.jpg
His Late Imperial Majesty Hirohito, the 124th Emperor of Japan, Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, Order of the Rising Sun, Order of the Sacred Treasure, Order of the Seraphim (Sweden), Order of the Golden Fleece (Spain), Grand Cross Order of St. Olav (Norway), Knight of the Garter (Great Britain), hon. field marshal (Great Britain), was born on 29 April 1901 at the Aoyama Detached Palace, Tokyo the eldest son of the then-Crown Prince Yoshihito (later Emperor Taishō) and Princess Sadako (later Empress Teimei).
63 years ago on this day in 1945, Emperor Hirohito of Japan announces the news of his country's unconditional surrender in World War II over a radio broadcast to the Japanese people.
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/1083/hiro403pxemperorhirohithv5.jpg
Emperor Hirohito and Empress Kojun. A photograph just after marriage.
Possibly taken January 24, 1924, the day of their wedding.
After meeting with the Soviet Union in Potsdam, near Berlin, to determine post-war terms for defeated Germany, the governments of the United States and Great Britain (together with China) issued an ultimatum to the Japanese government in late July 1945.
It offered a simple choice: surrender unconditionally to the Allies in World War II, or risk total annihilation. In their carefully worded reply, the Japanese failed to capitulate completely, and on August 6, the U.S. B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped the world's first deployed atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, another such bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. The threat of further nuclear attacks drove Japanese officials on August 10 to accept the terms put forth by the Potsdam Declaration and submit their unconditional surrender.
On the afternoon of August 14, a Japanese radio broadcaster told the public that Emperor Hirohito would soon make an Imperial Proclamation announcing the defeat. The following day at noon, Hirohito went on the radio himself, blaming Japan’s surrender on the enemies' use of "a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which is incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives." The emperor was not only a political leader in Japan; he was also revered as divine, and many Japanese did not fully accept the news of defeat until they heard him speak those unthinkable words.
As sadness and shame engulfed Japan, joy spread around the Western world. In the United States, news of Hirohito's announcement reached airwaves on August 14 (due to the time difference), and that day was declared Victory in Japan--or "V-J--Day."
That afternoon, President Harry S. Truman addressed a crowd that had gathered outside the White House, saying "This is the day we have been waiting for since Pearl Harbor. This is the day when Fascism finally dies, as we always knew it would."
That day, photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt snapped one of the most famous photos ever published, a shot of a sailor in full uniform kissing a nurse in the middle of New York City's Times Square. The photo, published by Life magazine, became a symbol of the general atmosphere of jubilation in the United States following the end of World War II.
http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/4076/eisenstadt715915at0.jpg
There were calls for Hirohito's arrest and trial for war crimes, but Hirohito was allowed to remain on his throne, mainly because he acquiesced to American demands and policies dictating reorganization of the Japanese government.
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/107/hirohitodocumentaries3wt2.jpg
The Emperor with US General Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur "ran" Japan during its post-war reorganization.
The postwar constitution, ratified in 1947 and drafted almost entirely in Washington and Tokyo by US Occupation officials under Douglas MacArthur, changed the emperor's role from "sovereign" and "supreme commander" to a "symbol of the state." It explicitly deprived the emperor of political authority and removed the monarchy from any actual participation in the government.
Hirohito died of duodenal cancer on January 7, 1989 at age 88.
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/1875/hirohito1987rv1.jpg
Last official photograph of the Emperor
In case you're interested, below is a translation of the complete text of Emperor Hirohito's remarks to the Japanese people. The radio address was particularly noteworthy because no ordinary Japanese person had ever heard the Emperor's voice.
Hirohito Transcript from August 15th, 1945 (14 AUG in the U.S.)
TO MY GOOD AND LOYAL SUBJECTS:
After deeply pondering the general trends of the world and the current conditions of our Empire, I intend to effect a conclusion to the present situation by resorting to an extraordinary measure.
My subjects, I have ordered the Imperial Government to inform the four Governments of the United States, Great Britain, China and the Soviet Union that our Empire is willing to accept the provisions of their Joint Declaration.
The striving for peace and well-being of our imperial subjects, and the sharing of common happiness and prosperity amongst tens of thousands of nations is the duty left by our Imperial Ancestors, and I am the one who has not forgotten about this duty.
The Empire declared war against the United States and Great Britain for the desire to preserve, by ourselves, the Empire's existence in East Asia and for the region's stability. As to the infringement of other nation's sovereignty and invasion of other territorial entities, those were not my original intent.
By now, the fighting has lasted for nearly four years. Despite the gallantry of our naval and land military forces, the diligence and assiduity of hundreds of civil service officers, and the public devotion and service of one hundred million of our people, the situation in the war has not turned for the better, and the general trends of the world are not advantageous to us either.
In addition, the enemy has recently used a most cruel explosive. The frequent killing of innocents and the effect of destitution it entails are incalculable. Should we continue fighting in the war, it would cause not only the complete annihilation of our nation, but also the destruction of the human civilization. With this in mind, how should I save billions of our subjects and their posterity, and atone ourselves before the hallowed spirits of Our Imperial Ancestors? This is the reason I ordered the Imperial Government to accept the Joint Declaration.
I, from the start, have worked with our various Allied nations towards the liberation of East Asia, and I cannot refrain from expressing my deepest sense of regret to our Allies. The thought of our Imperial subjects dying in the battlefields, sacrificing themselves in the line of duty, and those who died in vain and their relatives, pains my heart and body to the point of fragmentation.
As for the bearing of the wounds of war, the tragedies of war, and the welfare of those who lost their families and careers, it is the object of our profound solicitude. From today hereafter, the Empire will endure excruciating hardships. I am keenly aware of the feelings of my subjects, but in accordance to the dictates of fate, I am willing to endure the unendurable, tolerate the intolerable, for peace to last thousands of generations.
Having always protected the Imperial State in general, I rely on the loyal subjects' integrity and sincerity, and I shall always be with you subjects.
If we become stimulated by sensations, and begin to engender needless complications, engage in fraternal contention and strike or create confusion, we will become astray and lose the confidence of the world. We must rally the nation, and continue from generation to generation to entrench the imperishability of this sacred state.
Aware of the heavy responsibility and the long road ahead, we must focus completely on the future's construction, follow strictly the ways of our noble morals with determination and resolution. We swear to foster and spread the glory and essence of our Imperial State, so we will not fall behind the evolution of the world. It is my hope that my subjects will understand my intentions.
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/876/hirohitoti1.jpg
His Late Imperial Majesty Hirohito, the 124th Emperor of Japan, Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, Order of the Rising Sun, Order of the Sacred Treasure, Order of the Seraphim (Sweden), Order of the Golden Fleece (Spain), Grand Cross Order of St. Olav (Norway), Knight of the Garter (Great Britain), hon. field marshal (Great Britain), was born on 29 April 1901 at the Aoyama Detached Palace, Tokyo the eldest son of the then-Crown Prince Yoshihito (later Emperor Taishō) and Princess Sadako (later Empress Teimei).
63 years ago on this day in 1945, Emperor Hirohito of Japan announces the news of his country's unconditional surrender in World War II over a radio broadcast to the Japanese people.
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/1083/hiro403pxemperorhirohithv5.jpg
Emperor Hirohito and Empress Kojun. A photograph just after marriage.
Possibly taken January 24, 1924, the day of their wedding.
After meeting with the Soviet Union in Potsdam, near Berlin, to determine post-war terms for defeated Germany, the governments of the United States and Great Britain (together with China) issued an ultimatum to the Japanese government in late July 1945.
It offered a simple choice: surrender unconditionally to the Allies in World War II, or risk total annihilation. In their carefully worded reply, the Japanese failed to capitulate completely, and on August 6, the U.S. B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped the world's first deployed atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, another such bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. The threat of further nuclear attacks drove Japanese officials on August 10 to accept the terms put forth by the Potsdam Declaration and submit their unconditional surrender.
On the afternoon of August 14, a Japanese radio broadcaster told the public that Emperor Hirohito would soon make an Imperial Proclamation announcing the defeat. The following day at noon, Hirohito went on the radio himself, blaming Japan’s surrender on the enemies' use of "a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which is incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives." The emperor was not only a political leader in Japan; he was also revered as divine, and many Japanese did not fully accept the news of defeat until they heard him speak those unthinkable words.
As sadness and shame engulfed Japan, joy spread around the Western world. In the United States, news of Hirohito's announcement reached airwaves on August 14 (due to the time difference), and that day was declared Victory in Japan--or "V-J--Day."
That afternoon, President Harry S. Truman addressed a crowd that had gathered outside the White House, saying "This is the day we have been waiting for since Pearl Harbor. This is the day when Fascism finally dies, as we always knew it would."
That day, photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt snapped one of the most famous photos ever published, a shot of a sailor in full uniform kissing a nurse in the middle of New York City's Times Square. The photo, published by Life magazine, became a symbol of the general atmosphere of jubilation in the United States following the end of World War II.
http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/4076/eisenstadt715915at0.jpg
There were calls for Hirohito's arrest and trial for war crimes, but Hirohito was allowed to remain on his throne, mainly because he acquiesced to American demands and policies dictating reorganization of the Japanese government.
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/107/hirohitodocumentaries3wt2.jpg
The Emperor with US General Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur "ran" Japan during its post-war reorganization.
The postwar constitution, ratified in 1947 and drafted almost entirely in Washington and Tokyo by US Occupation officials under Douglas MacArthur, changed the emperor's role from "sovereign" and "supreme commander" to a "symbol of the state." It explicitly deprived the emperor of political authority and removed the monarchy from any actual participation in the government.
Hirohito died of duodenal cancer on January 7, 1989 at age 88.
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/1875/hirohito1987rv1.jpg
Last official photograph of the Emperor
In case you're interested, below is a translation of the complete text of Emperor Hirohito's remarks to the Japanese people. The radio address was particularly noteworthy because no ordinary Japanese person had ever heard the Emperor's voice.
Hirohito Transcript from August 15th, 1945 (14 AUG in the U.S.)
TO MY GOOD AND LOYAL SUBJECTS:
After deeply pondering the general trends of the world and the current conditions of our Empire, I intend to effect a conclusion to the present situation by resorting to an extraordinary measure.
My subjects, I have ordered the Imperial Government to inform the four Governments of the United States, Great Britain, China and the Soviet Union that our Empire is willing to accept the provisions of their Joint Declaration.
The striving for peace and well-being of our imperial subjects, and the sharing of common happiness and prosperity amongst tens of thousands of nations is the duty left by our Imperial Ancestors, and I am the one who has not forgotten about this duty.
The Empire declared war against the United States and Great Britain for the desire to preserve, by ourselves, the Empire's existence in East Asia and for the region's stability. As to the infringement of other nation's sovereignty and invasion of other territorial entities, those were not my original intent.
By now, the fighting has lasted for nearly four years. Despite the gallantry of our naval and land military forces, the diligence and assiduity of hundreds of civil service officers, and the public devotion and service of one hundred million of our people, the situation in the war has not turned for the better, and the general trends of the world are not advantageous to us either.
In addition, the enemy has recently used a most cruel explosive. The frequent killing of innocents and the effect of destitution it entails are incalculable. Should we continue fighting in the war, it would cause not only the complete annihilation of our nation, but also the destruction of the human civilization. With this in mind, how should I save billions of our subjects and their posterity, and atone ourselves before the hallowed spirits of Our Imperial Ancestors? This is the reason I ordered the Imperial Government to accept the Joint Declaration.
I, from the start, have worked with our various Allied nations towards the liberation of East Asia, and I cannot refrain from expressing my deepest sense of regret to our Allies. The thought of our Imperial subjects dying in the battlefields, sacrificing themselves in the line of duty, and those who died in vain and their relatives, pains my heart and body to the point of fragmentation.
As for the bearing of the wounds of war, the tragedies of war, and the welfare of those who lost their families and careers, it is the object of our profound solicitude. From today hereafter, the Empire will endure excruciating hardships. I am keenly aware of the feelings of my subjects, but in accordance to the dictates of fate, I am willing to endure the unendurable, tolerate the intolerable, for peace to last thousands of generations.
Having always protected the Imperial State in general, I rely on the loyal subjects' integrity and sincerity, and I shall always be with you subjects.
If we become stimulated by sensations, and begin to engender needless complications, engage in fraternal contention and strike or create confusion, we will become astray and lose the confidence of the world. We must rally the nation, and continue from generation to generation to entrench the imperishability of this sacred state.
Aware of the heavy responsibility and the long road ahead, we must focus completely on the future's construction, follow strictly the ways of our noble morals with determination and resolution. We swear to foster and spread the glory and essence of our Imperial State, so we will not fall behind the evolution of the world. It is my hope that my subjects will understand my intentions.