Lot 231
Hirohito. Photograph of the young Prince Hirohito, signed in Japanese characters at lower right, 7¾ x 5 in., no place, no date. Photo is affixed at top edge to a gold and white mount, 12¼ x 8¼ in. A three-quarter portrait in uniform, in excellent condition.
In 1921 Hirohito became the first Japanese crown prince to travel abroad when he visited Europe. Upon his return he was named prince regent when his father, the Taisho emperor, retired because of mental illness. In 1924 Hirohito married the princess Nagako Kuni. When his father died on December 25, 1925, he became Emperor of Japan. Although the Meiji Constitution of 1889 invested the emperor with supreme authority, he generally followed the counsel of his ministers and advisers. It is not known to what extent he agreed with or participated in the planning of Japanese expansionistic policies, from the invasion of Manchuria in 1931 to the end of the war in 1945. It was he who made the decision not to continue resistance after atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and Nagasaki on August 8, 1945, and who broke imperial silence on August 15, when he made a national radio broadcast to announce Japan's acceptance of the Allies' terms of surrender (the first time the Japanese people had heard the voice of their emperor). In another broadcast, on January 1, 1946, Hirohito repudiated the quasi-divine status of Japan's emperors. When the country's new constitution went into effect in 1947, Japan became a constitutional monarchy, and the Emperor and his family became much more accessible to the public. In 1971 Hirohito became the first reigning Japanese monarch to visit abroad when he toured Europe. In 1975 he made a state visit to the United States. When he died in 1989, Hirohito was succeeded by his oldest son, Crown Prince Akihito.
Estimated Value $6,000 - 8,000.
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| Realized $4,750 |
