EMPEROR HIROHITO

[Music] he once had a personal fortune so vast it could never be counted his clothes could never be fitted because he was too exalted to be touched by human hands even in modern day Japan he is revered by millions of people many still call him 10 she's son of heaven his name is Hirohito emperor of japan and this is his biography [Music] [Applause] I'm Mike Wallace this is biography our story Hirohito emperor of japan at birth he was named Michi knowmia Hirohito which means a prince who is going forward in magnanimity and benevolence tradition dictated that a royal prince was the son of God by law his subjects were forbidden to look upon him for the first 21 years of his life Hirohito was confined in an isolated world cloaked in elaborate ritual [Music] for thousands of years Japan has been the sealed and secret Empire in the 1920s the nation has opened her doors to the world but ancient traditions remain unchanged ritual sports refined by their ancestors still fascinate the people Japan is bound to the past for millions life remains the same as it had been during the feudal ages [Applause] at the age of 21 Hirohito emerges from the strict seclusion of the Imperial Palace to embark on a goodwill tour of Europe he is the first member of the royal family ever to leave the sacred soil of Japan in his tour of England with the Prince of Wales Hirohito is entranced with Western life Western customs he is deeply impressed by the British tradition of constitutional monarchy accustomed to rigid court protocol the informality of Europeans he meets surprises and delights him his trip will have a profound influence on the young prince he realizes that in order to keep pace with the rest of the world his nation must undergo sweeping changes the Prince returns to Japan determined to model his reign as Emperor along more democratic lines [Music] 19:28 amid the glittering pageantry so dear to the heart of his people Prince Hirohito direct descendant of a line unbroken for ages he is crowned the 124th emperor of japan now by imperial edict he must assume the status of the God who walks among men his subjects believe that to look upon him is to be blinded to touch him means death Hirohito is Japan Hirohito is intent on creating a more liberal way of life for the people of Japan he wants to rule a nation at peace with the world for many years however Japanese militarists have fanatically opposed any ideas of liberalism of peaceful coexistence with other nations of the world the Warlord's deeply entrenched in Japan's political life have made long-range plans for Japanese expansion by conquest [Music] in the early 1930s Japan is a bizarre cross-section of the very old and the very new baseball is one of the many Western pastimes eagerly adopted by the Japanese feet [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the arrival of Babe Ruth generates as much excitement as a New Year's Day settled America's baseball I vote is treated virtually as a national hero [Applause] or emperor hirohito however there are only the monotonous formalities enforced by his role as the Living God in spite of his intense desire to deny his divinity and bring about democratic reforms in Japan he is a prisoner of royal protocol and centuries of tradition though he holds enormous power by custom he must delegate authority to his ministers and military staff says one observer he would much prefer a life of gentle dreams and intellectual delights instead he must attend endless religious ceremonies massive military reviews [Music] 19:31 in a test of strength the military leaders seize the Chinese province of Manchuria Hirohito protests to his ministers that the action was taken without his knowledge but he is somewhat placated by their promises that this will never happen again the army however makes no effort to leave Manchuria boldly claiming it is strategically necessary to stay 1934 after 10 years of marriage there is still no male heir to Hirohito's throne when it is announced that the Empress is expecting a child the entire nation prays for the proper omens which will ensure the birth of a boy [Music] December 23rd the overjoyed people of Japan celebrates the birth of Prince Akihito [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] 19:37 on the pretext of settling a border incidentally the Japanese army launches an all-out invasion of China Hirohito attempts to order a halt to the war but his advisors convince him the fighting is not an aggressive action says Prime Minister kono a the government has no other purpose than to preserve peace in East Asia the Emperor must accept this flimsy explanation perhaps rights one observer he sincerely believes they are telling the truth now in the hope is ensuring peace Hirohito places the Imperial seal on all orders the Warlord's issue in his name Japanese forces relentlessly marched through China from Shanghai to Nanking shattered cities echo with a cry long life to the Emperor Bandai [Music] Emperor Hirohito is the idol the divine incentive of Japan's soldiers they worship Him with a blind devotion many will claim to find white hairs from his horse in the pockets of their uniforms as they go forth to battle the Japanese soldier is indoctrinated with the belief that his Emperor is the rightful ruler of the entire world that war is a holy crusade [Music] the Japanese people obediently take part in mass air-raid rules but they have little fear that their homeland will be attacked [Music] [Applause] 19:41 a cabinet crisis develops when the United States places an embargo on the shipment of war materials to Japan war Minister general Hideki Tojo house Prince Kanoa is Prime Minister and Tojo demands that Japan retaliate with force when the United States refuses to lift the ban December first 10 fast aircraft carriers are ordered to see on a mission which has been planned for many months the Imperial Japanese forces muster at embarkation center this time the Emperor is fully aware of Tojo's intentions but by now his military leaders have effectively relegated Hirohito to the status of figurehead he cannot find the means to stop his cabinet or his army from carrying out their plans Sunday December 7 the Japanese task force is 200 miles off the coast of Hawaii [Music] within hours Emperor Hirohito and the Japanese people will be informed that the Imperial Air Force has attacked Pearl Harbor that their nation has been thrust into global war [Music] we'll be back with the second half of biography in a moment throughout 1942 Japanese forces gained far-flung victories in the Pacific they take Guam and Wake Island they penetrate deeper and deeper into China and Burma [Music] in the Philippines Manila the capital is declared an open City by US forces surrounded and cut off from supplies Bataan and Corregidor Falls general Houma accepts the surrender of the American garrison under general Wainwright and orders the start of the death march of American prisoners every victory is celebrated in the name of the Emperor every conquest is dedicated to Hirohito [Music] [Applause] [Music] in 1943 however the tide of battle slowly turns the Elias begin to regain the islands of the Pacific they move inexorably toward the homeland of Japan [Music] March 1945 in a single raid American b-29s rain 4,000 tons of bombs on the capital city igniting 20 square miles of Tokyo the Japanese militarists take desperate action to head off an expected invasion of the homeland they call upon the Divine Wind which once drove off the ships of Kubla Khan the Divine Wind the kamikaze Japanese pilots will destroy themselves and their planes in suicide attacks on allied ship [Music] [Music] [Music] but the kamikazes cannot stop the massive air assaults on the Japanese home islands Hirohito realizes the war is lost with the backing of his new prime minister admiral suzuki long an advocate of peace the emperor seeks away through diplomatic channels to bring an honorable end to the conflict but his efforts come too late august 6 1945 hiroshima president truman tells the world it is an atomic bomb the force from which the sun draws its power he says has been loosed against those who brought war to the Far East [Music] on august 16 Hirohito addresses his people telling them they must accept defeat we have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all generations to come he says by enduring the unendurable and suffering for his insufferable in more than 2000 years the people of Japan have never known the bitter taste of defeat now they stoic lay awaits the unendurable and be insufferable the align operation begins officially on September 4th 1945 with the arrival of General Douglas MacArthur supreme Allied commander in a move unparalleled in Japanese history emperor hirohito pays a call on General MacArthur never before has a member of the imperial family been known to humble himself in this fashion though military leaders who plunged Japan into war faced trial by a military tribunal for their crimes Lieutenant General Masaharu Houma infamous commander of the Bataan Death March verdict guilty sentence death by firing squad lieutenant general Tomoyuki Yamashita Despoiler of manila responsible for 60,000 death verdict guilty sentence death by hanging war premiere Hideki Tojo the number one Japanese war criminal attempt suicide and failed he too will die on the gallows at a later date then Emperor Hirohito becomes the center of world controversy as many demand his death for not trying to halt the war for not using his divine influence to sway the people's the Allied powers decide however that now his influence can be properly used in the cause of peace the Emperor Hirohito appears before the diet Japan's parliament to make a momentous declaration to his eighty million subjects under the new constitution the office of Emperor Hirohito is preserved but all effective power is taken away from he has made merely a symbol of the unity of the state he renounces the belief that he is a divine being and he debunks the legend that the imperial family is directly descended from the Sun God the Emperor of Japan comes from behind the Imperial percent among curtain to walk among his people not in a military uniform not as a god but in civilian clothes as a human being the people are now told that they may look upon their Emperor without fear of being blinded they may touch him without fear of death now he can begin to fulfill the role as Emperor he had conceived for himself 25 years before [Applause] with all the ceremony befitting royal Prince Akihito enrolls at the exclusive peers school where one of his most important classes will be devoted to the art of becoming an emperor [Music] tremendous social economic and political changes engulf the people of Japan for the first time in the history of the nation Japanese women are granted the right to vote five major political parties and many minor parties are formed in the wake of turbulent readjustment after years of passive submission to a military dictatorship the new atmosphere of political freedom generates both excitement and confusion [Music] to this chaos is added the roaring influence of westernization which changes dress and customs it inundates Japan in a flood of neon lights American movies and square dance [Music] no longer restricted by ceremonial duties the Emperor enjoys the new freedom of movement the rigid formality that once marked his public appearances is all but disappeared [Music] the announcement that Prince Akihito will marry a commoner is hailed throughout Japan years ago Hirohito had defied tradition by marrying princess Nagato the woman he loved rather than a bride selected for now like his father akka hito also breaks with ancient custom 19:51 by the terms of the allied peace treaty Japan is restored to her full sovereignty and independence the event is officially celebrated on May 3rd Constitution Day as a constitutional monarch emperor hirohito has now become the symbol of peace and stability for the new Japan although his people have lost a God they are deeply devoted to the man to the older people in Japan Hirohito remains the worshipped son of heaven to the new generation he is a man to whom they look for guidance with affection and respect to all the people of Japan however the Emperor Hirohito will always represent an age-old and firmly rooted psychological need General MacArthur took away many traditions and gave us Western rules a Japanese educator explains but he left us our father every child must have a father Mike Wallace for biography [Music] [Applause] [Music]