Legacy
"The Relationship between the Emperor and the people began to change..."-Daikichi Irokawa, The Age of Hirohito
Hirohito, emerging from his god-like pre-WWII leadership position visiting the devastation at Hiroshima, setting the stage for his successors.
The Japanese Royal Family
The Imperial House of Japan is the oldest continuing hereditary monarchy in the world. Hirohito continued this legacy with his children.
Naruhito and Masako's daughter Aiko, Princess Toshi 敬宮愛子内親王, is their only child. There was some concern in Japan about her inheriting the throne. She was born in 2001. Both her parents are too old to bear children. The royal family bloodline of sons has ended for the first time in 126 generations.
In 2005, a government-appointed panel of experts recommended that the Imperial succession law be amended to permit Aiko to rule. However, the proposal was dropped following the birth of Hisahito, Aiko's first male cousin and the Emperor's first grandson.
In 2005, a government-appointed panel of experts recommended that the Imperial succession law be amended to permit Aiko to rule. However, the proposal was dropped following the birth of Hisahito, Aiko's first male cousin and the Emperor's first grandson.
Hisahito
Hisohito, born September 6, 2006.
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""On January 7, 1989 at 6:33 A.M., Emperor Hirohito died, ending a turbulent of eighty-seven years and eight months."--Daikichi Irokawa, The Age of Hirohito
"Unite your total strength, to be devoted to construction for the future...so that you may enhance the innate glory...and keep pace with the progress of the world."-Hirohito, Gyokuon Hoso Speech
"Unite your total strength, to be devoted to construction for the future...so that you may enhance the innate glory...and keep pace with the progress of the world."-Hirohito, Gyokuon Hoso Speech
"At the entrances of the Japanese embassy buildings abroad, visitors are greeted by the image of the chrysanthemum seal, the imperial symbol." -Daikichi Irokawa, The Age of Hirohito