Emperor Hirohito
House Imperial House of Japan Father Emperor Taishō Mother Empress Teimei Born (1901-04-29)April 29, 1901 Aoyama Detached Palace, Tokyo, Japan Died January 7, 1989(1989-01-07) (aged 87) Fukiage Palace, Tokyo, Japan Burial February 24, 1989 Musashi Imperial Graveyard, Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan Signature Emperor Shōwa (昭和天皇, Shōwa-tennō?, April 29, 1901 – January 7, 1989) was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death on January 7, 1989. Although better known outside of Japan by his personal name Hirohito (裕仁?), in Japan he is now referred to primarily by his posthumous name Emperor Shōwa. The word Shōwa is the name of the era that corresponded with the Emperor's reign, and was made the Emperor's own name upon his death. In Japanese, the reigning Emperor is referred to without a personal name as "his Majesty the Emperor" (天皇陛下, Tennō Heika?) or "his current Majesty" (今上陛下, Kinjō Heika?). The name Hirohito (裕仁) means "abundant benevolence". At the start of his reign, Japan was already one of the great powers — the ninth-largest economy in the world after Italy, the third-largest naval power, and one of the four permanent members of the council of the League of Nations. He was the head of state under the limitation of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan during Japan's imperial expansion, militarization, and involvement in World War II. After the war, he was not prosecuted for war crimes as many other leading government figures were, and his degree of involvement in wartime decisions remains controversial among historians to this day. During the postwar period, he became the symbol of the new state and Japan's recovery, and by the end of his reign, Japan had emerged as the world's second largest economy.