What Happened To The Japanese Emperor After WW2 | Asia's Monarchies | Real Royalty with Foxy Games

asia's monarchies defy history in a modern era of democracy worlds of tradition mystery and ritual command fascination and respect like never before monarchs are symbols of continuity living connections to the past that are often loved and loathed in equal measure mythology is at the heart of asia's monarchy's remarkable survival nowhere is this more true than in the land of what is claimed to be the world's oldest monarchy japan in the world's most modern city there's a man kept at arm's length from the people and the media little is known what goes on behind the closed doors of the imperial palace the emperor of japan has always been clouded in secrecy and myth the monarchy's involvement in world war ii is still one of the most controversial issues in modern japan i think he should have been hanged [Music] [Applause] many believe emperor hirohito was central to the japanese war effort the position of the emperor is not uncontroversial in the last 30 years the extreme right in japan have appropriated the emperor as the ultimate symbol of japanese nationalism the emperor system has been at the heart of japanese governance for millennia how has it survived and as it's so controversial what future does the monarchy have in japan what i do worry about is the royal family will wither on the vine the emperor of japan is an enigma the japanese claim it's the oldest monarchy in the world the first emperor jimmu is said to have ruled from 660 bc the mythology surrounding the emperor stems from his origins emperor jimmu is said to be directly descended from the sun goddess amaterasu until 1945 the emperor was believed to be divine his decisions immutable his power absolute [Music] to commemorate the former emperor hirohito speech that ended world war ii on august 15th every year 150 000 people gather to pay their respects to the fallen soldiers at tokyo's yasukuni shrine it's the one place in japan where the very ideas of the emperor and japan's wartime past are contested yasukuni is a very complex uh issue and complex place it's an imperial shrine there's an imperial imperial regalia are very evident there the emperor still sends offerings that are you know made to the shrine even though the emperor renounced his divinity after world war ii there are sections of japanese society that still believe they must live and die for what they call the sun of [Music] heaven [Applause] [Music] foreign a verbal and physical battle between right and left on the issue of the emperor takes place [Music] [Music] uh [Music] [Music] many japanese believe former emperor hirohito should have abdicated or at least apologize for the war so every year the left wing hold a demonstration against the shrine the emperor and the open celebration of japan's wartime past yasukuni as a whole not only glorifies those those individuals who who went to fight the war but it glorifies the whole enterprise of of japan's imperial wars during the course of an entire century [Music] yasukuni is a shinto shrine the national religion of japan based on ancestor worship by enshrining the two and a half million soldiers at yasukuni as gods people are effectively worshiping rather than merely commemorating the fallen soldiers and the emperor is seen as the head priest of shinto to the feared right wing yasukoni and the emperor represent the two most sacred aspects of present-day japanese it's the celebration of the emperor myth and the open and flamboyant militarism of nationalists at yasukuni that inflames non-nationalist feelings please imagine you know the soldiers here in the natchez you know nice parties you know wearing these uniforms you know and making demonstration in you know at the center of the rain and celebrating you know then hitra was a great man this is happening in japan because japanese empire didn't take responsibility to the world the japanese monarchy is a hostage to its past its very existence is in jeopardy because of the role hirohito is alleged to have played in world war ii most japanese people don't know how you know especially hirohito took a role in invading asia-pacific countries and evoking world war ii and killing more than 20 million innocent people to question the emperor's role or yasukuni can lead to reprisals from the right wing or alleged to have close associations with japan's mafia the yakuza [Music] foreign [Applause] foreign like in the uk people discuss about whether we should continue royal family or not even bbc broadcast about it but here in japan like nhk public broadcasting system and major newspapers they don't even argue the the role of emperor emperor system most historians now believe the emperor became central to the japanese war effort [Music] after the war hirohito was pardoned and permitted to stay on the throne by the american occupying forces ever since this moment the continued existence of the emperor has been controversial even as memories of the war fade how has the emperor been able to survive in japanese society for over two and a half thousand years the answers lie deep in the past with the creation of a mythology that directly connected the emperor to the birth of japan the emperor was given a divine ancestry and with it his place as head priest of shinto the story goes that the gods isanagi in isanami created japan by dipping their swords into the oceans the drips formed the islands of japan isanaki encountered the thunder gods and to cleanse himself he bathed and created smaller gods with the water a moon guard from his right eye a sun goddess was born from his left eye and an ocean god from his nose these new gods were given control of the universe of these gods it is the sun goddess amaterasu who was most revered in the land of the rising sun legend has it that she got into a fearsome argument with her brother the ocean guard and retreated into a cave thereby plunging the world into darkness when she hid the other guards held a festival outside the cave and enticed amaterasu out with their dancing it's claimed that the first emperor of japan jimmu was born here in takachiho gorge as a direct descendant of amaterasu in shinto only the emperor and his direct descendants can carry out the most important rituals that originate from the story of bringing light back into the world [Music] the emperor was therefore seen as divine and the head priest of shinto an animist cult that has no scripture or single god but worships nature and ancestors believing gods inhabit the animals the rocks and rivers [Music] [Music] almost certainly did exist and was the first king-like figure to unify the country under one ruler there is there is a lot of myth around the whole idea of the imperial lineage and that's that's perfectly clear um [Music] and to actually wipe away those myths is made more difficult by the fact the imperial household won't allow these excavations to take place in ancient imperial tombs so some people are saying well perhaps the japanese royal family might have originated from korea in the beginning um without the access to those imperial tombs it's extremely difficult to understand the pre-history successive emperors after jimmy were more closely associated with buddhism as it began to take hold in the country but it was their association with the rituals of shinto and this supposed divine origins that ensured this special role within japanese society the emperors ruled japan until the 12th century when the country was taken over by shogun warlords descended from powerful clans who ruled the country as de facto monarchs for the next 700 years the emperor was regularly forced into [Music] [Music] in kyoto the emperor continued as the head priest of shinto whilst military strongmen dominated the country the emperor is still providing legitimacy for the shogun um the shogun requires the fact that they are approved by the emperor now that may be in a sense merely symbolic because the emperor hasn't got any power but to actually move against the emperor and to just launch the emperor as a figure altogether would possibly arouse opposition it was a brutal period in japanese history from the 13th to the 16th century japan was almost constantly at war as rival clans battled for control [Music] in the 19th century japan was ravaged by famine and economic desperation a result of both mismanagement by the ruling tokugawa shogunate and a deep mistrust of other countries thereby isolating japan from international trade in 1853 american commander matthew perry arrived in japan threatening war unless the shoguns opened diplomatic and trade relations with the u.s through contact with other empire building countries often demanding to see the emperor the shoguns learnt how important monarchs were in foreign lands [Music] the shogun's opponents overthrew the tokugawa elite and then had to decide how the country would be governed they decided to use the the emperor as a symbol bearing in mind that japan has often been ruled by people behind the scenes it's a uh you don't have to be the nominal ruler to be the real power the powers behind the throne decided to reinvent the emperor using the ancient stories of his divine origins in 1867 supposedly the 122nd descendant of emperor jimmu was made the meiji emperor the imperial court moved from kyoto to tokyo and in the space of just a few years meiji was transformed shedding his traditional shinto robes and adopting the regalia of his western peers if japan's going to have a strong sense of national identity and it needs it because after all we're dealing with is a country that in some ways is similar to italy and germany it's going through a process of national unification so it needs a strong national identity and the major elite clearly believe that can be located in the figure of the emperor the idea that the emperor was divine descended from amaterasu and only they could undertake important shinto rituals began to take hold once again in 1869 after just one year in power the meiji emperor opened the yasukuni shrine it was a powerfully symbolic moment in japanese history the yasakuni shrine is important because again it's linked to the idea of national identity i mean here you have a shinto shrine being opened in the imperial capital tokyo where those who die in the war to achieve the meiji restoration are honoured and then from that point on the war dead are honoured japan prospered under the meiji emperor and by the end of the 19th century the japanese decided to demonstrate their new confidence in military power japan stunned the world by defeating china in 1895 but a much bigger victory was on the horizon japan then established itself as a major power when it defeated russia in the russo-japanese war of 1904-1905 so japan had by the beginning of the first world war was a major power in the world it had achieved that situation and the appetite grew in the in the eating china seeded taiwan to japan and an era of asian expansion in the name of the emperor began that was to last for the next 50 years with its military successes emperor worship was at its height at the beginning of the 20th century however in 1912 the meiji emperor had become critically ill with stomach cancer and on july 30 a shocked and distraught nation was told of his death through propaganda and grandstanding meiji and the powerful figures behind the throne had established the emperor as once again the spiritual soul of the nation and had created the beginnings of an asian empire this would lead inexorably to world war ii and his grandson hirohito's alleged controversial involvement in the nationalist war effort before he died meiji had established the imperial household law which introduced the rule of primogeniture only the firstborn son of the emperor could succeed to the chrysanthemum throne it would prove a real stumbling block to future generations who could not produce a son as meiji only had one son the imperial court was left no choice but to make crown prince yoshihito the taisho emperor his reign was to last just 14 years as a child it's thought he contracted meningitis and this caused brain damage as he grew to adulthood with the meiji emperor you did have a sense that at least there was a figure at the center of japanese government who had long experience of office who could perhaps provide advice or be a figure to consult on important issues which you don't have in the thai show period here you have a man who is incapable of holding that role by 1916 his behavior in health had become so erratic that royal officials began to think about his succession ty's show could never live up to the reputation of his father but in one way he out-did him producing four healthy sons the eldest of which hirohito was being groomed for power [Music] [Music] the imperial household decided to let prince hirohito tour europe to parade this healthy future emperor to their western imperial rivals a tour which changed hirohito's outlook dramatically for a young impressionable man who's been brought up in extremely sheltered surroundings in japan um to go on a trip that takes him to western europe um would certainly be an eye-opener so it and certainly he refers to this later on in his life the the the importance that this had for him in creating his view of the world and his role within the japanese political system hirohito was also encouraged to tour his own country that is in 1925 after a long illness emperor taisho finally died [Music] and the young hirohito acceded formally to the chrysanthemum throne hirohito took the name showa meaning enlightened peace a dreadful irony as japan was to embark on the most terrible period of warfare it had ever known the japanese military began an aggressive period of expansion turning manchuria from a protectorate into a fully-fledged colony and moving into mainland china some historians believe that the emperor was powerless to stop this expansion his role as set out in the meiji constitution was not to be involved in political or military matters this remains one of the most hotly contested topics up to the present day [Music] uh some believe it was prime minister tojo who was responsible for pushing japan towards the war there's no doubt that there were rogue elements in the japanese military who were pushing for an empire throughout asia and they were impossible to control the emperor was supposed to to abide by the constitution and accept the advice that was given to him that was his interpretation whether that was the the whether somebody more courageous more independent minded might have taken a decision a different decision i don't know but he interpreted his role as if you like it a yes man by 1941 japan had expanded into most of southeast asia and the year ended with the devastating attack on pearl harbor the question is did the emperor know or approve of the attack many people in japan say oh emperor is also a victim about japanese militarism but i i don't think so you can see when japanese armed army took over singapore which was a very key uh stone in uh southeast asia in the world you know wild map you can see he was riding on the white horse in front of the you know imperial palace among millions of people or celebrating singapore okay the battle of midway proved a turning point in the war and japan was to suffer a series of losses in key naval battles that ended in 1945 with the americans invading the japanese mainland two atomic bombs dropped on nagasaki and hiroshima proved decisive in ending the japanese war effort [Music] [Music] oh the [Music] foreign clearly the situation had become untenable after the the bombs on on hiroshima and nagasaki at that point they didn't know what to do how could they how could these these these uh generals and admirals and advisors how could they take a decision which they couldn't take a decision somebody else had to take the responsibility push it up on august 15 1945 hirohito announced to his subjects by radio the surrender of the japanese forces [Music] failed [Music] there's a famous story about you know the emperor delivered delivered a speech on august 15th by radio but it was not a live broadcast it was recorded the day before or several days before it was smuggled out of the imperial uh the emperor's residence in a in a basket of of women's underwear that was sent out being sent out to the laundry because the militarists were still resisting the idea of surrender under general macarthur the americans occupied japan and decided to retain the emperor as an institution people could rally behind and controversially to make him immune from prosecution many people in japan say oh emperor is also a victim about japanese militarism but i don't think so he is the first cream now first most important war criminal in during world war ii ii and also 50 years of invasion to asia pacific countries general macarthur summoned hirohito to meet him to discuss the future organization of japan and his role in it some believe that he already knew that the americans would spare him others that he feared for his life the americans certainly did have an opportunity in 1945 to get rid of the monarchy they didn't they had very good reasons for not doing so they or at least general macarthur was strongly of the opinion that if the reforms that the americans wanted to introduce were going to stick they needed a legitimizing tool they needed the emperor just as the major elite had needed the meiji emperor in the 1870s there are scars that still fester in japan from world war ii [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the decision to grant hirohito immunity from prosecution makes the emperor a controversial figure even today it's hard to imagine any other country in the world where 64 years after after a war ends that these issues still remain unresolved i think one of the major reasons that those issues remain unresolved is because the emperor's role and responsibility for the war was never clarified it was left vague and intentionally left vague if you don't openly acknowledge that he led the country into a devastating tremendously destructive meaningless war um then where do where do you go where do you go from there how do you how do you even start that conversation you don't start that conversation [Music] just seven people were executed for leading the japanese war effort including the prime minister hideki tojo here being slapped on the head in a moment of bizarre gallows humor during the trial but was tojo really to blame during the war kamikaze pilots sacrificed themselves for the emperor and soldiers fought and died in the name of the emperor [Music] [Music] in perhaps the most important development in the two and a half thousand year history of the emperor the americans persuaded hirohito to renounce his divinity and embrace democracy on january the 1st 1946 a shocked japanese population were told that their monarch was a mere man and not a god [Music] [Music] the very foundations of the emperor myth as a son of heaven were eradicated in an instant the emperor never system in japan very unique because i think in the human history only hirohito said i am a human being i think the americans had correctly anticipated that this was what japan needed um something that would reduce the ore within with which the emperor was held in the country um would help to undermine the nationalism that had led to war japan had to be rebuilt from scratch so the american occupiers set about creating a new constitution in 1946 based around the emperor and the new national legislature and in article 9 a declaration against the idea of war japan has a constitution that renounces war it's one of the few countries in the world that has a constitution like that and it's maintained that constitution that idea that principle of not being involved in wars of aggression for 64 years since you know the end of of of world war ii and the reason it has i believe is because the japanese recognized not only that the war was wrong but that they had a moral responsibility for perpetrating a war that caused so much damage and devastation throughout asia and throughout the world the constitution promised democracy and the emperor would continue as the living symbol of nationhood but with no significant powers importantly though the emperor was to remain head priest of shinto as a young man hirohito called himself a bird in a gilded cage because of the stifling influence of the body that controls the royal family the imperial household agency now the emperor experienced a degree of freedom unthinkable before the war although these public appearances were tightly stage managed hirohito remained as emperor for the next 43 years as a symbol of continuity and nationhood whilst a subject set about rebuilding the country but the issues of the war and his involvement in it were never dealt with there is no process of you know of truth and reconciliation in the early post-war period and it gets delayed and and seeps out little by little so then we start hearing stories about the the rape of nan king we start hearing stories about you know uh chemical warfare in china we start hearing stories about the comfort women japan's war crimes and the lack of justice for the victims remains as controversial as hirohito's alleged involvement in the war my view would be that the best thing for the imperial institution would have been for him to advocate at the time i think that probably would have been a useful cleansing moment for japan [Music] you can see that for him that perhaps would be to cast doubt on the imperial institution as a whole any abdication would be too much of an admission of guilt it wouldn't just be personal guilt it would be guilt for the institution as a whole and i think that's why they didn't bite the bullet but i think it probably would have been better to have bitten the world [Music] given that hirohito was tainted by the war effort japan needed to look beyond him to the future emperor crown prince akihito [Music] he was brought up during the war and like his father feared for his life during the american invasion it was to make him a lifelong pacifist in japan's post-war period the royal family were rarely seen except for state visits and they seemed to like spending time alone in tokyo's imperial palace with its enormous gardens an oasis of calm in a hectic city of 15 million inhabitants towards the end of his reign one event had a lasting impact on hirohito in 1978 it's thought yasukuni independently enshrined as gods the class a war criminals executed during the tokyo trials um [Music] when japan's neighbors in the us found out about this there was outrage and in response hirohito who had made annual pilgrimages since he was a boy decided to no longer visit yasukuni [Music] in 1989 after 67 years on the throne hirohito died leaving the issues of world war ii and his alleged responsibility for it unresolved [Music] his son akihito acceded to the throne in 1990 becoming the high say emperor and has spent a lifetime preaching peace in a sense it appears as if he's making amends for uh the crimes that his father committed um he has made an extraordinary effort to go overseas and to be the public face of japan in a contrite way apologizing not apologizing outright but but making statements that recognize and acknowledge the pain and suffering that were caused by japan during world war ii at home the movements and behavior of the monarchy are still to a large extent controlled by the imperial household agency the government body appointed to look after the royal family and just as with his father hirohito before him the iha often restricts the freedom of emperor akihito tonight [Music] however the ihas come to symbolize a secretive undemocratic bureaucracy that will do anything to continue the imperial male lineage [Music] when akihito's daughter-in-law failed to produce a son to continue the dynasty the pressure from the iha on her to conceive became unbearable the future of the monarchy hung in the balance naruhito was oxford educated and his wife masako a harvard graduate both had little time for the traditions of the imperial court they had a baby girl but to make her empress would break the male line that was said to have lasted two and a half thousand years and would be against the constitution misako previously a successful career diplomat fell into a long and severe depression in 2004 her husband let his feelings known that his wife's depression was the responsibility of people me me when it became clear that masako in her fragile condition might never have a son politicians started to discuss whether her daughter could accede to the throne or more poignantly whether the emperor system should be wound up altogether [Music] the succession crisis was solved but the meiji emperor's rule of primogeniture will be broken when prince hisahito becomes emperor i think it is very regrettable that the japanese constitution was not the japanese imperial succession law was not changed to enable a princess to perform the role of empress so what is the future of the chrysanthemum throne is it doomed to irrelevance or will it continue as the symbol of the nation it's an issue that divides modern japanese society we have to make japan as a republic as soon as possible not in 100 years we have to because emperor's system is so dangerous of course today the imperial institution does in some ways look like an anachronism um you can't imagine that it's very relevant to the ordinary lives of of japanese people and yet it's still there as this symbol of continuity is it's the empress position as the high priest of shinto which gives it such a unique place in society akin to the pope in catholic countries and which may prove to be the institutions saving grace as long as shinto remains the national religion the emperor should feel he has a function to fulfill state hinduism is not a religion it's a it's a cult i'm saying shinto is an asconi they are cult yeah and the emperor is so embarrassed the head of the cult i think it's an issue which faces all uh royalty how does royalty fit in with modern life with modern concepts the emperor of the world's oldest monarchy has become more than anything else a symbol a symbol of the nation but also of the past a past that is very much part of the soul of japan [Music] recently nationalists have appropriated the emperor to remind japan of its history before the nation surrendered but so much has changed since 1945 japan can never turn back [Music] the emperor's position as the spiritual heart of japan appears for the moment secure

Channel: Real Royalty

Views: 410,153

Rating: 4.8110495 out of 5

Keywords: real royalty, real royalty channel, british royalty, royalty around the world, royal history, hirohito surrender, hirohito speech, hirohito visits the united states, japanese monarchy, asian monarchies, japanese emperor, japan in ww2

Id: -2-3_Xctrmk

Length: 53min 5sec (3185 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 13 2021

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