Word: hirohito
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Akihito was born on Dec. 23, 1933, the long-awaited first son of Hirohito and Empress Nagako, who had already produced four girls. In time-honored imperial fashion, the prince was separated from his parents at about the age of three and raised by nurses, tutors and chamberlains. Yet in a departure from custom, at six Akihito was sent to school with commoners in order to broaden him. When the Allies began closing in on Japan during World War II, he and some of his classmates were evacuated to provincial cities...
...Like Hirohito, who was an avid amateur marine biologist, Akihito became an expert on fish. He is also a dedicated musician, and the palace often resounds with impromptu concerts of Mozart, Grieg or Beethoven; Akihito is a fine cellist and is joined by his wife playing the harp, Hiro on viola, Aya on the guitar and Nori at the piano. Says chief chamberlain Yasuo Shigeta: "This is a family so full of sweet music...
...Imperial Palace. A victim of duodenal cancer, he grew weaker each day. Dr. Akira Takagi rushed into the palace within minutes of the summons, followed closely by Crown Prince Akihito and his wife Crown Princess Michiko, then by Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita. At 6:33 a.m. Emperor Hirohito, once worshiped by the Japanese people as a living god, died...
...longest-reigning monarch on earth, Hirohito was the last survivor of the leaders of the World War II era. He occupied the Chrysanthemum Throne longer than any of his recorded predecessors. During his 62 years as Emperor, ( Hirohito presided over a nation that soared to heights of military arrogance, plummeted catastrophically and rose again to become a formidable industrial power. Through it all, the slight, stooped Hirohito retained an unassuming tranquillity. As Japan's national television network flashed the words TENNO- HEIKA HOGYO (the Emperor passes away) last Saturday, some of the country's 122 million citizens wept, some prayed...
...present government, meanwhile, was wrestling with some rare but pressing decisions. Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita, for example, must choose a name for the next imperial era. All official documents except passports are now dated by the era Showa (Enlightened Peace), which began the day Hirohito became Emperor in 1926. Although some critics call the convention a remnant of the dead imperial past, they don't wish to end it, only transfer to the people responsibility for choosing the new name...