Shōwa time

The Shōwa period ( Japanese 昭和 時代 , Shōwa-jidai , dt. "Era of enlightened peace") is the name for an era in the history of Japan . It denotes the reign of Tennō Hirohito , the third emperor of the modern period, from December 25, 1926 to January 7, 1989. Shōwa ( 昭和 , ligature : ㍼ ) is Hirohito's government motto ( Nengō ).

etymology

The term Shōwa was borrowed from the classical Chinese historical work Shujing . Therein can be found in the description of the mythological Emperor Yao the set 百姓昭明,協和萬邦  /  百姓昭明,协和万邦 , Baixing Ming Zhao, Xiehe wan bang (Jap. Hyakusei shō mei, kyō wa Bampo ) with the meaning of "When the hundred clans had become illustrious, he harmonized the myriad states. (When the hundred clans were exalted, he unified the multitude of states.) "

history

The first half of the Shōwa period was the heyday of Japanese imperialism until the surrender in 1945, which marked the final end of World War II . Under the influence of various generals of the Japanese army , the young emperor gave the orders to attack China , the Philippines and the USA . After the first atomic bombs were dropped , Emperor Hirohito was the first Japanese emperor to speak to his people personally: he announced the surrender of Japan in a radio message and, under pressure from the Americans, at the same time renounced his claim to divine descent in order to pave the way for a new peaceful and democratic social order to free. Due to the high reputation of the emperor, the abolition of the monarchy was not considered as in Italy ; Although the Tennō lost almost all political participation rights in the new constitution , it remained highly respected in his remaining 44 years of reign.

In the second half of the post-war period Japan achieved an economic miracle that exceeded that of the Federal Republic of Germany and made Japan the second largest economic power in the world in the 1980s.

Since his death, Hirohito has also borne the name Shōwa according to Japanese custom. The Shōwa period was preceded by the Taishō period , followed by the Heisei period , which began in 1989 .

Important events

Political and military events

• 1930: Signing of the London Naval Agreement
• 1933: Japan leaves the League of Nations .
• July 7, 1937: Start of the second Sino-Japanese War
• 1940: Tripartite Pact between Japan , Germany and Italy
• September 6, 1941: Decision to open war against America and Great Britain; Conquest of the European colonies in Asia (" Asia the Asians ")
• December 1, 1941: The Tennō orders war against the USA.
• December 7, 1941: Japan attacks the US without a declaration of war in Pearl Harbor , thus starting the war in the Pacific .
• August 6, 1945: The US drops the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima .
• August 9, 1945: The second US atomic bomb falls on Nagasaki . (see atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki )
• August 15, 1945: The Tennō announced the surrender of Japan over the radio ; he gives up the claim to divinity.
• September 2, 1945: Allied occupation of Japan begins
• November 3, 1946: Proclamation of the Japanese Constitution dictated by General MacArthur's occupation government
• 1951: Peace Treaty of San Francisco
• 1956: Japan becomes a member of the United Nations
• November 1962: Liao Takasaki Memorandum (trade agreement with China)
• October 23, 1978: Conclusion of a peace and friendship treaty with the People's Republic of China
• September 22, 1985: Plaza Agreement (massive appreciation of the yen against the dollar)

Cultural and sporting events

• 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo
• 1968 Nobel Prize for Literature for Kawabata Yasunari
• 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo

Conversion to the Gregorian calendar

Shōwa year	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	17th	18th	19th	20th	21st
Gregorian calendar	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946
Shōwa year	22nd	23	24	25th	26th	27	28	29	30th	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42
Gregorian calendar	1947	1948	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967
Shōwa year	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	59	60	61	62	63
Gregorian calendar	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Japanlink : Shôwa Zeit ( Memento of the original from July 12, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed September 1, 2010. 
2. ↑ 「昭和」 の 由来 は 何 で す か? . Meiji Shrine , Retrieved September 24, 2011 (Japanese). 
3. ^ Bernhard Karlgren : The Book of Documents .

Web links

Commons : Shōwa time  - collection of images, videos and audio files