Emperor Hirohito

Prince Michi is Born

Apr 29, 1901

As he was known at birth, Prince Michi was born in the Tokyo Aoyama Palace on April 29, 1901 during the rule of his grandfather Emperor Meiji.

Crown Prince Era

Period: Mar 3, 1921 to Sep 3, 1921

The Crown Prince made official visits to the United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Vatican City. This was the first time a Prince of Japan had visited Western Europe and was met with strong opposition in Japan.

Hirohito becomes Emperor

Dec 25, 1926

At the age of 25, Hirohito was crowned emperor after the passing of his father and the Showa Era (Enlightened Peace) is declared to have begun.

Rape of Nanjing

Dec 13, 1937

Japan's Army invades Manchuria and murders 300,000 civilians and prisoners of war and raped over 80,000 women.