Emperor Hirohito's Enthronement Ceremony in Kyoto

Accession and Enthronement

Hirohito became the 124th emperor of Japan on December 25, 1926, when his father, the Taishō Emperor, died. He had acted as regent since 1921 because of his father's illness. The new reign was given the name Shōwa. Under Japanese custom the accession and the formal enthronement ceremonies were separate. The enthronement was held after a period of mourning, and in this case after nearly two years, so that the rice for the ritual could be planted and harvested.

The Ceremony in Kyoto

The Imperial Household Agency records that the enthronement, the Sokui no Rei, was held in Kyoto on November 10, 1928. Kyoto had been the capital for more than a thousand years, until the Meiji Emperor moved to Tokyo in 1868, and under Imperial Household rules adopted in 1909 the ceremonies were held in the old capital. The main rite took place in the Shishinden, the Hall of State Ceremonies at the Kyoto Imperial Palace. The emperor wore traditional court dress and sat on a throne called the Takamikura.

The Daijōsai

The enthronement was followed by the Daijōsai, a religious rite in which a new emperor offers newly harvested rice and other foods to the deities. The Imperial Household Agency dates it to November 14 and 15, 1928. The rite was held in specially built halls at the palace. Parades and banquets were held in Kyoto and elsewhere in Japan during the celebrations.

Radio and Guests

The Library of Congress notes that the ceremony was broadcast live on radio, which was a new medium in Japan. Radio broadcasting there had begun in 1925. Foreign newsreel crews recorded events, and special envoys and guests from other countries were invited. The ceremonies in Kyoto lasted several days and drew visitors from around Japan to the city.

The Shōwa Reign

Hirohito reigned until his death on January 7, 1989, which makes the Shōwa era 62 years long, the longest of any Japanese emperor. His reign included Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931, the war in China from 1937, the Second World War, the occupation by the Allied powers from 1945 to 1952, and the postwar constitution of 1947, under which the emperor is, in the constitution's words, the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people, without political powers.

Earlier and Later Enthronements

Hirohito was 27 years old at the time of his enthronement. The Taishō Emperor's enthronement had also been held in Kyoto, on November 10, 1915, and Hirohito's son Akihito was enthroned in Tokyo on November 12, 1990, which was the first time the ceremony was held in the present capital. Naruhito, the present emperor, was enthroned in Tokyo on October 22, 2019.