Core Facts
Official title: Emperor Shōwa (昭和天皇)
Birth name: Hirohito (裕仁)
Born: April 29, 1901
On the throne since: December 25, 1926 (61 years by the end of 1987)
Current era: Shōwa
Age: 86
Health status: Critically ill since late September 1987 – emergency intestinal surgery, ongoing internal bleeding and anemia
Daily routine for most citizens: Check the newspaper’s front-page “Imperial Condition” bulletin first thing in the morning
How Regular Japanese People Saw Him in 1987
The only emperor 99 % of the population had ever known
“Japan = the Emperor” in many people’s minds – more than the flag or Mount Fuji
The man whose voice on the radio ended the war in 1945 (a memory burned into every family)
A gentle, white-haired grandfather who wears a lab coat and studies tiny sea creatures
Completely human – everyone accepted the 1946 declaration; the old “living god” idea felt ancient history
The quiet heart of the whole country and the entire Shōwa lifetime
National Mood in December 1987
Quiet, widespread worry
Common whispers on trains and in shops: “Please let His Majesty see Oshōgatsu (New Year)…”
Companies already drafting secret mourning manuals
Almost superstitious taboo against saying “when the Shōwa era ends” out loud
Deep, unspoken feeling that an entire age everyone had lived in was gently slipping away