Japan: Could The World's Oldest Surviving Monarchy Collapse? | Asia's Monarchies | Real Royalty
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 มี.ค. 2021
- The Japanese Imperial family is the oldest hereditary monarchy in the world, dating back to the sixth century BC. However, its central role in Japan has not shielded the family from controversy in recent years. Through personal scandals, and vagaries of the hereditary system, even to their own biology, it's been a rocky time. But what is left if every tradition is changeable?
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"Emperor Jimmu is said to be descended from the Sun Goddess Amaterasu"
*random stock image of the silhouette of a 20th century geisha*
Well, I'm pretty sure Amaterasu Herself did not come and sit for a photograph.
@@kathygrey1433 There are many depictions of Amaterasu in Japanese art, so the video producers had ample imagery to choose from
when damn talk
@@ozvulcan good point. In any case I love the myth - the Emperor has to get all the other folks to come and coax Amaterasu by means of their cooperative creativity.
それな!!!!!!!!
I have lived in Japan for over 15 years. The common sentiment of majority of the people is not what is indicated in this left bent documentary. This is sort of one-sided narrative of a deep rooted tradition of Japan. One thing an outsider lacking the knowledge of culture, history,way of everyday life and thinking patterns of Japanese even in 2021, find hard to understand is their unimaginable Unity when it comes to traditions and culture. Their devotion towards the country. Then no heka The emporer, is Japan itself for majority. Please be very careful not to come to conclusions after watching a single documentary like this as it depicts just one facade of a complex matter.
White Kivi, Well said indeed. Says a lot when the media does not point out or report on left wing extremism.
Media “Even Japanese people are white racists’ EVERYONE is racist who does agree to our left politics.
@Not Convinced , the assassination was based
what is left wing extremism?
@@shylady8711 Like in America, the BLM/Antifa riots that caused billions in property damage, and many deaths. All this, while the media and politicians praised these actions.
This leftist tyranny has extended to other things, in particular Covid. While Japan had no lockdowns or vaccine mandates, because their constitution forbade it. Western governments disregarded their constitutions and went full tyrant, at the behest of the left
Fascinating, Interesting, Mystic, THANK YOU!!!
なんだこれ？？？60％の事実に40％の個人のものすごく偏った見解が混ざってる印象。
これが真実だと思われたら怖いな。
Thank you for the history!
What happened to Hirohito following WWII? Not much, actually. He just simply went from being a puppet of the former Japanese militarist government to being used as a puppet by the U.S. The guy never truly had any ruling power from the get go; it was all just smoke and mirrors. And yet even to this day there are a lot of Americans who still blame him for starting WWII with the U.S., even though it was never truly his call to make.
You nailed it in my opinion...
exactly what I got from this documentary.. I mean, they were just shrine priests up until the US involvement and even then, still made as just a public figure and nothing else.. there government from before might have already known this which is why they never gave him strict punishment of a sin he was never involved in.. doesn't help though, he was still being demonized till this day..
If people credited Hirohito's decision to order the surrender in August 1945, it is not hard to see he could also order the war to stop far earlier if he really wanted to. Hirohito was not a puppet of the militarist government. He was a critical part of it. In fact most of the Japanese Imperial Household played very active parts in the military government. Some members were leaders in Hirohito's army, like Hirohito's royal uncle Prince Yasuhiko Asaka, who personally ordered the imfamous Massacre of Nanking. Hirohito for his part signed the order which excused the Imperial Japanese Army from treating captives of war according to International Treaties. It was the Americans who wanted to use Hirohito to control the post-war Japanese population. So they covered up his war crimes and spreaded this lie that Hirohito was merely a puppet and therefore not responsible for his actions. Eventually when a lie was repeated often enough, people started believing it as truth.
People still believe he didn't have power? The hell...
He had power, The Japanese literally sees him as a living god. He's simply a useless indecisive emperor who did jackshit as his subordinates led his country to ruin. Seriously, The surrender in August 45 only happened as a result of his decree.
I was born and raised in Japan. I think the right wing activists and left one are really extreme examples in Japan. Most people don’t take it seriously, I guess.
hate the right-wing, like Shinzo Abe. They disgust me
seems similar to germany
@@noorur a leftists will always. In actual leftists sucks. At least in my country. A Japanese left wing could still be an exception.
@@spectrum_X "leftists suck" ahh yes kids trying to show off their wisdom
Japanese people barely know their own history. Of course, most people don't take things like politics seriously.
I love the imagery of the Emperor being the priest/magician who coaxes light out of darkness, aided by the creativity of all the other gods and goddesses! :-)
Gen. mcArthur understood that Japan needs a rallying point to reunite the country after devastating WW2 that is why the Imperial palace was spared..
Yes! I just finished watching Emperor with Tommy Lee Jones.
TH-cam is offering it for free right now.
I'm glad MacArthur decided to go in there and help Japan get back together again.
True.
He would have left the Easter Bunny as a symbol of head of states if it calmed the occupation and surrender.
And also the General needed him to tell his nipps soldiers outside Japan to stop fighting and go home
Well if the imperial palace wasn't spare, it will cause a big resistance from the general public of Japan and they will continue to fight till the last men
MC Arthur was a maniac Who wanted to glass Korea border with China with Nukes.
Wow, super interesting, loved it.
Hi u on
I've been to Japan many times as a tourist and as An American soldier during the Korean War 1951-53 worked as translator at Tokyo and at mobile radio broadcasting stations at Seoul and Pusan !
Absolutely fascinating documentary
Good job 👍
This documentary was aired so long ago I remember being in Japan when the Heisei Emperor abdicated the throne in 2019.
Why did he abdicate?
@@tammymize old age
@@ladyramen7655
He has gone operation 4 the cancer twice....
Of course old aged is also the factor...
Very informative. Ty.
Can you tell me why, considering it was nearly all civillians in Nagasaki and Hiroshama, the USA didn't have to face war crime charges? for all the documentaries I've ever watched about this, the USA seems to be seen as to having achieved something great. I personally think it was diabolical
Let's just call it karma for what Japan did to Asia and leave it at that. If not for what Japan did, there would be no reason for the US to nuke them.
@@missalicesmiles what a ridiculous answer
@@willscott1171 OK, how about this. The United States was on the side that were the victors in World War II while Japan was not. That answers your question. End of story.
Will Scott Excellent comment. What the US did by dropping the atomic bomb on Japan was indeed a heinous and diabolical war crime. Nothing can change that fact.
@@herondelatorre4023 bloody nonsense
35:40 that slap xD
tojo seemed to enjoy it
The guy who slapped him was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
@@shogun8971 That was Shūmei Ōkawa who slapped Tojo.
He had syphilis which lead to his mental instability.
@@shogun8971 Also, just about EVERY Japanese serviceman who had to suffer the inglorious-ness on the front lines all hated Tojo.
loved how the narator read and watch without laughing, lmao
Japanese empire will keep living as long as Japan exists. It doesn't matter who is in power left or right in Japanese government, Japan has special security and systematic support for empire behind the political scenes who protects imperial family. So it can't be abolished by anyone.
^That is right. Nothing can even open the White box either that has signed and letters from every emperor, They are 200% protected or else it would not last a year.
The entire country has a rule. People have no choice. Sorry we are lasting until year 4000+
The emperor can stay, but he MUST take responsibility for what his ancestors did. The Japanese Empire massacred and raped millions. Hirohito was a monster.
Akihito and Nurahito are accomplices until they beg for forgiveness and hopefully commit seppuku.
@@gtPacheko hirohito was nothing more then a puppet of the militarist govermeant you can't just blame everything on one guy it's like i would blame every british crime in the colonies on Elizabeth II just beacuse her ascentors were playing third reich in the colonies
@@gtPacheko are you dumb? if people had to take responsebility for their ancestors america would be a black only country, germany would lose half its people and russia would cease to excist. i mean just think about how ridiculous you sound, no1 is responsible for what happened when they werent even born.
@@gtPacheko Found the Gong Fei agent.
I used to live in japan for years, most people love the emperor and don't really care about WW2.
why we should care?
@@user-xl5mh9qj5l
The presence of the emperor prevented communists from making Japan a communist country. So they hate the emperor.
There are a lot of communists in the comments section to make crazy comments. They have been brainwashed by chinese or koreans mad anti-Japanese education. So just ignore them.
41
@@user-xl5mh9qj5l does japan teach about ww2 in the textbooks?
@@w00borg34 unfortunately, they did but mentioned it in the state of defence and needs + without the mention of massacres they did
@@user-xl5mh9qj5l your country at the time committed war crimes on par with Germany
Just got done watching the movie the Emperor with Tommy Lee Jones!
The role of General MacArthur was well portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones.
And the emperor looks dead-on like the real deal!!!
Great movie!
Was better than I thought it would be
Watched it in the San Francisco Bay Area
Man that was such a good movie. Absolutely incredible.
@@networknomad5600
Ikr✔
@abhay kumar
I like how you guys say rubbish LOL.
Have you watched all of Catherine Cookson's movies on TH-cam?
There's two other movies I really enjoyed watching and that is:
Forever Strong
Kings in Grass Castles
Let me know if you have any recommendations and I prefer the free movies...
Started getting charged for movies I didnt even pay for before.
Thanks for your message and have a great day
Tommy Lee Jones 😂 sorry , Just made me laugh , don't know why
Once again, RR does it again. I'm just a little, common, person who can't get enough of Royalty.
Lol nobody is common Or royal
You a human
There is a lot of potential in being a human.
If you are clever enough
@@didyoustealmyfood8729 you're so nice 😁
"RR has done it again." So does that mean that the poop producers are making more half-assed documentaries than this?
I'm in a similar industry, so I simply think it's tacky and poorly made.
And the content is messy too.
Thank you for breaking it all down. Most history channels on here just try and get to the point without context.
Its amazing that out of all heads of state of the Axis side in WW2, Hirohito is the only one who was kept in power
he wasn't kept in power, he officially rescinded his place as ruler and as living deity and only his symbolic position remained. Big change, that some people did not accept but he demonstrably did. It is far from a simple issue since in a way the Shinto religions roots stem from his descendency from Amaterasu so it is a far more complex thing than him being a head of state like say Hitler or Mussolini, neither or whom were royals of any kind much less important religious figures.
Yeah. Unfortunatelly
It's debatable whether Hirohito approve the massacres of civilians during ww2. Some even believe the military threatened emperor's family to stay away from ministry of war's policies.
@@Alephbeth17 He absolutely did not ever get into detail, not on this or any other topic, anyone who has studied the imperial house in this period knows that. So no, it is not debatable.
@@noth606 are you westerner or japanese?
Fumio Kishida
Prime Minister of Japan 🇯🇵 his pain is visible without tears and his love for his friend ran deep . Please be merciful and give the boy his spectacles as it is all in our destinies who we are born to be ❤️🙏🙇♀️
Hirohito is similar to Victor Emmanual the king of Italy during the war, But unlike V.E. Hirohito wasn't forced to abdicate and the monarchy wasn't abolished
35:40 best slap ever,
i can't believe you add a slap sound effect too haha, lmao.
imagine what will happen if the guy wasn't stopped by the guard, there will be thousand of slap
tojo : do it again plz
The Japanese professors in this video, except Prof. Tokoro, are typical left wing and they talk about their own opinion without referring to reliable historical references, which make this video very biased. I would say most Japanese people love Emperor and Empress and hope the imperial institution will continue forever.
Most younger Japanese people are indifferent to the Royal family. Just like they are apathetic towards politics.
@@highbrand That is not new...
@@channelreiwa795 so it makes no sense when you say Japanese people love the Emperor. I have one relative who is really pro the Royal family, but that's it.
@@highbrand We have less and less younger people lol. What I wanted to mean originally is those professors in the video are not representing Japanese people and Japan. No more comments please.
@@channelreiwa795
You have stated your own opinion without reference to reliable historical sources. You are very biased.
people think that the situation with emperor Hirohito in WWII was black and white, while the truth was probably more complex than him being entirely guilty or innocent, he had responsibility but I don't think to the extent people want him to have, and also, before the current emperor, emperors didn't abdicated, they where for life or they became monks and where still an emperor but not regnant, and as the lady said, it's true Japan without a emperor wouldn't exist today, tradition is still rooted in their modern society
agreed
Very true.
The important thing is, it is "Emperor System".
A "system" that this movie talking.
天皇（てんのう、Tennou） is a priest-king.
It could be said The Pope of Sintô.
Quite interesting but they only had hardcore Japanese anti emperor left for most part of the documentary which is far from how Japan actually is. If you were to get my father in law to speak on this (might be an impossible task but I know him) he would say he wants no change at all to the way the Imperial system is done. He is 77yo Japanese from Okayama mountainside/countryside. Very traditional. My wife probably feels the same deep down but when I ask her she expresses doubt but inaction about it and she votes for the nationalists in every election...
This makes the documentary have a political taste that is not at all like what you find in most of Japan certainly not outside Tokyo.
I agree. I have not asked all Japanese people for opinion. But I feel that anti‐monarchism has little power in Japan. That is my feeling. I am Japanese.
True very biased documentary.
Therefore, even if the German Chancellor and Cabinet members pay homage to Hitler and Himmler is not their true thoughts myself?
These views of yours should be told to the Jews
Therefore, racial discrimination is wrong, but all things encountered with Chinese people can be an exception
@@Shofotolavski you make very little sense, but paying homage to a shrine made for thousands of people is not the same as doing so at a specific grave of 1 person, you do understand the difference?
@@noth606 You have proposed a clever way. Germany should commemorate Hitler and Himmler with the SS soldiers, so that it is not offensive.
You are such a smart guy
Interesting documentary!
but a shame that Nanking was only mentioned in a sort of whisper
Thanks 🙏
JAPAN 🇯🇵🤝🇰🇿 Kazakhstan 👍
"If it is swordsmen who rule, why do we pretend kings hold the power?"
- Game of Thrones
"A power resides where men believe it resides. Its a trick..."
- Varys, GoT
My cousin served at Philippines and later occupation of Japan I served at Tokyo for 6 months at First Radio & Leaflets Group then at Seoul and Pusan mobile Radio Stations almost 70 years ago time flies you know!
New subscriber
One of my JROTC instructors in high school was a palace guard for the Emperor. He tells some funny stories of his time as a guard.
What is that story?
@@Illuminated6six6i know the story, its about the time he caught the emperor watching hentai and getting caught by his wife.
the british royal family especially the
children and grandchildren of the Queen should learn from the
japanese imperial family about not having too much scandals.they should be ashame of themeselves for scandalizing
the throne and their family.
You come across as someone searching for a savior.
You’re actually quite right. I am from old nobility in Scotland, my family history goes back to the 1400s we have a self code of conduct that every family member follows. The royal family‘s behavior is absolutely shameful.. they are supposed to be role models it’s literally their JOB!.. i’m quite worried about the queen, that after her the monarchy will fall apart.
@@deep-fried-zombie699 what kind of code of conduct do you have, deep friend zombie?
does England really need monarchy? Does the English monarchy have any authority?
@@ricktimmons458 what will you do if someone from your family, who also happens to be one of the newest addition goes to your neighbor and tell false stories to them about the family and misinterprets family traditions and disrespects your family customs. Nobody in their true sense would like or accept it.
If you think and believe that FAMILY is a thing you'll get angry , if don't you will dance .
4:06 isn't Emperor of Heaven (Tenno 天皇) more accurate? The "Son of Heaven" (Tianzi 天子) was more to the Chinese Emperor, which said that the Chinese Emperor is Heaven's Son that given a "Mandate of Heaven". Which is different from Japanese Imperial System Claimant that the Japanese Emperor is not just a regular Emperor (Kotei 皇帝) but a Heavenly Emperor (Tenno 天皇).
For those interested in a scholarly yet readable examination of Hirohito's involvement in the war, I refer you to the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan" by Herbert Bix. He's got the primary sources on this.
Gotta remember, Japanese Army had idea of expansion, which government did not approve, and army said "Oh yeah, we got permission from our Emperor" With an permit mark of the Emperor, but gotta remember, Emperor may have been victim, or forced to sign these plans.
UK too .We learned colonization from UK
The radical "pro war" Army faction that gained power in 1930s Japan was such that even moderate naval officers like Admiral Yamamoto was aware of calls for his assassination. It would seem to me then that Hirohito himself was hardly in any position to say 'no' such a determined band of ruthless gangsters. They were going to use the emperor's name in any way they could to give a semblance of legitimacy to their dastardly aims.
Basically, until the end of the war, most of the warlords and politicians were certainly from the old samurai class.
Since the establishment of the Shogunate in 1192, the emperor has hardly ever been at the center of politics.
It is true that in the process of modernization, he set the national policy and gave final approval to political and military decisions.
I think he has a responsibility in that regard.
If someone claims that the emperor is responsible for all the sacrifices made in the war, no, he is not.
That's just the way they want to eradicate that Japanese tradition.
What "sacrifice" means depends on ones perspective and ideas, so let's not talk about that.
While what you say may be true, the Emperor nonetheless did not have the character to not allow his name and himself from being appropriated. The Emperor was well aware of everything done prior to and during the war was done in his name and ultimately, as Harry Truman said, the buck stops with thr person at the top. He may have been an unwilling accomplice, but an accomplice nonetheless. As such, the right and honorable thing for him to have done after the war would have been to abdicate and let the US install his heir as the emperor going forward from that point. .
That old man playing the banjo got mad shine.
I guess Annie's "the sun will come out tomorrow" wouldn't work without Shintoism enticing Amaterasu to come out of her cave...
HI
I like Chrysanthemums it is a very beautiful flower 🌸 As the God head symbol Hmmm would not tje god head symbol help mankind Like a CORN FLOWER Or SHEAF of WHEAT A cows udder . Lol Sorry but beauty is in the Eye of the beholder ., and i am the beholder I belive that Japan's Emperor being Gods child would mean ALL SEEING ALL FEELING ALL KNOWING . But it was Proved not only did the son of god NEED GLASSES he there fore not all seeing needing a western invention to actuall READ sacred texts Etc I rest my BLOOODY Case
Yo chick! Which asian country are you from? I would like to comment on your pretty eyes. Oooof that can pierce anyone's heart 😄. Off topic but yea.
6:47 I've MANY times performed Shinto ritual at the shrine with my Japanese family. I've NEVER seen anybody spit back into the water, good Lord that is disgusting. NEVER seen a Japanese do that.....
It looks like he's spitting the water out into the trough in front of and below the main water cistern. IT is none-the-less quite disconcerting.
@@ys888 There are several places in this video, the one I am looking at is aroumd 6:40 I see another place where you might be mentioning. But I've done this MANY times with my Japanese family and have seen at a minimum hundreds do this, but I never noticed anybody spitting it back out.
bruh this is exactly what you're expected to do. He didn't spit back btw, people scooping water from the centre
@@gisg9700 I noticed that later.... he spit elsewhere my mistake. Arigato gozaimasu.... come to think of it, I think I do spit it out. For some reason this didn't look correct. I am wrong, I admit.
I think Emperor Showa is neither guilty or Innocent. While he was the Emperor in World War 2, when Japan took over the Pacific, he really didn't contribute much to the actually decision making of the Empire. There was an intense rivalry between the Japanese Navy and Army during this time, and this could have contributed to some of the Empire Conquests, with the Army and Navy trying to win over the other.
The Emperor should accept Japan's responsibility in the War, but I think he should continue ruling Japan. Japan has had the Emperor for a very VERY long time, and I dont think we should just, throw this vital connection between Japan's ancient past and the current world. The checkbox for a Monarch in my opinion are
1. Does the Monarch represent his people and is loved and respected?
2. Does the Monarch have no responsibilities in actual governing, so it won't become an Absolute Monarchy?
3. Does the Monarch respect the laws of the Nation?
Most monarchs can check all 3 boxes, including the Japanese Emperor.
To those who think the emperor should have abdicated or hung:
Alternative History Scenario; Lets say, the UK took the place of Japan, they took over Africa and Europe, and committed War Crimes. UK is defeated, and Atomic Bombs are dropped on Liverpool and Manchester. In the trial for war criminals, would it be OK for the King of Britain to be hung or forced to Abdicate?
Probably the children started WW2. No adult in his right mind would start a war.
we really don't know
In addition to what you said, the military itself is not under the control of Japanese civilian government. It could do whatever it wanted without being ordered by civilian government and diet parliament. It only obeyed orders from Emperor. Although Article 11 of Meiji constitution granted the Emperor supreme control of the army and navy, I doubt Hirohito had much de-facto control of the army and navy and it is actually the army and navy that are in control of themselves.
I am glad that Japan's modern self-defense forces are no longer an entity that can act on its own will and do whatever it wants, and is under the control of the Japanese civilian government.
Because of this documentary, I just realized Attack on Titan, really is a well written anime.Akihito Emperor who preaches peace. Many say that the manga/anime was based, on Germany/Nazi Germany. But it was Japan all along.
@@marinaaguas9219 I will say it like this, If I will compare it to a body, the skin of AOT is Germany, but the insides, the heart is Japan
Indeed, Japan is ignorant on its consequences towards its crime they did in the war they have let loose the devils with pride and ignorance's outwards that when the war ended they gave up their arms and went home to their bonsai garden...
- pretty much, they dont know why they got envlove, but they never forget about the nukes
Dude you need to grow up.
L
We learned a tough lesson about how to treat defeated nations post WWI.
because of this emperor and ancestor, Japanese generation alive and dominated others in past.
I am glad communist scum never did 😂🤦🏻♂️🕵🏻♂️
@@studiobencivengamarcusbenc5272 One evil does not excuse another. And communism is a political ideology, it is not evil. The Japanese empire however, has always been cruel.
@@gtPacheko Yes Communism is pure evil. All it does is destroy.
@@gtPacheko Yes and the Japanese Empire is just an empire, it is not evil until it is. Political ideologies does not have to be evil in theory to always end up as evil in practice, good example ? Communism.
The majority of those Japanese commentators alleging Hirohita was responsible for the war have produced absolutely no evidence to support this view. The emperor was essentially a constitutional monarch (proven). At the end the evidence we have is the recording of his statement (to the people) that the war was over which was smuggled out of the palace. We also have the evidence of Tojo. The lack of evidence substantiating the allegations made against the emperor tends to suggest bias, most probably because of their wish to see a Republic established.
The winners decide how the story is told..
Tojo imagined himself as Oda Nobunaga or Tokugawa Leyasu , a new shogun but under the emperor
BRAVO.BRAVO
You forget about the Himalayan Kingdom Of Nepal?
Look like the late emperor of Japan as face controversy the same as to the late king of Cambodia as well, but still both are the son of heaven and the ruler of their respected realm.
they dont rule. Neither has government powers lol
@@teovu5557 as the head of state but bind by constitutional law which dictate that the monarch shall reign but shall not rule.
No they both came out of a human twat.
so divine but died like any old person. you would also think he would live much longer but no he died in hes 90 i think and that's pretty normal its not like he died at the age of 150 then i would be a bit more interested
Son of heaven? more like son of someone nuts.
Very interesting and quite thought provoking . Thank you 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
You do realize that we "Australia" wanted the Emperor hung for war crimes after WW2 ? But American cold war politics ambitions blocked justice.
Yes. America needed them as ‘allies’. They were even allowed to keep the emperor. Mind you, a lot of high ranking nazis were all ‘good blokes’ because they could help with the Space program. Dreadful slight to the Holocaust survivors. ‘The Kingdom of G-D runs on prayers, the kingdom of earth runs on oil’ . I may have it a tad wrong but the gist is there. 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
What a counterpunch of inspiration.
NICE.
10:03 sounds quite similar to the situation of Kim Il Sung.
MacArthur kept the emperor in power because otherwise he wouldn't have the support of the Japanese people. MacArthur also had that famous picture of him next to the emperor circulated to show the people, to plant the idea, that the emperor was no god.
personally i agree that tojo was the leader of the war effort, he was the brains, and i get the feeling hirahito was mostly ignorant, or that his opinion really didnt matter that tojo was basically the shogun. i think that the only real thing hirahito was, was a figurehead. the only thing he did was end the war, which was probably the most courageous thing he ever did.
i think its interesting how the leftists want to punish the emperor for ww2, when the emperor involved is dead, and the one currently in power had nothing to do with it. i feel the right-wingers have the right opinion in this case
@Mike kora so just 731? also you yourself said it was tenno, again youre saying the current emperor should be punished for previous emperors sins. there isnt enough blood in one man to pay for their own failures, and the emperor is indeed a man. the emperor was basically a yes man to togo. remember the shogun vs emperor stuff before meji? ww2 was basically that, togo held the real power, and this is why hirohito was so fearful for his life when he surrendered. is he a particularly good person, no; is he a particularly bad person, no. hes basically the anime protagonist who has no opinions of his own and just wants to survive, and theres nothing wrong with that, but a person like that should never inherit power.
@Mike kora well still hes dead, and it seems like people want to punish the current emperor for his grandfather's crimes
well at the time of this documentary, it was the previous emperor, maybe they feel differently with the new emperor
@Mike kora while most of the Japanese soldiers were loyal to the emperor, in tokyo it was totally different. hirohito was a yes man. this is very apparent in the surrender, the first no. the military in tokyo was totally against it, in favor of continuing the war to the last, as tojo would have had it. hirohito had to hide in his bunker afraid for his life because of the soldiers who were supposed to protect him who were out for blood to stop the surrender. if hirohito had his way they would have only been nuked once, but the military in tokyo stopped the surrender getting through.
he was a terrible personality for power, i dont feel like he was mature enough for the position. he was not courageous at all, which let the people who were more suited for power take it. thats why i call tojo a shogun, because he had the real power. tojo had a really interesting end of the war. he had a doctor put a dot where he was to shoot himself to be sure he wouldnt miss, but when the time came, he missed. tojo apologized to the Americans who came to arrest him for taking so long to die. anyway he was hung in 1948
@Mike kora noni?
@Mike kora oh, youre talking about china, and the us, and russia. you know, countries who dont clean up, and make massive messes.
"Emperor Jimmu is said to be descended from the Sun Goddess Amaterasu"So they were given 2 of something that has the power of a thousands suns
"that's racist"
The interesting thing about the speech supposedly saying the emperor was not divine, is the wording emperor shōwa used. He used the word akitsumikami instead of the more common word, arahitogami. The literal meaning of akitsumikami is "manifest kami", and the meaning of arahitogami is "living god" so the emperor denied being the incarnation of a god, but he did not deny being descended from divinity. It's like Jesus. He's the son of the Christian god, not the incarnation of the Christian god. So Jesus would be an arahitogami instead of an akitsumikami. So this American propaganda does not diminish the emperor's divinity one bit
Lady - The person who you infer was divine (and his descendants) were only allowed to live and continue to rule because the propagandist America allowed them to. So much for divinity.
Why, oh Japan! Like Spain for more than 3 centuries, Japan inflicted so much pain and sufferings to my ancestors during WWII. So sad...
I think Japanese Emperor system has evolved very well into the constitutional monarchy. A nation needs a unifying symbol which is neutral at all times. Who else would provide that? A religion or a politician or something else? A politician anyway won't be able to provide continuity and will always divide a nation into different affiliations. Also, you talk about America's role in WWII as if they were the innocent party! They dropped atom bombs on Japan, remember? The culture less, history less, continuity less, America was a fine one to 'decide' how an Eastern culture should continue! The only good thing they did was not to humiliate the Emperor after the defeat and thus avoided further crushing the souls of already broken Japanese people. I love the fact that Japan revised its constitution and inserted an anti war clause in it. Wen will the war monger America do that? Just asking...
Pankaja Pathak Excellent comment. I fully agree.
What you admire about the Japanese constitution only came about because of the US that you so readily criticize. If not for the US, half the world would be under Nazi German rule and the other half under the formerly militaristic Japanese rule.
Lady - you have twisted history into a pretzel.
Please make Documentary on Indian Royalty.
In Shintō all the deities are said to cooperate with one another, and life lived in accordance with a kami’s will is believed to produce a mystical power that gains the protection, cooperation, and approval of all the particular kami.
4:23 I misread that translation...I thought he said they wear uniforms because it is badass." 😂
I think it was very disrespectful when that man called shinto a 'cult'.
agreed.. you can be the opposition of any government all you fucking want but deyym, have some respect over someone's religion.. so disrespectful..
Shinto is a cult by definition, it's more of shared beliefs than organized forms of worship, and a cult doesn't mean anything necessarily bad.
@Nuby lack of dogma, lack of hierarchy, regional independent shrines, etc
@Nuby Dogma: is that all? A dogma is something like the Ten Commandments or the Hadith
Hierarchy: The emperor takes the role of a High Priest in sort of the same way the role of a high priest in germanic paganism, they have some “higher religious status” but it’s somewhat more symbolic
On Hinduism, yes, that’s why Hinduism is not a organized religion.
I agree, for a man of his pedigree/in-depth knowledge to refer to Shintoism (in general) as a 'cult' is just plain disrespectful and irresponsible. For the people watching without context, it could've easily led to misunderstanding. That scholar should've known that religion as in most countries, is not the sole root of evil plaguing, rather it's the people/politics of weak narrow-minded (even pathetic & stupid) who uses it to give justification to their shortcomings and distaste for reality. It's ironic how the very individuals who are against change (under the belief that it would benefit society) are the most vocal about change (not realising how cancerous their actions are to the development of society).
The one guy who thought the emperor should have stepped down after ww2 is an idiot. America needed to control what could have been chaos in the area. Russians wanted japan, China wanted Japan. There needed to be the appearance of self rule and control in the nation.
Unlike the rest of the leaders in the war. This was an old school empire in modern times. Doing what everyone had been doing for ages. Japan made choices just a hundred years before would have been called manifest destiny.
The US made a good choice to use the position like every Shogun did in the past and create a figure head of leadership rather than martyrdom. A greater good to avoid a devastating outcome that the world would be paying for even today.
As an example of contrast. The Soviet war in Afghanistan the US funded against the CCCP did not provide the extra funds needed to make the country stable once the Soviets left. This lets smaller groups with more radical ideas flourish and grow. And we know how that ended up.
At this point war crimes and the like had to be pushed aside. And even now ignored as only historical marks as those who committed them are all but dead. Let the dead rest and resolve to prevent it from happening again rather than revenge the bones of the past.
Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.
Buddha
Our emperor, MacArthur, exempted the royal family from being tried for war crimes including Hirohito's uncle who commanded the troops at Nanking. This was a political decision to keep Stalin out of Japan. That's one reason the Japanese don't hate us quite as much as they could. Were they guilty? Guilty as hell. Signed Boomer Vet
@@charlesross9260 Yep Over all true. And since then we have managed to keep Japan as a close ally and friend. Even when we had an orange man in office buggering it up.
The Japanese and American Alliance/friendship is stronger than the US and UK one. And has proven beneficial for both nations and will long into the future.
You're quite right. GW Bush and Obama were a lot less wise. By refusing to allow former Baathists a role in stabilizing the country, the occupation of Iraq became a hot, bloody mess. It was also foolish to try to occupy Iraq at the end of Gulf War II, a move which our Israeli allies had warned against. Obama try to topple Assad in Syria out of naive belief in an Arab Spring and at the behest of a vindictive Saudi government even though a full two-thirds of the people of Syria were strongly against a civil war because at least Assad's regime had kept the various tribes and ethnicities from killing each other. Assad wasn't even as harsh and arbitrary of a dictator as Saddam Hussein next door until his back was pushed against the wall. British intelligence, two years into American meddling in Syria--which precipitated a massive migration crisis--determined that only 1 out 7 "freedom fighters" was actually pro-Western; most were more interested in establishing their own dictatorship and many, under the right circumstances, were willing to collude with terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda that were also Sunni like them. It's a good thing that we got rid of Trump, because his nationalistic drum-beating risked spinning out of control into a shooting war with China on insufficient pretexts and before the U.S. was fully ready. And we'd have had a nutjob countermanding the generals and admirals as the war proceeded.
@@Kirin2022 True. Bad part was that the group advising Bush Warned what would happen if they did it years ago.
That is the worse part when your very advisers where warned about it.
One lesson the united world had learned I think was not to invade to aid a conflict. Cyprus is an example of UN working to create a peace, but dividing the nation. Long term will depend if the peace holds on and people unite.
Though the issue with the "Arab spring" Was more localized to a few nations. And had no real plan other than the demand for democracy. Egypt is an example of the failed democratic system working.
Though Algeria and Tunisia are doing okays Libya still seems to be working out growing pains.
Nations already with a strong man or leader spot has to be overthrown by the court and the people of the nation. This is achieved by making alternate government styles more attractive to the local population.
We learned this how the Communist nations spent a lot of propaganda on selling the idea there style of government was superior and more to the advantage of the populace then a democracy or Parliamentary style rule.
This is why even in China today, you see a push if not a small push to more Democratic free market. The funny part is once rich people get more power there demands for their own freedom drip down to the democracy of the people.
Something Putin is dealing with today.
@@thomasgregg7527 Also saw some one asking whether the then USA's Secretary of State Henry Kissinger should be charged with war crimes for supporting Turkey's invasion of Cyprus in 1974, since I heard he believed it'd keep the then pro-Soviet Greece's influence on Cyprus in check
3:28
When you need the Kempeitai.
10:27 = Like England & the Church of England... Yet the reception of their monarchy... I don't know how this mirror is SO different...
One thing about that war is General MacArthur did go in there and help Japan get back together again
Yes he did and it shows the integrity of the United States. I absolutely love Japan!! I am so happy that they are the United States closest ally.
Help him get together after throwing atom bombs on him. America and her humanitarian aid. USA is number one terrorist state in the world.
@@deep-fried-zombie699
Absolutely!
I am very much... I don't want to say scared....
I am very disappointed....
Disappointed that North Korea insists on playing stupid childish games.
The consequences of nuclear war will ruin the entire Earth.
@@predragobradovic1746 Look stupid. Peace and freedom does not come without a cost.
@@predragobradovic1746 its like they saw into the future and bombed stuff
Their was a kind of unjust action taken invariably not in favour of puyi the Chinese emperor but in favour of the Japanese emperor maybe due to certain reasons.
Of all of the enemies of the United States in Asia that submitted to them (Even up to this point in time), Japan is the only one where they showed the highest respect in terms of its capability.
Treating them with the same treatment like a European power.
Yeah well America made modern Japan and created the beast literally when they forced them to.open they're ports to the world in 1850s
this has nothing to do with Respect , they feared and still fear Japan , if the Emperor said fight to death against the enemy all Japanese would have fought to the end , he was worshipped as a Half God , if the Americans would have jailed or killed him the Japanese of today would still Hate the United States . So it was kinda a neccessary move .
@@Byronic19134 Japan was already a beast. Do you know of their conquests in Korea previous to the Meiji Restoration? 19th century modernization just made Japan more effective at their atrocities.
@@liars6495 , nah, western nations respect japan, they respect their ingenuity, resilience and discipline.
@@liars6495 Just based on your comment clearly tells me that you don't know the meaning of the word "respect"
Emperor: Has no power towards the government or anything
Activist: *Protest*
Emperor: What do you want me to do? Go back and see my great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great mother?
I’m stoned af right now.3.01pm am I alone?
King Baudouin of the Belgians is the first European King ever to visit a reigning Japanese Emperor, a special bond between our two hemispheres was symbolized that day in the friendship between our 2 monarchies and must never be abandoned or destroyed, the Emperor is the best guarantor for Peace between East and West.
Can you guys make an ep for korea?
I really wanted to watch this video but tooooo many commercials. 12 minutes in and 8 commercials. NO THANK YOU
Go Premium.
@ Serenity Curacao Where do you watch TH-cam from? If you are using a PC or laptop, then you could get Ad Block from Google Store. If you're watching from your mobile phone, then you've to bear it up. The Advertisements are about 1 minute on your mobile phone.
@@eagse thank you 😊. I appreciate the tip!
@@serenitycuracao8026 You're Most Welcome
If using a phone press play skip to the end, then replay then there is no more ads.
a king never rules alone, he always needs the support of a group of mighty people. it also happens that the group rules over the king.
35:53. Nobuo Fujita was the only pilot to successfully bomb the US Mainland. NE of Brookings in my home state of Oregon, he dropped a balloon bomb from his aircraft he flew from the submarine. 20 years later, after the war, he came back and as an apology he gave up his sword which is held at the Brookings library.
Why is the occupation and the harsh occupation of Korea not mentioned? This omission questions accuracy of the segment.
why courtesan procession scenes inserted so much in this video...
the current emperor naruhito era of reiwa since may 1 2019
this film is from like 2010 or sum such, look at the styles, also prince hisahito is no longer a baby, hes 14
@AndreaLuise Ca. new emperor his son naruhito s start of his reiwa era
@@CARL_093 yeah, the era was May 1 but he was enthroned on October 22
Naruto!
Of course Hirohito knew all about the brutality of the Imperial Japanese Army when his men burnt, raped and pillaged their ways through Japan's Asian neighbors. He even signed papers to excuse them from being bound by International treaties. The God-Emperor never once in his lifetime condemned the mass rapes, massacres and the hideous experiments with biological and chemical weapons on war captives by his men. How could he? They were doing his bidding to expand the Empire, his empire.
Exactly
i remembered my chinese relatives mentioned a story onced when the japanese soldiers had a contest on who could kill the most
Of course! There are many statements like this by some patriots AKA propaganda npc's in WW2 related videos.
You are free to watch what you want and say what you want.
Please keep saying same thing again and again! until making all over the world sick of it.
GoGo npc!
@@ogiso_chan214 いや多分。このコメントがプロパガンダやからまじレスしたらあかんねん。気持ちはわかるけど。
2:58 yes and no. The emperor didn’t really do anything or have any real power until the Meiji restoration. And that power they retained until Japan surrendered in ww2.
lmao It's very funny how the man slap the prime minister's bald head
lmfao, people protesting Hirohito saying he was responsible clearly never read a book.
8:25 = Frankly, it's kinda ironic how some of us Filipinos love Japan... I mean what they did here, their people did to my country: Bataan Death March & the Comfort Women as their pinnacles, you'd think we'd be pissed off... Well, we are... Back when we were in elementary we went to Mount Samat. The stones leading to the top are stained with Japanese Blood. I can still remember my classmates gleefully & vehemently stomping on these stones with force while I climbed there avoiding them... As much as I hate what they did, by the end of the day, they are still souls-- ancestors. Whether we like it or not...
Besides, I do admit the idea of "Asia is for Asians" are appealing, as long as they should have given us our sovereignty and not to take it for themselves and act as if they are worse than the Spaniards...
Edit: At the end of the day, we love the present Japan. But what some of their ancestors did... It can't be erased...
Same here in Vietnam. The Japanese wartime administration caused one of the greatest famine in Vietnamese history during WWII, and yet a lot of Vietnamese people (including me) now really like Japan. In the end war is war, and either side won. It's kinda the same with the Philippines. During the Vietnam War you guys support the American Puppet regime, but now the Philippines is one of our strongest ASEAN allies.
I don't mind the lingering hatred, we deserve that, but there was actual blood stain?
I mean, yes the Japanese Imperial Army did bad things.. but other countries like England (the British Empire), Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Mongolia caused a lot of suffering too. It's all about forgiving but not forgetting so we can learn from history.
@@takimotomikiya7807 Yes... Like there are blood smears around some stones...
@@petetrc9671 I know... It's just that when you are a kid being told such things, well, it does suck (our reactions I mean)😅...
What do they call this custom with girl walking at 10:12 ? Sorry for my English.
Oiran dochu 花魁道中
Wait did he really start it? Wasn't it the imperial army that was in control. Not the emperor.
He was a culpable imperialist 🐖 🐷 🐽
@@l.u.rehuher3714 the same goes for basically anyone in the early nineteenth century
Emperor Taisho died in 1926, not in 1925
A true patriotic Japanese citizen must always remember and contribute to the fulfilment of the meaning of the lyrics of his/her country's national Flag anthem! 🇯🇵
A good citizen don't sh8 their own flag I feel sad seeing people like that
@@user-is3yn7xr4c lmao it mean sh*t
What if Japanese Royal family may carry a gene pass along threw generations effect metal health.
It is unimaginable to see Japan without its Emperor.
4:32 - similar group to this will be totally forbidden in Germany
It's different in Muslim countries.
I also want to say that the son of emperor showa, emperor Akihito was very different. He learned what no other emperor in japanese history learned and this was thanks to his english teacher and because he was the only son of the family not to be enrolled in the war. He and michiko-sama were very close to the people. before them, no other emperor did what they did (and before tohoku, the moment he became emperor, they went to the displaced people of the volcano of sakurajima back in the the 90's so it's not just one tragedy), he's a good grandpa. He does represent the word "Heisei". I think you should watch a documentary of the lives of both the the retired emperor Akihito and empress Michiko.
I think the nationalist are the ones in some political parties in japan, and mostly old people who still dream of japan wining WWII...a small majority.
Every Royal against Michiko getting married to Crown Prince except Hirohito.
Akihito's birthday which normally would be national holiday after Showa death but American excuted so called War criminals on his birthday to remind everyone could tarnish the future Emperor's his birthday. Also American put far left people at schools and Universities that contribute to Japanese society to be side of China now.
Japan can retain their Emperor and also take real and heartfelt remorse for their barbarian behviour of WW2. It doesn't have to be either/or.
I agree, I think it’s a cultural thing. I think it also might just be a human thing where someone lies and lies , once they tell enough lies if they admit the truth , it makes it so much worse.
I think if they admitted fully what they’d done during war time , in their minds it would ruin their countries trust and cause more discontent with the government.
As long as the Japanese government is unable to fully confront its dark past and gain trust of their neighbors, I think that inability will be continued to be used by PRC and two Koreas as one of the reasons for spending more money on their military, or building up or maintaining a strong military force to deter Japan from repeating its past-time ambitions.
Why use a boomerang. It's stuck in your head.
@@TechieWidget the Japanese Empire is no longer exist and ww2 is over long time ago, every year Japan is always apologising from there Imperial past, I know many people died during ww2 but let's forget what happen in the past, past is past, let's move on. Japan is building up its military its because of the threat of Russia, north Korea and ccp china, imagine if you face a threat and you don't built up your military forces?! come on its common sense. Today the new threat is ccp china bullying, attacking, intimidating, provoking and challenging its neighbours......
@@TechieWidget Except that neither the two koreas or China are actually using that reason for military expansion.
AXIS Allies after the war
HITLER: Shot himself
Mussolini: hanged to death
Hirohito: Mr international visiting other nation left and right
Because it was the United States that urged Japan to start a war.
As MacArthur said in his Senate hearing shortly after returning to the United States, "Japan had a war with the United States for security reasons."
What do you think if someone comes to kill you, fights for defense, and then is accused about your deffesive fights?
35:41 I like your cut g!
If you focus on the war crime and its responsibilities of Emperor, you have to also consider that current Emperor have continued to apologize for WW2 and pray for the victims and wish continuous pease for last 80 years. Modern emperor is the symbol of pease, and totally different from what emperor used to be 70 years ago.
He is only apologising because he lost the war you think if he won
He would apologize no because he lost that's he doesn't
Feel no remorse about what happened in ww2
@@czaralexander5156
Rather that exactly goes to USA or British, or most of western countries. They never apologize to countries once they occupied. Why? Because they won the war, take over the world and they are the standard of the world, even though in the past they conducted massive slave trade or other crimes. History is what the victory write. On the other hands Japanese emperor continue to mention that what Japan did was wrong and never happen again for more than 70 years. Then which one’s attitude is more humanely?
The reason why japan hasn't done the things they did for the past
80 years because they can't once anerica beat they made sure their military
Was weak so japan can never have such a military power
But I bet if japan had the OPPORTUNITY to d o what they did again
They would the emperor doesn't feel sorry
For what his country did ww2 he is only acting like that because he lost
War if he would won he wouldn't be acting sorry that's for
And in my opinion war crime are bs
@@czaralexander5156
Emperor wouldn’t feel sorry??
What are you talking about?? What you are saying is all based on your imagination, guessing and delusion. You should admit that is your delusion because that is NOT what actually happen. And why can you guess other people’s feeling even though you have never meet him in person. In addition please write more correct sentence. Study more.
Auto everybody in position of power are all crooks
And have no empathy towards nobody except their families he knew
About the atrocities japan was committing all over Asia
He just didn't care because it was benefiting him and
His countries economic he knew about the rape in Nanking
But he didn't care because it wasn't affecting him or his family
Okay the only reason he may act sorry is because he lost
The damn war why do you think when japan surrendered
They made a deal only
The keep him alive because they knew he committed a lot
Of dirt but they made sure they can hide every evidence
From his involvement usa also committed war crimes
But don't be naive thinking that the emperor didn't know What was
GOING ON IN THE WHOLE ENTIRE war
When I was in Japan I was forced to have a triple with the Emperor and Empress. The D is 3 and the P run side way.
Just know that, except for the historical facts and current issues about continuation, this documentary features more the activists, not the ordinary people in Japan. Most Japanese both respects the Emperor and regret mistakes from WWII. Most have moved on and are trying to find a practical way to continue the tradition.