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is a public holiday in Japan held on April 29. It honors the birthday of
(BBC News, May 13, 2005).
Meaning of Shōwa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Showa Day Public holidays in Japan April observances Hirohito 2007 establishments in Japan
is a public holiday in Japan held on April 29. It honors the birthday of Emperor
The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
Shōwa (Hirohito
, Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...
), the reigning emperor from 1926 to 1989. Shō (昭) means "shining" or "bright", and wa (和) means "peace", signifying the "enlightened peace" that citizens receive. According to the now defunct Democratic Party of Japan
The was a Centrism, centristThe Democratic Party of Japan was widely described as centrist:
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, the purpose of the holiday is to encourage public reflection on the turbulent 62 years of Hirohito's reign, ranging from totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public s ...
to the post-war reconstruction and transition into a democratic state.BBC news report Japan names day after Hirohito(BBC News, May 13, 2005).
History
Emperor Hirohito died on January 7, 1989. April 29 was subsequently no longer celebrated as The Emperor's Birthday but instead as Greenery Day, part of Japan's Golden Week. After a series of failed legislative attempts beginning in 2000, the April 29 holiday was finally renamed Shōwa Day in 2007 with support from the ruling coalition composed of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, and the largest oppositionDemocratic Party of Japan
The was a Centrism, centristThe Democratic Party of Japan was widely described as centrist:
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* to Centre-left politics, centre-left, Liberalism, liberal or Social liberalism, social-liberal List of political parties in Japan, ...
. Greenery Day was moved from April 29 to May 4.
Tetsuzo Fuyushiba from Komeito stated that "It's a day to remember the Showa era. We're not proposing it for the purpose of praising the war nor does it has anything to do with the Emperor." According to the then-main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan (which backed the bill for the first time after many years of refusal), the holiday encourages public reflection on the turbulent 63 years of Hirohito's reign rather than glorifying the emperor himself. On the other hand, the Japanese Communist Party condemned the move and argued that the Japanese Constitution is based on remorse for the war of aggression, and celebrating peace on Hirohito's birthday would not be appropriate. Hirohito's reign saw, among other things, the end of the Taishō Democracy, the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria, a period of "government by assassination" including the attempted coups of May 15, 1932 and February 26, 1936, the rise of the totalitarian '' Taisei Yokusankai'', World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, during World War II. The aerial bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civili ...
, the post-war occupation, the Anpo protests, the 1964 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...
and Paralympics in Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
, the North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens, and the Japanese post-war economic miracle.
See also
* Holidays of Japan *Japanese calendar
Japanese calendar types have included a range of official and unofficial systems. At present, Japan uses the Gregorian calendar together with year designations stating the Japanese era name, year of the reign of the current Emperor. The written f ...
References
External links
Meaning of Shōwa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Showa Day Public holidays in Japan April observances Hirohito 2007 establishments in Japan