Death and State Funeral
On September 22, 1987, the Emperor underwent surgery on his pancreas after having digestive problems for several months. The doctors discovered that he had duodenal cancer. The emperor appeared to be making a full recovery for several months after the surgery. About a year later, however, on September 19, 1988, he collapsed in his palace, and his health worsened over the next several months as he suffered from continuous internal bleeding. On January 7, 1989, at 7:55 AM, the grand steward of Japan's Imperial Household Agency, Shoichi Fujimori, officially announced the death of Emperor Hirohito, and revealed details about his cancer for the first time. The emperor was succeeded by his son, Akihito.
The emperor's death ended the Shōwa era. On the same day a new era began: the Heisei era, effective at midnight the following day. From January 7 until January 31, the emperor's formal appellation was Taikō Tennō (大行天皇?, "Departed Emperor"). His definitive posthumous name, Shōwa Tennō (昭和天皇?), was determined on January 13 and formally released on January 31 by Toshiki Kaifu, the prime minister.
On February 24, Emperor Hirohito's state funeral was held, and unlike that of his predecessor, it was formal but not conducted in a strictly Shinto manner. A large number of world leaders attended the funeral, including U.S. President George H. W. Bush, French President François Mitterrand, the Duke of Edinburgh, and many others. Emperor Shōwa is buried in the Imperial mausoleum in Hachiōji, alongside Emperor Taishō, his father.
Read more about this topic: Hirohito
Famous quotes containing the words death, state and/or funeral:
“Poor fellow never joyed since the price of oats rose, it was
the death of him.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Some are petitioning the State to dissolve the Union, to disregard the requisitions of the President. Why do they not dissolve it themselves,—the union between themselves and the State,—and refuse to pay their quota into its treasury? Do not they stand in the same relation to the State that the State does to the Union? And have not the same reasons prevented the State from resisting the Union which have prevented them from resisting the State?”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I asked if I got sick and died, would you
With my black funeral go walking too,
If you’d stand close to hear them talk or pray
While I’m let down in that steep bank of clay.”
—J.M. (John Millington)