Hirohito, Emperor of Japan

By focusing on the internal politics of Japan as they affected the role of the emperor and the fate of the nation, Mosley traces the path Japan has taken in the past sixty years. Hirohito was dedicated to his nation by training and task from birth, but the actual power commanded by him appears to have been minimal. He countered war moves with a poem on peace and elsewhere proved less than effectual in making his will felt; he also appears to have had a proclivity for placing in positions of trust men who would not pursue his aims (whether by intention or inertia). However, Mosley does credit him with efforts to bring the war to a close in July 1945 before the U.S. resorted to the atomic bomb and the U.S.S.R. came into the war. He has demonstrated since surrender that "to lose everything is not necessarily to lose face." To tell this story, the author interviewed associates of the Imperial Family and had recourse to the National Archives in Washington. Includes bibliographical references (pages 357-361). ix, 371 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 24 cm