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 and, death, state and/or funeral:
“I don’t see no way out but death and, Caleb, you are up against a hard game when you got to die to beat it.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)
“As death, when we come to consider it closely, is the true goal of our existence, I have formed during the last few years such close relations with this best and truest friend of mankind, that his image is not only no longer terrifying to me, but is indeed very soothing and consoling! And I thank my God for graciously granting me the opportunity ... of learning that death is the key which unlocks the door to our true happiness.”
—Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
“What thou art is mine;
Our state cannot be severed, we are one,
One flesh; to lose thee were to lose myself.”
—John Milton (1608–1674)
“You scour the Bowery, ransack the Bronx,
Through funeral parlors and honky-tonks.
From river to river you comb the town
For a place to lay your family down.”
—Ogden Nash (1902–1971)