Showa Day in Japan (29/04)

Showa Day (Japanese. 和の日) — is a national holiday in Japan and a state day off in the country.

«From now on I become a man», — was officially proclaimed by Emperor Hirohito of Japan, addressing the Japanese people. It was 1945. The Second World War is over, militaristic Japan has been defeated. Until this point, God was the emperor in Japan. And this was neither a joke nor a metaphor. The Japanese really firmly believed that their state, their lives, was ruled by God.

Emperor Hirohito, who became a «simple mortal, until his death on January 7, 1989, personified the period of Japanese history called the Showa period (lasting from December 25, 1926 to January 7, 1989).

The Showa period is the longest in Japanese history and is marked by many truly unprecedented events.

This is the Second World War, which brought defeat to Japan and, at the same time, led to the Japanese revaluation of many values; these include the atomic bombings of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, the consequences of which have not yet been erased from the memory of the Japanese; this includes the unprecedented economic recovery, industrialization and improvement of the life of the Japanese, which led to a significant increase in the birth rate of the population; this is the beginning of television broadcasting in 1953; these are the first Olympic Games in Asia, held in Tokyo in 1964, and then the Olympic Games in Sapporo in 1972.

During Emperor Hirohito's lifetime, his birthday (April 29) was a holiday and was listed in the Japanese calendar simply as «Emperor»'s birthday. After his death, the emperor received the eternal title — Emperor Showa, and his birthday remained a national holiday, but was officially renamed «Green Day».

But years passed, generations changed, and these days most Japanese either no longer remember or do not understand the original meaning of Green Day. Many older Japanese have not forgotten their Emperor God. They wished to perpetuate the memory of the emperor on a special day in the country. Supporters appeared who advocated renaming the holiday to a more logical, understandable and memorable name. Conflicting assessments of the importance of Emperor Showa in Japanese history have not played a dominant role, and as a result of changes in the law «On National Holidays, » has become Showa Day since 2007.

Beautiful gardens of the Imperial Palace... (Photo: Radu Razvan, licensed from Shutterstock.com)

Interestingly, April reminds the Japanese of the emperor not only by the birthday of Emperor Showa, which became Showa Day. Every year in early April, the Imperial Palace of Japan's ancient capital, Kyoto, hosts « days of open» doors. Both Japanese from all over the country and tourists strive these days to visit the territory of the Imperial Palace and admire the grandeur of the famous architecture and beautiful gardens, and at least briefly touch the secrets of the life of the imperial family.

What happened to Green Day? This day has successfully moved «» to May 4 since 2007. Thus, the Japanese have the legal right to relax and unwind during the so-called «golden week», which since 2007 includes Showa Day on April 29, Japanese Constitution Day on May 3, Green Day on May 4 and Children's Day on May 5.

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