Talk:Emperor Hirohito

Akihito, his eldest son, is the current emperor of Japan. Why don't you like this words???? --User:Joaquín Martínez, talk 19:15, 3 July 2008 (EDT)

Hi Joaquín, it is not that I don't like them it is just that they were a little out of place in the introduction, which is about Emperor Showa. Also, there is reference to Crown Prince Akihito becoming Emperor a bit further down at the end of 'Early Life', so it was a bit redundant there. However, I have wikilinked that reference to the Akihito page. --JessicaT_{Ohayo gozaimasu!} 08:55, 4 July 2008 (EDT)

The consensus outside Japan in reference and popular books is to use the name "Hirohito." The Japanese themselves never use that name because of their religious traditions (the Emperor was so sacred his name could not be spoken)--but we do not have that religion here and the the tradition in the English speaking world is to call him Hirohito.

I agree that the West does refer to him as Hirohito, however, given that his posthumous name is Showa, he should be referred to as such. It has nothing to do with religion, but naming convention. The introduction explains the names and out of respect for the position of Emperor (whoever he may be), he should be referred to by his official name - in this case, Showa. You would not call Queen Elizabeth, Liz, in an article now, would you? Likewise, Emperor Meiji, is always Emperor Meiji, not Emperor Mutsuhito - the same applies to Emperor Showa. --KotomiT^{Hajimemashite!} 00:27, 13 September 2008 (EDT)

It's a naming convention only in Japan--it is not the naming convention used in the U.S. or anywhere else outside Japan. All the encyclopedias and reference groups agree (look at the titles in the bivbliography for proof). A suitable compromise would be for the Japanese language version of the article to use the Showa version. RJJensen 00:40, 13 September 2008 (EDT)

Again, I have to disagree and your edit summary indicates you are writing this with a bias, be for the War or whatever. His name as it stands now is Emperor Showa, I realise that he is probably still hated because of the war, but that is his name. Just like who you today call Emperor Akihito will become Emperor Heisei upon his death, and will be known as such. To go back to my previous point, what name will you use for Emperor Meiji? You have to be consistent, you cannot use one naming convention for one person and another for somebody else, whoever he may be. This in an encyclopaedia, so let people learn something new, not just what has been - and I again say - incorrectly passed down from generation to generation as a sign of disrespect for somebody who probably was a war criminal. There is a convention and it needs to be kept to. --KotomiT^{Hajimemashite!} 00:50, 13 September 2008 (EDT)

the point I'm making is that the customs and rules for the Japanese, which are based on the divine status of the Emperor, do not apply outside Japan--why should they? There are western standards that all reference books should adhere to--that means "Emperor Meiji" in one case and "Hirohito" in the other. Yes I think that our readers should know about the name issue, and the article does explain it. The Hirohito case is perhaps different because, unlike all other J emperors, he is most famous for what he did to other countries. In any case the Japanese rule is designed for Japanese people using the Japanese language, which does not apply at all to our English-language encyclopedia, or to Encyclopedia Britannica (which uses Hirohito). The Library of Congress uses Hirohito, as do the titles of English language books and articles. Anybody outside Japan who calls him the Showa Emperor will get in trouble on papers and exams--like the AP exam which uses HirohitoRJJensen 01:23, 13 September 2008 (EDT).

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This article or part thereof was copied from Citizendium but the copied text was originally written by me, RJJensen, and does not include alterations made by others on that site.

RJJensen 22:52, 12 September 2008 (EDT)