- Akihito
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/ah'ki hee"toh/; Japn. /ah kee"hee taw'/, n.born 1933, emperor of Japan since 1989 (son of Hirohito).
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or Heisei emperorborn Dec. 23, 1933, Tokyo, JapanEmperor of Japan from 1989.Son of Hirohito, his role, like that of his father after 1945, has been largely ceremonial. He is the first Japanese emperor to have married a commoner, in what was hailed at the time as a love match rather than the customary arranged marriage. His children are Crown Prince Naruhito, Prince Akishino, and Princess Nori.* * *
▪ emperor of Japan [born 1933]original name Tsugu Akihito , era name Heiseiborn December 23, 1933, Tokyo, Japanemperor of Japan from 1989. As scion of the oldest imperial family in the world, he was, according to tradition, the 125th direct descendant of Jimmu, Japan's legendary first emperor.Akihito was the fifth child and eldest son of Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako. During his early years he was reared in the traditional imperial manner, beginning his education at the Peers' School in 1940. He lived outside of Tokyo during the last years of World War II but returned to the Peers' School (from 1949 Gakushūin) after the war. Because of the changes the war had brought to Japanese society, not the least of which was the removal of the emperor's power to rule in any way other than ceremonially, Akihito's education was broadened to include training in the English language and in Western culture. His tutor was Elizabeth Gray Vining, an American Quaker. Like his father, he eventually took up marine biology as a field of endeavour. In 1952 Akihito came of age and was invested as heir to the Japanese throne. Seven years later, breaking a 1,500-year-old tradition, he married a commoner, Shōda Michiko, who was the daughter of a wealthy businessman. Michiko was a graduate of a Roman Catholic university for women in Tokyo. Their first child, Crown Prince Naruhito, was born on February 23, 1960; he was followed by Prince Akishino (b. November 30, 1965) and Princess Nori (b. April 18, 1969).Akihito became emperor on January 7, 1989, after the death of his father. He was formally enthroned on November 12, 1990. His reign was designated Heisei, or “Achieving Peace.”* * *
Universalium. 2010.
