Shortly after 7 a.m. on November 6, 1928, two mounted policemen in green breeches and black tunics appeared on the stone bridge at the main entrance to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan. They were followed by two officers of the Imperial Guard in full dress and a squadron of cavalry lancers attired in black and red. After them came three carriages adorned with the imperial chrysanthemum crest.
Thus began the final chapter in the ascension to the throne of the 124th Emperor of Japan. Although the 25-year-old Hirohito assumed the throne immediately upon the death of his father, Emperor Taisho, on December 25, 1926, the official enthronement took place almost two years later, following one year of mourning and another required for planting and harvesting the sacred rice to be used in the ceremony. The enthronement was traditionally held in Kyoto, the former capital of Japan.
The proceedings were broadcast live on radio throughout Japan and reels of film footage of the event were dispatched to various parts of the country as quickly as possible. All major foreign newsreel companies had cameramen on the scene, and the New York-based Tiffany-Stahl Productions even announced a short film with synchronized sound to be “taken in natural colors in Tokio [sic], Japan, during the coronation of the Emperor” (Motion Picture News, August 25, 1928, p. 609). On the Japanese side, the Ministry of the Imperial Household (Kunaisho), the Ministry of Education (Monbusho), and the specially formed Enthronement Filming Group (Gotairei Kinshadan), all participated in the production and distribution of motion pictures of the ceremony.
The Library of Congress holds eight reels of footage of the 1928 enthronement as part of its large collection of Japanese features, documentaries and newsreels from the war and the pre-war era (late 1920s through 1945), captured by U.S. occupation forces in the aftermath of World War II.
Thus began the final chapter in the ascension to the throne of the 124th Emperor of Japan. Although the 25-year-old Hirohito assumed the throne immediately upon the death of his father, Emperor Taisho, on December 25, 1926, the official enthronement took place almost two years later, following one year of mourning and another required for planting and harvesting the sacred rice to be used in the ceremony. The enthronement was traditionally held in Kyoto, the former capital of Japan.
The proceedings were broadcast live on radio throughout Japan and reels of film footage of the event were dispatched to various parts of the country as quickly as possible. All major foreign newsreel companies had cameramen on the scene, and the New York-based Tiffany-Stahl Productions even announced a short film with synchronized sound to be “taken in natural colors in Tokio [sic], Japan, during the coronation of the Emperor” (Motion Picture News, August 25, 1928, p. 609). On the Japanese side, the Ministry of the Imperial Household (Kunaisho), the Ministry of Education (Monbusho), and the specially formed Enthronement Filming Group (Gotairei Kinshadan), all participated in the production and distribution of motion pictures of the ceremony.
The Library of Congress holds eight reels of footage of the 1928 enthronement as part of its large collection of Japanese features, documentaries and newsreels from the war and the pre-war era (late 1920s through 1945), captured by U.S. occupation forces in the aftermath of World War II.
The Dawn of Showa | Now See Hear!
Today’s post is by Zoran Sinobad, Reference Librarian in the Moving Image Research Center. Shortly after 7 a.m. on November 6, 1928, two mounted policemen in green breeches and black tunics appeared on the stone bridge at the main entrance to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan. They were...
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