Talk:Hirohito

done?

I'm pretty much done with my work on this article--others please jump in. It's been an education for me (which is why I write these articles).Richard Jensen 03:03, 28 May 2008 (CDT)

I've added the Japanese characters for the names. I romanized them to remove the macron (in ō), as this is confusing for readers and English media and sources seem to drop it (see also CZ:Romanization/Japanese). I struggled a bit with the translation of 'Dai Nippon Teikoku Tennoo': 'Dai Nippon' is 'Greater Japan', 'Teikoku' means either 'imperial' or 'empire', 'Tennoo' is 'emperor', but literally 'Heaven(ly) Ruler'. I settled on 'Heavenly Ruler of the Greater Japanese Empire', but alternatives are certainly possible. 'Dai Nippon Teikoku' is often translated as simply 'Imperial Japan'. John Stephenson 00:44, 7 June 2008 (CDT)

Name

I think in this case we can justify calling this 'Hirohito' as this is how he is known outside Japan. However, within the culture he's always the 'Showa Emperor' and 'Hirohito' would not have been used to address him during his reign. It would rarely have been used even to refer to him. In English, nowadays other emperors tend to be referred to by the posthumous title (e.g. Emperor Meiji), and we can do that for other articles. However, other contributors may have a different view! John Stephenson 00:47, 7 June 2008 (CDT)