The enthronement of Hirohito was a series of ceremonies that took place in 1928 to mark his accession to the imperial throne of Japan. Hirohito, also known as Emperor Showa, became the 124th emperor after his father, Emperor Taisho, died in 1926. The main events of the enthronement were held in Kyoto, the ancient capital, where Hirohito performed rituals to inform his ancestors and the Shinto gods of his succession. He also received the imperial regalia, consisting of a sword, a jewel and a mirror, which symbolized his legitimacy as emperor. The enthronement was attended by dignitaries from Japan and abroad, and was celebrated with parades, banquets and fireworks. The enthronement of Hirohito marked the beginning of the Showa era, which lasted until his death in 1989.
In Tokyo there were parades using cars modified from ones used for Hirohito's wedding in 1924 and Emperor Taisho's silver wedding anniversary in 1925. These have previously been described, see 1924 Postcards. Osaka followed suit for the enthronement and produced their own special trams, similar to those in Tokyo. (For details of Osaka tramways see Osaka Postcard.)
As with the other occasions numerous Japanese postcard publishers produced cards either singly or sets in paper packets as souvenirs. Our main postcard is a car illuminated at night. There was also a double-size postcard which could be kept as one or split into two cards (see bottom). In addition to the carnival float type of tram, some passenger cars were also decorated, and we have included one in our selection below.
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