Hirohito (裕仁), atau yang dikenal sebagai Kaisar Showa (昭和天皇, Shōwa-tennō) (lahir di Puri Aoyama, Tokyo, Jepang, 29 April 1901 – meninggal di Tempat Fukiage, Tokyo, 7 Januari 1989 pada umur 87 tahun) adalah kaisar Jepang yang ke-124. Dalam sejarah Jepang dia adalah Kaisar terlama yang memerintah (1926-1989) dan merupakan salah satu tokoh penting pada masa Perang Dunia II dan pembangunan kembali Jepang.Hirohito dilahirkan di Puri Aoyama, Tokyo pada tanggal 29 April 1901. anak pertama dari Kaisar Yoshihito (Taisho) dan Ratu Sadako (Teimei), dan kakak dari Pangeran Yasuhito Chichibu (1903-1953), Pangeran Nobuhito Takamatsu (1905-1987) serta Pangeran Takahito Mikasa (1915- ). Sebelum naik takhta ia dikenal sebagai Pangeran Michi (迪宮, Michi-no-Miya). Masa kekuasaannya sebagai kaisar dikenal sebagai era Showa yang berarti damai, cerah budi. Namun ironisnya, justru pada saat itu, Jepang terlibat perang melawan RRC dan akhirnya dalam Perang Dunia II. Di Indonesia, ketika masa pendudukan Jepang (1942-1945) Hirohito dikenal sebagai Tenno Heika yang berarti "Yang Mulia Kaisar".
Hirohito mengenyam pendidikan awal di Gakushuin Peer's School dari April 1908 hingga April 1914, kemudian mendapatkan pendidikan khusus untuk putra mahkota (Togu-gogakumonsho) di Istana Akasaka dari tahun 1914 sampai Februari 1921. Mendapatkan karier sebagai letnan and sub-lieutnant (1st class) 9 Desember, 1912 pada Angkatan Darat Kekaisaran, kapten dan letnan (31 Oktober 1916, mayor dan wakil komandan (31 Oktober 1920) letnan kolonel dan komandan (31 Oktober1923) dan kolonel dan komandan Angkatan Laut Kekasairan (Kaigun) (31 Oktober 1924). Ia diangkat menjadi putra mahkota secara resmi pada tanggal 16 November 1916. Pada tahun 1922 ia mengadakan kunjungan ke Inggris dan sejumlah negara negara Eropa. Kunjungan ini dianggap kelompok sayap kanan kontroversial sehingga menewaskan Perdana Menteri Hamaguchi.
Hirohito memiliki pengetahuan tentang penelitian biologi laut dan beberapa hasil penelitiannya dituangkan dalam sejumlah buku di antaranya The Opisthobranchia of Sagami Bay dan Some Hydrozoans of the Amakusa Islands. Ia dinobatkan menjadi kaisar pada tanggal 25 Desember 1926 setelah ayahnya Kaisar Taisho meninggal, dilantik secara resmi 10 November, 1928, di Kyoto. Kaisar Hirohito meninggal pada tanggal 7 Januari 1989 akibat penyakit kanker usus dua belas jari (duodenum) yang dideritanya. Pemakaman kenegaraannya dihadiri oleh para pemimpin dunia di antaranya Presiden Amerika Serikat George Bush, Presiden Perancis Francois Mitterand, HRH Duke of Edinburgh dari Inggris, dan Raja HM Baudouin dari Belgia, pada tanggal 24 Februari 1989. Jenazahnya dimakamkan di Mausoleum Kekaisaran Musashino, di samping makam Kaisar Taisho. Kedudukannya digantikan oleh Putra Mahkota Akihito.
Emperor Shōwa (昭和天皇 Shōwa-tennō?, April 29, 1901 – January 7, 1989) was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death on January 7, 1989. Although better known outside of Japan by his personal name Hirohito (裕仁?), in Japan, he is now referred to primarily by his posthumous name Emperor Shōwa. The word Shōwa is the name of the era that corresponded with the Emperor's reign, and was made the Emperor's own name upon his death. In Japanese, the reigning Emperor is referred to without a personal name as "his Majesty the Emperor" (天皇陛下 Tennō Heika?) or "his current Majesty" (今上陛下 Kinjō Heika?). The name Hirohito (裕仁) means "abundant benevolence".
At the start of his reign, Japan was already one of the great powers — the ninth-largest economy in the world after Italy, the third-largest naval power, and one of the four permanent members of the council of the League of Nations. He was the head of state under the limitation of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan during Japan's imperial expansion, militarization, and involvement in World War II. After the war, he was not prosecuted for war crimes as many other leading government figures were, and his degree of involvement in wartime decisions remains controversial among historians as of 1997. During the postwar period, he became the symbol of the new state and Japan's recovery, and by the end of his reign, Japan had emerged as the world's second largest economy.
On September 22, 1987, the Emperor underwent surgery on his pancreas after having digestive problems for several months. The doctors discovered that he had duodenal cancer. The Emperor appeared to be making a full recovery for several months after the surgery. About a year later, however, on September 19, 1988, he collapsed in his palace, and his health worsened over the next several months as he suffered from continuous internal bleeding. On January 7, 1989, at 7:55 AM, the grand steward of Japan's Imperial Household Agency, Shoichi Fujimori, officially announced the death of Emperor Hirohito, and revealed details about his cancer for the first time. Hirohito was survived by his wife, his five surviving children, ten grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
The Emperor was succeeded by his son, the current Emperor Akihito, who formally acceded to the throne on November 12, 1990. The Emperor's death ended the Shōwa era. On the same day a new era began: the Heisei era, effective at midnight the following day. From January 7, until January 31, the Emperor's formal appellation was Taikō Tennō (大行天皇?, "Departed Emperor"). His definitive posthumous name, Shōwa Tennō (昭和天皇?), was determined on January 13 and formally released on January 31 by Toshiki Kaifu, the prime minister.
On February 24, Emperor Hirohito's state funeral was held, and unlike that of his predecessor, it was formal but not conducted in a strictly Shinto manner. A large number of world leaders attended the funeral, including King Juan Carlos I of Spain, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, King Baudouin of Belgium, King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV, King Hussein of Jordan, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck of Bhutan, Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, Secretary-General of the United Nations Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Managing Director of the IMF Michel Camdessus, Secretaries-General of the OECD Jean-Claude Paye, U.S. President George H. W. Bush, French President François Mitterrand, Filipino President Corazon Aquino, Indonesia President Suharto, Prince Consort of Denmark, The Duke of Edinburgh, Crown Prince of Norway, Crown Prince of Thailand, and many others. Emperor Hirohito is buried in the Imperial mausoleum in Hachiōji, alongside Emperor Taishō, his father.
