Q: How did the Emperor and the court try to remake his image from a
militarist to a pacifist?
YOSHIDA: The image of the Emperor by the common Japanese citizen during
the war was that of a supreme commander of the Navy, a soldier in uniform
riding on a white horse. In order to erase that image quickly from the
citizens' minds after the war the very first thing the Emperor and those close
to him did was have the Emperor to remove his uniform and don a business suit.
At the same time, the other important action taken was the Emperor's
"Declaration of Humanity" read on January 1, 1946. In it, he not only declared
himself a human-being denying himself the traditional "equal-to-God" status, as
well as strongly emphasizing democracy as the traditional Japanese way of life.
He began appealing to the citizens as a peace believer.
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