Taisho and Showa (1912 to 1989): earthquake, war and recovery

Yes, by the era start dates in reference works. Showa 1 ran from 25 to 31 December 1926. Showa 64 ran from 1 to 7 January 1989, and Heisei began the next day.

Hara Takashi, who took office in 1918, per standard histories. His term fell in Taisho, which also brought universal male suffrage in 1925 and a consumer culture often called Taisho democracy. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 is the era’s other defining event, and Tokyo and Yokohama were rebuilt after it.

Per standard histories, fighting began with the Manchuria incident in 1931, widened into a war in China and became the Pacific War in 1941. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki came on 6 and 9 August 1945, and the surrender was announced on 15 August.

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum’s virtual exhibit states that about 140,000 people had died by the end of December 1945, and calls this an estimate. No figure from Nagasaki’s museum or city was found.

The Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum says the Battle of Okinawa lasted about 90 days, that more than 200,000 people died and that civilian deaths far exceeded military deaths. The prefecture’s Cornerstone of Peace lists 242,567 names after the 2025 additions, per news reports, for people of all nationalities. That counts names, not deaths in one battle.

The government’s Murayama Statement of 15 August 1995 uses the words “colonial rule and aggression”, “deep remorse” and “heartfelt apology”, per secondary reports. The same reports say later governments, among them Abe’s in 2015 and Ishiba’s, state that they uphold past cabinet positions.

Through occupation, a new constitution and fast growth. The Allied occupation ran from 1945 to 1952 under General MacArthur (SCAP), and Yoshida Shigeru was postwar prime minister. The Constitution of 1947 includes Article 9.

The 1950s and 1960s are called the economic miracle. The Tokyo Olympics and the Tokaido Shinkansen both date from 1964, and by 1968 Japan had the second-largest economy. Matsushita Konosuke and Honda Soichiro are the business figures histories name. Oil shocks in the 1970s were followed by the bubble economy to 1989.

Four stages show in the general histories.

• Before the war: wages rose, and cinema, department stores and radio spread.
• In the war: rationing and mobilisation.
• After 1945: food shortages, land reform, schooling reform and votes for women in 1946.
• By the 1960s: appliances, the salaryman career and lifetime employment defined urban life.

Plan for quiet. Keep voices low, skip posed photographs at the names wall in Okinawa and follow posted signs. That is courtesy guidance, not a posted rule.

Book ahead where a site asks. The Hiroshima museum’s official page says early and evening slots need an online reservation, though its pages disagree on the exact times.

• Earlier: Meiji. Later: Heisei and Reiwa.
• Hiroshima and Nagasaki museums covers both museums in full.
• Shinkansen and JR Pass guide covers the line that opened in 1964.
• Ryukyu history and Okinawa covers the kingdom and the prefecture.
• The history guide places every era on one timeline, and Japanese era names explains the year count.
• Chugoku, Kyushu and Okinawa give the regional guides.
• The Culture hub holds every culture topic, and the culture guide gives the overview.