page_title: Hirohito
section_title: Excursion
hierarchical_section_title: Hirohito / Crown Prince era / Excursion
caption_attribution_description: 日本語: オックスフォード大学でボートレースを見物する皇太子裕仁親王。 English: Crown Prince Hirohito watching a boat race at Oxford University. (Michi-no-miya Hirohito/Emperor Shōwa)
context_page_description: Hirohito was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned as the emperor of the Empire of Japan from 25 December 1926 until 2 May 1947 and of the state of Japan from 3 May 1947 until his death on 7 January 1989. He was succeeded by his fifth child and eldest son, Akihito. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kojun, had seven children, two sons and five daughters. In Japan, reigning emperors are known only as "the Emperor." He is now referred to primarily by his posthumous name, Shōwa, which is the name of the era coinciding with his reign; for this reason, he is also known as the Shōwa Emperor or Emperor Shōwa. By 1979, Hirohito was the only monarch in the world with the highest monarchical title "emperor." Hirohito was the longest-lived and longest-reigning historical Japanese emperor and one of the longest-reigning monarchs in the world.
  At the start of his reign, Japan was already one of the great powers—the ninth largest economy in the world, the third-largest naval power, and one of the four permanent members of the council of the League of Nations.
context_section_description: From 3 March to 3 September 1921 (Taisho 10), the Crown Prince made official visits to the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Vatican City. This was the first visit to Europe by the Crown Prince. Despite strong opposition in Japan, this was realized by the efforts of elder Japanese statesmen (Genrō) such as Yamagata Aritomo and Saionji Kinmochi.
  The departure of Prince Hirohito was widely reported in newspapers. The Japanese battleship Katori was used and departed from Yokohama, sailed to Naha, Hong Kong, Singapore, Colombo, Suez, Cairo, and Gibraltar. It arrived in Portsmouth two months later on 9 May, and on the same day they reached the British capital London. He was welcomed in the UK as a partner of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance and met with King George V and Prime Minister David Lloyd George. That evening, a banquet was held at Buckingham Palace and a meeting with George V and Prince Arthur of Connaught. George V said that he treated his father like Hirohito, who was nervous in an unfamiliar foreign country, and that relieved his tension. The next day, he met Prince Edward at Windsor Castle, and a banquet was held every day thereafter. In London, he toured the British Museum, Tower of London, Bank of England, Lloyd's Marine Insurance, Oxford University, Army University, and Naval War College. He also enjoyed theater at the New Oxford Theater and the Delhi Theater. At Cambridge University, he listened to Professor Tanner's lecture on "Relationship between the British Royal Family and its People" and was awarded an honorary doctorate degree. He visited Edinburgh, Scotland, from the 19th to the 20th, and was also awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws at the University of Edinburgh. He stayed at the residence of John Stewart-Murray, 7th Duke of Atholl, for three days. "The rise of Bolsheviks won't happen if you live a simple life like Duke Athol."
  In Italy, he met with King Vittorio Emanuele III and others, attended official banquets in various countries, and visited places such as the fierce battlefields of World War I.
caption: The Crown Prince watches a boat race at Oxford University in the UK in 1921
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