9th May 1945
Pages from 'PUNCH'
Cartoon from PUNCH magazine 9th May 1945. Emperor Hirohito of Japan ominously looks down upon the fallen thrones of the Axis.
The caption reads
THE FALLEN THRONES
Emperor Hirohito
From Wikipedia:
Hirohito (1901-1989), posthumously honored as Emperor Shōwa, was the 124th emperor of Japan, reigning from 1926 until his death in 1989. His reign of over 62 years is the longest of any historical Japanese emperor and one of the longest-reigning monarchs in the world.
He was the head of state under the Meiji Constitution during Japan's imperial expansion, militarization, and involvement in World War II. Under Hirohito, Japan waged a war across Asia in the 1930s and 1940s.
After Japan's surrender, Hirohito was not prosecuted for war crimes, for General Douglas MacArthur thought that an ostensibly cooperative emperor would help establish a peaceful Allied occupation and would help the U.S. achieve its postwar objectives. On 1st January 1946, under pressure from the Allies, the Emperor formally renounced his divinity.
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