Emperor Taishō
Yoshihito (Japanese: 嘉仁, 31 August 1879 – 25 December 1926), posthumously honored as Emperor Taishō (大正天皇, Taishō-tennō), was the 123rd Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 1912 until his death in 1926. The era he presided over is known as the Taishō era.
| Emperor Taishō 大正天皇 | |||||||||
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Formal portrait, 1912 | |||||||||
| Emperor of Japan | |||||||||
| Reign | 30 July 1912 – 25 December 1926 | ||||||||
| Enthronement | 10 November 1915 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Meiji | ||||||||
| Successor | Shōwa | ||||||||
| Regent | Crown Prince Hirohito (1921–1926) | ||||||||
| Born | Yoshihito, Prince Haru (明宮嘉仁親王) 31 August 1879 Tōgū Palace, Akasaka, Tokyo, Empire of Japan | ||||||||
| Died | 25 December 1926 (aged 47) Imperial Villa, Hayama, Kanagawa, Empire of Japan | ||||||||
| Burial | 8 February 1927 Musashi Imperial Graveyard | ||||||||
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| House | Imperial House of Japan | ||||||||
| Father | Emperor Meiji | ||||||||
| Mother | Yanagiwara Naruko | ||||||||
| Religion | Shinto | ||||||||
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Born to Emperor Meiji and his concubine Yanagiwara Naruko, Yoshihito was proclaimed crown prince in 1888, his two older siblings having died in infancy. In May 1900, he married Kujō Sadako, a member of the Kujō family of the Fujiwara clan. The couple had four sons: Hirohito, Yasuhito, Nobuhito and Takahito.
When his father died in July 1912, Yoshihito—then 32 years old—ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne and became emperor of Japan. Suffering from neurological issues for the better part of his life, he played only a limited role in politics and from 1919 on undertook no official duties. His reign was characterized by a liberal and democratic shift in political power known as Taishō Democracy. It also saw Japan's entrance in the First World War and the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923.
Yoshihito's declining health led to the appointment of his eldest son, Crown Prince Hirohito as prince regent in 1921. He spent the rest of his life as a recluse. Yoshihito died of a heart attack at the age of 47 following a bout of pneumonia in December 1926, and was succeeded by Hirohito.