AUTHORS ON ASIA Hirohito & the Making of Modern Japan

Evening Lecture
6:30 – 8 pm

In his groundbreaking biography of Emperor Hirohito, Herbert Bix, Professor of Social Sciences at Hitotsubashi University and a longtime resident of Japan, offers an unvarnished look at the enigmatic leader whose 63-year reign, the longest in Japanese history, ushered Japan into the modern world. Drawing on his meticulously researched book, he reveals Hirohito as a man of real human emotion and real authority. He demonstrates how the young emperor gradually evolved into his preeminent role, aligning himself with the growing movement of ultra-nationalism, resisting attempts to curb his power and all the while burnishing his image as a reluctant, passive monarch.

Followed by a reception and booksigning.

Tickets: $10, Japan Society members $8, students $5.