"DEEPLY TOUCHED BY YOUR PROFOUNDEST SYMPATHY"

PRESIDENT RECEIVES CABLE OF GRATITUDE FROM JAPANESE EMPEROR

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On September 6, 1923, President Calvin Coolidge received a cablegram from the Emperor of Japan.  The contents of the message read...

"The President, Washington, D.C.,

I am deeply touched by your profoundest sympathy and kindness offer in our appalling calamity.  I beg of you to accept my heartfelt gratitude to you and the American people.

YOSHIHITO*"

*Taisho, Emperor Yoshihito (1879-1926) was born in Tokyo, Japan & was the 1st heir to the throne to receive a public education.  His son was Crown Prince Hirohito.  

After 1919, the Emperor was unable to participate in official duties due to ill health & died of a heart attack at the age of 47 in 1926.

JFK+50 NOTE

The calamity referred to by the Emperor was the earthquake of  September 1 1923 which struck Honshu, the main island of Japan, resulting in more than 100,000 deaths & is described as the worst natural disaster in the history of the nation. 

SOURCES

"Japanese Emperor Thanks Coolidge," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., September 6, 1923, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/

"Yoshihito," BYU Library, www.net.lib.byu.edu/

 

 

Emperor Taisho

(Yoshihito)

In the Robes of the

Order of the Garter

c 1912

Imperial Household Agency

"JAPAN HAS MUCH TO LEARN FROM WESTERN COUNTRIES"

HIROHITO DESIGNATED REGENT OF JAPAN

Tokyo, Japan (JFK+50) On November 25, 1921, the Evening Star reported that "Crown Prince Hirohito* has been designated regent of Japan."  This occurred after Hirohito's "recent tour" of Europe and because of the continued illness of Emperor Yoshihito**.

When the Crown Prince returned from his tour, he told the Japanese people that they have "much to learn from western countries."

*Hirohito, a.k.a. Emperor Showa (1901-1987) was born in Tokyo & attended Gakushuin Peers' School.  He visited the U.S. in 1921 & served as 124th emperor of the Empire of Japan, 1926-1947, & of the State of Japan, 1947-1987.  H is the longest lived & longest reigning Japanese emperor.

**Yoshihito, a.k.a. Emperor Taisho (1879-1926) was born in Tokyo & ruled Japan 1912-1926 although he took no official duties after 1919.

SOURCE

"Prince Hirohito Is Designated As Regent of Japan," The Evening Star, November 25, 1921, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/ 

   

 

Crown Prince Hirohito

Oxford University

May 14, 1921

The Asahi Shimbun