The February 26 Incident of 1936, which happened on this day ninety years ago, was modern Japan’s most serious coup attempt and led to four months and twenty days of martial law.

The more I work on it, and the more I live through the present moment, the more convinced I become that historical research on Japan’s surrender is more important than ever.

I cannot make it to this event because of my teaching responsibilities, but it is on Friday and you really shouldn’t miss it!

New primary source for modern Japanese history: a collection of Admiral Takarabe Takeshi’s 1931–32 diaries, alongside transcribed letters to Saitō Makoto. A front-row view of Manchuria, the May 15 Incident, and behind-the-scenes cabinet politics. www.hanmoto.com/bd/isbn/9784...

Sheldon Garon, on Richard Overy’s Rain of Ruin: "Nonetheless, we must recognise the limits of a book that attempts to tell the Japanese story without using Japanese-language documents. Although one might criticise www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

President Gerald R. Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger put their shoes back on after touring Nijō Castle, Kyoto (1974).

By late May 1945, Mao was already mapping out postwar Japan. He favoured keeping the emperor as a figurehead with no absolute power, and still envisaged Japan retaining the imperial institution.

My PhD dissertation’s last chapter, first image (submission due very soon).

Archival photograph: Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito)’s funeral procession departing the Imperial Palace main gate (1989).

While writing on Puyi, monarchical diplomacy, and the making of Manchukuo, I had the 1935 welcome song - sponsored by Yomiuri for his first visit to Japan - on loop; it lets you hear how ‘parity’ was staged. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfRw...

I first heard from Hara-sensei that the Imperial Household Agency would release the ‘official’ record of Empress Kōjun - consort of Emperor Hirohito and known in life as Empress Nagako. Now accessible: 97 years across four eras, from Meiji to Heisei. www.asahi.com/articles/AST...

Slowly chipping away - amid writing - at Iijima Naoki’s recent book on emperor-military relations, from the Meiji creation of the modern army and navy through the two world wars. It will be in my state-of-the-field review.

Crown Prince Hirohito at the Eiffel Tower, 1921.

Wrote a short piece on why Japan’s surrender came so late. engelsbergideas.com/notebook/how...

Exciting to see the first volume (to end-1943) of the wartime diaries of Tsuboshima Fumio (1893–1959), aide-de-camp to Emperor Hirohito during the Pacific War, coming out soon.

Spoke on Saturday at ASCJ at Sophia University on Emperor Hirohito and the Cold War. A real pleasure to be part of such a thoughtful discussion - and many thanks to @rbjapan.bsky.social for organising it.

This corner, this calm.

『百武三郎日記 侍従長が見た昭和天皇と戦争 1 昭和11年11月～13年12月』 ("The Diary of Hyakutake Saburō: The Shōwa Emperor and the War as Seen by the Grand Chamberlain, Vol. 1 [Nov 1936-Dec 1938]"), edited by Furukawa Takahisa & Chadani Seiichi with NHK, is out in July from Iwanami.

Tōgō Shigenori’s wartime notebook (91 pages) has been deciphered by Katō Yōko-sensei and a former specialist at the National Archives of Japan. Entries from the outbreak of the war begin at the front; end-of-war records 373news.com/news/local/d...

Tekigai-sō - Konoe Fumimaro’s final residence. A quiet villa in Suginami, but once the site of urgent decisions, unfulfilled ideals, and the long shadow of Japan’s imperial end. A house that felt the fall of empire - and the postwar state that rose from its ruins.

Still adjusting to Tokyo time, but glad to have presented last week on Emperor Hirohito and 20th-Century Japanese Diplomacy. Grateful for the thoughtful engagement and sharp questions from Japanese colleagues.

A research project I am lucky to be part of, alongside 14 distinguished Japanese scholars, on the impact of the Manchurian Incident and the breakdown of the peaceful international order has been successfully accepted for funding. I look forward to contributing to it in the coming years.

On this day in 1936, a group of young officers launched a violent coup in Tokyo, driven by radical ideals of restoring power to the Emperor. What followed was a political crisis that shook the throne of Emperor Hirohito and left scars that would haunt him for decades.

Manchukuo’s top Chinese & Japanese leaders at the Kantō Army’s headquarters in Fengtian, 16 Feb. 1932. A striking image that highlights the complexity of Chinese national ideals within Manchukuo, reminding us of the significance of examining their role in shaping its development between 1932 & 1937.

I wrote a piece in The Diplomat on the UK-Japan bilateral relationship, the historical and geopolitical significance of Emperor Naruhito’s visit to the UK, and Britain’s lasting influence in Asia, with monarchical diplomacy as one of its dimensions. thediplomat.com/2024/08/mona...