Showa Day in Japan

The Showa Era is the longest and most dramatic reign of an emperor in Japan’s history. Emperor Showa was the longest-living emperor. He died at age 87 after reigning for 63 years. In fact, the Showa Era literally covers some of modern Japan’s brightest and darkest hours. After his death in 1989, he was renamed Emperor Showa.

Traditionally the Emperor’s birthday was a national holiday, and after the death of Emperor Hirohito in January 1989, April 29th was subsequently no longer celebrated as The Emperor’s Birthday but instead as Greenery Day, part of Japan’s Golden Week.

After many attempts since 2000, Greenery Day finally won approval to be renamed Shōwa Day in May 2005, and the decision to move the date of Greenery Day from April 29th to May 4th was taken.

The official purpose of the holiday is to reflect on Japan’s Showa period when the nation recovered after the turbulent times and to think about the country’s future.