Hirohito/Bibliography

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• Morris-Suzuki, Tessa. Showa: An Inside History of Hirohito's Japan. (1985). 330 pp.
• Ruoff, Kenneth J. The People's Emperor: Democracy and the Japanese Monarchy, 1945-1995. (2001). 331 pp.
• Sheldon, Charles D. "Japanese Aggression and the Emperor, 1931-1941, from Contemporary Diaries." Modern Asian Studies 1976 10(1): 1-40. Issn: 0026-749x in Jstor
• Shibusawa, Naoko. America's Geisha Ally: Reimagining the Japanese Enemy. (2006). 397 pp. scholarly study of the astonishing reversal of hatred in 1945 into friendly admiration by the late 1940s
• Wetzler, Peter. Hirohito and War: Imperial Tradition and Military Decision Making in Prewar Japan. (1998). 294 pp. online edition

Historiography

• Bix, Herbert. "Emperor Hirohito's War." History Today (Dec. 1991) 41: 12-19. Issn: 0018-2753 Fulltext: Ebsco discusses new Japanese sources that opened after the emperor's death in 1989
• Gordon, David M. "The China-Japan War, 1931-1945," The Journal of Military History 70#1 (January 2006) pp. 137-182, historiographical overview in Project Muse
• Harootunian, Harry. "Hirohito Redux." Critical Asian Studies 2001 33(4): 609-636. Issn: 1467-2715 Fulltext: Ebsco, focused on Bix (2000)
• Large, Stephen S. "Emperor Hirohito and Early Showa Japan." Nipponica 1991 46(3): 349-368. Issn: 0027-0741 in Jstor

Primary sources in English

• Honjo, Shigeru. Emperor Hirohito and His Chief Aide-de-Camp: The Honjo Diary, 1933-36. (1983). 263 pp.

Not recommended

• Bergamini, David. 'Japan's Imperial Conspiracy. (1971) contends that Hirohito led his nation into WW2 and intimidated opponents by conniving in religious frauds, blackmails, and assassinations. This book has very negative reviews from scholars who say Bergamini falsified his evidence. See here for the consensus.