Saturday, September 28, 2024

Emperor Hirohito was buried wearing a Mickey Mouse watch.

Famous Figures

Y ou might be a Disney adult, but if you're not planning to be buried with a Mickey Mouse accessory, it would appear you're less of a fan than Japanese Emperor Hirohito, who was interred wearing his Mickey watch. The monarch, who reigned over Japan from 1926 to 1989, first visited the "Happiest Place on Earth" in 1975 after being a fan of Disney cartoons for decades. It was then that he was gifted the watch, which he was apparently quite taken by.

The emperor's love of the timepiece was noted several times before his passing, including in a 1984 Washington Post article marking his 83rd birthday. "Hirohito expressed his approval of America not in words but with a gesture," the Post reported. "For years afterward, he wore a Mickey Mouse watch that he picked up at Disneyland." Anyone who wears the same shirt every time they visit the "Happiest Place on Earth" can surely relate.

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By the Numbers

Emperors of Japan, including mythological rulers

126

Year Mickey became the first cartoon character to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

1978

Number of theatrically released Mickey Mouse cartoons

121

Sons and daughters of Hirohito

Did you know?

Hirohito was the longest-reigning emperor in Japanese history.

Japan's hereditary imperial line has been unbroken for more than a thousand years (according to Japan's official record, which includes several early mythological emperors), and Hirohito became the country's 124th emperor on Christmas Day in 1926. He served in that role until his death on January 7, 1989, a 62-year reign that stands as the longest in Japanese history. Next on the list is the transformational Emperor Meiji, whose restoration modernized the country and opened it to the West. Hirohito's successor, his first son, Akihito, ruled until 2019 — a reign that ended not with his death but with his abdication, making him the first Japanese emperor to relinquish the throne since Emperor Kōkaku in 1817.

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