When did Emperor Hirohito surrender broadcast occur?
All NHK stations announced that the Emperor would address the nation at noon on the 15th of August 1945. The recording session took place during the late hours of the 14th of August 1945.
Questions about Hirohito surrender broadcast
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Where was the Hirohito surrender broadcast recorded?
Sound technicians set up microphones in an office bunker beneath the Imperial Household Ministry building at the Tokyo Imperial Palace. The process required coordination between the Imperial Household Ministry and radio technicians to finalize the phonograph disc.
Who led the rebellion against the Hirohito surrender broadcast?
Major Kenji Hatanaka led part of the operation against the broadcast facility on the evening of the 14th of August 1945. As many as one thousand officers and soldiers raided the palace seeking to destroy the phonograph recordings before transmission could occur.
Why did listeners misunderstand the Hirohito surrender broadcast?
The word surrender did not appear explicitly within the official text of the speech because Emperor Hirohito stated instead that the Empire accepts provisions of the joint declaration. Poor audio quality from the phonograph playback worsened the confusion significantly alongside formal courtly language used Classical Japanese pronunciation patterns unknown to most speakers.
How long did it take to record the Hirohito surrender broadcast?
NHK engineers worked under significant time pressure to finalize the phonograph disc and the process took less than thirty minutes total but involved multiple adjustments. Sound technicians arrived at the Tokyo Imperial Palace during the late hours of the 14th of August 1945 to set up microphones in an office bunker beneath the Imperial Household Ministry building.