TAISHO

born Aug. 31, 1879, Tokyo, Japan died Dec. 25, 1926, Hayama in full Taisho Tenno, personal name Yoshihito the 123rd ruling descendant of the Japanese imperial family, the emperor who reigned from 1912 to 1926 during a period in which Japan continued the modernization of its economy. Yoshihito was proclaimed crown prince on Nov. 3, 1889, after his two elder brothers died. He ascended the throne on July 30, 1912. Unlike his predecessor, the Meiji emperor, the Taisho emperor was sickly as a child and played almost no political role. He became mentally deranged in his later years, and his son, Crown Prince Hirohito (later Emperor Hirohito), was appointed prince regent in 1921. His reign, referred to as the Taisho (Great Righteousness) period, was characterized in foreign affairs by policies congenial to Western powers, especially to Great Britain and the United States. In domestic affairs there was increasing use of parliamentary procedures and a broadening of the suffrage.