A biography of the Japanese emperor reveals a powerful man who successfully cultivated an image of a reluctant king while manipulating important events behind the scenes for five decades.

Part I - the prince's education, 1901-1921 -- The boy, the family, and the Meiji legacies -- Cultivating an emperor -- Confronting the real world -- Part II - the politics of good intentions, 1922-1930 -- The regency and the crisis of Taisho democracy -- The new monarchy and the new nationalism -- A political monarch emerges -- Part III - his majesty's wars, 1931-1945 -- The Manchurian transformation -- Restoration and repression -- Holy war -- Stalemate and escalation -- Prologue to Pearl Harbor -- The ordeal of supreme command -- Delayed surrender -- Part IV - the unexamined life, 1945-1989 -- A monarchy reinvented -- The Tokyo trial -- Salvaging the imperial mystique -- The quiet years and the legacies of Showa.