My Dad took these two pictures about 1947 or 1948 when he was stationed in Japan after World War II.  He was with the Counterintelligence Corps in the U.S. Army.  The story as I remember it was that he happened to be at the train station when Emperor Hirohito arrived.  Dad seized the opportunity and took these two shots of the Emperor. 

I have seen these pictures all my life, but thought I would post them now because I just saw the movie Emperor last night.  I wish I could ask my Dad more about what he remembers about the Emperor while he was there. 

I did talk to my Mom, who joined my Dad in Japan and lived there from about 1947 to 1949.  She remembers that the Army headquarters was located close to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.  But she spent very little time in Tokyo--only one night.  So she didn't see much there. Mom says that Dad took these pictures before she joined him in Japan.  And she believes he was on duty at the time.

Mom also remembers Japanese people sleeping in the train stations because they had no where else to go.  And she said many towns had large areas that were destroyed.  Also, on a couple of train rides, they went through an area that had been hit by the atomic bomb and it was very devastated.  I assume she is referring to Hiroshima, because it is on the way to Yamaguchi and Fukuoka--two of the places they lived.