The period of the reign of
Hirohito, 124th emperor of
Japan. It lasted from 1926 until 1989. In the
Japanese calendar, this period is thus known as the "showa era". The word is written as 昭和 in kanji, meaning "shining peace", which is kinda ironic, considering that the era of militant nationalism that peaked in
WWII fell into that era. Then again, the militarists probably read the
wa in its second meaning, "Japan".
Anyway, the country saw dramatic changes during the showa era: a headlong plunge into fascism (though this development had started much earlier), disastrous defeat, occupation and americanization, and amazing recovery to the status of an economic superpower. Interesting times, one might say.