Mamoru Shigemitsu and General Yoshijiro Umezu ready to sign the surrender papers on the deck of the U.S.S. Missouri
Mamoru Shigemitsu and General Yoshijiro Umezu ready to sign the surrender papers on the deck of the U.S.S. Missouri
- Description
- To sign the surrender that would officially end World War II, a small delegation of Japanese diplomats and military personnel appeared promptly at 8:55 a.m. on Sunday, September 2, 1945. Their faces expressionless, Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and Gen. Yoshijiro Umezu stood side by side.
- Shigemitsu leaned heavily on his cane in order to support the artificial leg, the result of a bomb that had been thrown at him years before in Shanghai. Shigemitsu awkwardly sat down and took off his hat and a glove before signing his name and signing for Emperor Hirohito.
- General Umezu followed, but unlike the rest, he signed standing up. With their signatures, both men bound Japan to accept the Potsdam Declaration: to surrender all forces unconditionally, free all military prisoners, and make all Japanese officials, including the Emperor, subservient to General MacArthur.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- Photograph
- Date made
- 1945
- photographer
- Mydans, Carl
- place made
- Japan: Tokyo Bay
- Physical Description
- paper (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 10 in x 8 in; 25.4 cm x 20.32 cm
- ID Number
- 2005.0228.085
- accession number
- 2005.0228
- catalog number
- 2005.0228.085
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Photographic History
- Photography
- Carl Mydans
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.
Note: Comment submission is temporarily unavailable while we make improvements to the site. We apologize for the interruption. If you have a question relating to the museum's collections, please first check our Collections FAQ. If you require a personal response, please use our Contact page.