Hirohito

TOKYO — The 4½-minute speech that has reverberated throughout Japan’s modern history since it was delivered by Emperor Hirohito at the end of World War II has come back to life in digital form.

Hirohito’s “jewel voice” — muffled and nearly inaudible due to poor sound quality — was broadcast on Aug. 15, 1945, announcing Japan’s surrender.

On Saturday, the Imperial Household Agency released the digital version of the original sound ahead of the 70th anniversary of the speech and the war’s end. In it, the emperor’s voice appears clearer, slightly higher and more intense, but Japanese today would still have trouble understanding the arcane language used by Hirohito.

“The language was extremely difficult,” said Tomie Kondo, 92, who listened to the 1945 broadcast in a monitoring room at NHK public broadcaster, where she worked as a newscaster.

“It’s well written if you read it, but I’m afraid not many people understood what he said,” she said. Poor reception and sound quality of the radio made it even worse.

“I heard some people even thought they were supposed to fight even more,” she said. “I think the speech would be incomprehensive to young people today.”

Every Japanese knows the part of the speech where Hirohito refers to his resolve for peace by “enduring the unendurable and suffering what is insufferable,” a phrase repeatedly used in news and dramas about the war.

When people heard that part 70 years ago, they understood the situation, Kondo said. But the rest is little known, largely because the text Hirohito read was deliberately written in arcane language making him sound authoritative and convincing as he sought people’s understanding about Japan’s surrender.