Skip to main content

Primary sourceArtifact

Signature of Hideki Tojo

Hideki Tojo

A signature of Hideki Tojo, as used on official state papers he signed as Prime Minister and Army Minister of Japan.

This is Tojo's own signature, used to authenticate official documents he issued as Prime Minister and Army Minister.

Ask Hideki Tojo about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Black ink-style stroke signature on white background: a large looping calligraphic mark with several upward-pointing strokes at top, a horizontal base line at bottom, and a small dot to the right.
Signature of Hideki Tojo.

About this source

What it is

This is a reproduction of Hideki Tojo's signature, the kind of mark he placed on official state documents during his time as Japan's Prime Minister and Army Minister.

Why it matters

A leader's signature is what makes an official document binding and real. Tojo's signature appears on decrees and papers from a period when he held enormous military and political power in wartime Japan. Studying a signature reminds students that history is made through ordinary acts of paperwork as well as big speeches and battles.

Look closer

  • What can a signature tell us about a person, and what can it not tell us?
  • Why do governments require signatures on official documents?
  • How might this same signature appear on very different kinds of papers, from routine orders to major wartime decisions?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Hideki Tojo on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Hideki Tojo sources

Meet the AI Hideki Tojo →
Speech

Primary source

Having Received the Imperial Rescript

Hideki Tojo · 8 December 1941

Document

Primary source

Imperial Edict Declaring War on the United States and the British Empire

8 December 1941

Black-and-white photo of the Tokyo war crimes tribunal courtroom. In the foreground, a man in a dark suit sits at a desk. Behind him, seated rows of uniformed officers and suited men occupy a raised gallery, with a row of spectators visible at the top.Photograph

Primary source

Tojo Takes the Stand

United States Department of Defense

Black and white photograph of a bald, bespectacled man with a mustache wearing a plain buttoned military-style jacket and a headset, standing in front of a wood-paneled wall. Behind him stands a uniformed officer in a peaked cap with a badge, looking off to the side.Photograph

Primary source

Tojo Sentenced to Death, Manila Trials Photograph

24 November 1948

Black and white portrait photograph of a man in a military-style cap with a visor and a high-collared uniform jacket, wearing round wire-rimmed glasses and a mustache. He is decorated with medal ribbons and several star-shaped medals on his chest.Photograph

Primary source

Portrait of Hideki Tojo

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Hideki Tojo now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions