| Emperor Hirohito Showa (April 29, 1901 – January 7, 1989) parades his troops astride his horse, Shirayuki (“White Snow”), at the Imperial Japanese Army’s opening ceremony. Shirayuki was born on the Fitzgerald Ranch in Kamas Valley, Utah in 1920. As a colt, the horse attracted a lot of public interest for its beauty, and that it was 1 of only 2 white stallions in the world at the time. The horse was sold to 2 Japanese businessmen in 1938. They gave the horse to Emperor Hirohito as a gift. International News Service reported that Emperor Hirohito made 344 appearances on Shirayuki. Shirayuki was retired in 1942 and died in 1947. The symbol of the white horse caught the American imagination. Early in the war, United States Admiral William (Bull) Halsey Jr. (October 30, 1882 – August 16, 1959) vowed that 1 day he would ride Hirohito’s white horse through the streets of Tokyo. This soon became a rallying cry in the United States. It was even used in a campaign to sell war bonds. “Let’s get the Admiral his horse! All out for the mighty seventh war loan!” Posters declared. The United States was going “to win the war and remove Emperor Hirohito from his high horse.” The Japanese Imperial House maintained stables with 40 to 50 horses of various breeds, including Arabians, racehorses, brood mares and percherons. After World War II the stables were given to the University of Tokyo to manage. After the war, Hirohito rode Hatsuyuki (“First Snow”) the younger brother of Hatsushimo (“First Frost”). At the end of the war, the public was clamoring for Admiral Halsey to ride Emperor Hirohito’s horse, as promised. The Reno Nevada Chamber of Commerce commissioned a saddle, bridle and martingale decorated with 166 silver pieces for Admiral Halsey to use on the horse. The members of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe contributed a pair of buckskin beaded gauntlet gloves to be used with the saddle. These items are now on display at the United States Naval Academy Museum at Annapolis. Halsey did ride a horse, but he wasn’t Emperor Hirohito’s white stallion, who remained private property of the Emperor. Instead, he rode another horse at the “International Allied Army Armistice Day Tokyo Rodeo” on November 11, 1945. The horse was supplied by Major General William C. Chase (March 9, 1895 – August 21, 1986), the commander of the 1st Calvary Division. After reviewing the honor guard of the 1st Calvary Division, he mounted the horse and rode slowly around the bivouac area on the outskirts of Tokyo. It was an unscheduled affair, so he didn’t get to use the special saddle. “Please don’t let me alone with this animal,” the Admiral said to Chase. Upon dismounting, he grinned and said, “I was never so scared in my life.” United States Army Rodeo expert Lieutenant Joseph Richard “Dick” Ryan (January 23, 1911 – January 3, 1982) who managed the rodeo and the white horse for Chase and Halsey, purchased “Hatsushimo.” “Hatsushimo” was publicly announced as the Emperor’s horse, but was likely not his. Ryan brought “Hatsushimo” to the United States mainland and, as a favorite of General Douglas MacArthur, the horse sailed through customs red tape. Marines, sailors and soldiers at war for years were furious that a Japanese horse got home before they did. Halsey refused to ride Hatsushimo at the American Legion convention in San Francisco in 1946. The Imperial household said Hatsushimo had been owned by Colonel Prince Yi U (November 15, 1912 – August 7, 1945), whose family was given royal Japanese status when Korea was taken over by Japan. Ryan, who had a ranch in Oceanside, California, left the Army and kept Hatsushimo until 1948, when the horse was euthanized because of cancer. During that time, Hatsushimo was sometimes impounded by local sheriffs when Ryan ran out of money to pay his staff or his bills. Ryan nevertheless successively presented many horses named “Hatsushimo” at rodeos until the 1960s, when the horse would’ve been 45 years old; technically possible for horse to achieve that age, but unlikely. Ryan is said to have cared well for his horses. He often accompanied his “Hatsushimo” with a Dalmatian named “Mike.” | |
| Image Filename | wwii2105.jpg |
| Image Size | 356.03 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1780 x 1589 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | January 1, 1937 |
| Location | |
| City | Tokyo |
| State or Province | Tokyo |
| Country | Japan |
| Archive | Asahi Shimbun |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database