The Chrysanthemum Throne was not empty for even a single day: on this very day, Akihito's father, Emperor Hirohito, finished erecting his pedestal. And he is worth mentioning in the calendar of science. A direct descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu, as the Japanese believe, he ruled Japan for 63 years. He was the first member of the imperial family to make an overseas trip and brought some rules that he had seen in Europe to Japan. He left behind seven children and the Japanese Institute of Marine Biology: Hirohito was one of major hydrobiologists of the time and a member of the Royal Society of London.