君が代 Kimi ga Yo English: May your reign last forever
Score of Kimi ga Yo. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States
National Anthem of	Japan
Lyrics	Waka poem, Heian period
Adopted	1999
Kimi ga Yo (Instrumental, 50 tempo) Image:Kimigayo50.mid Problems listening to the file? See media help. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. See Waka and Tanka (disambiguation for other usages Waka (和歌 or Yamato uta is a genre of Japanese poetry The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185.

Kimi ga Yo (君が代, Kimi ga Yo^?), often translated as "May your reign last forever" is Japan's national anthem, and is also one of the world's shortest national anthems in current use. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history traditions and struggles of its people recognized either by a nation's ^[1] The lyrics are based on a Waka poem written in the Heian period, sung to a melody written in the later Meiji Era. Lyrics (in singular form Lyric) are a set of words that accompany music either by speaking or singing See Waka and Tanka (disambiguation for other usages Waka (和歌 or Yamato uta is a genre of Japanese poetry The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The, or Meiji era, denotes the 45-year reign of the Meiji Emperor, running in the Gregorian calendar, from 23 October 1868 to 30 July The current melody was chosen in 1880, replacing an unpopular melody composed eleven years earlier.

Although Kimi ga Yo had long been Japan's de facto national anthem, it was only legally recognized as such in 1999 with the passing of a bill on national flag and anthem. This article is about a law of Japan "Law Concerning the National Flag and Anthem" is a word-to-word translation for an Act on Japan 's national flag and anthem which was After its adoption, there was controversy over the performance of the anthem at public school ceremonies. Along with Hinomaru flag, Kimi ga Yo was considered to be a symbol of Japanese imperialism and militarism in wartime. The national flag of Japan is a white Flag with a large red circle (representing the rising sun) in the center Japanese nationalism refers to the Japanese version of Nationalism, and encompasses a broad range of ideas and sentiments entertained by the Japanese people refers to the Ideology in the Empire of Japan that Militarism should dominate the political and social life of the nation and that the strength of the military is ^[1]

Lyrics

Meaning of "kimi" and "Kimi ga Yo"

Traditional Interpretation

Traditionally, since Heian period or before, a word "kimi" has been used

as a noun to indicate an emperor or one's lord (i. is a Japanese Syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system, along with Katakana and Kanji; the Latin alphabet The romanization of Japanese or ( is the use of the Latin alphabet to write the Japanese language. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. e. master)^[2][3];

as an honorific noun or suffix to indicate a person^[2].

For example, the protagonist Hikaru Genji (光源氏 ^?) of the Tale of Genji is also called "Hikaru no Kimi" or "Hikaru-gimi" (光の君 or 光君 ^?). Hikaru Genji (光源氏 "The brilliant Genji" is the protagonist of The Tale of Genji. is a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early eleventh century around the peak of the Heian Period

Current Interpretation

Under the Constitution of Japan (promulgated on Nov. The has been the founding legal document of Japan since 1947 The constitution provides for a Parliamentary system of government and guarantees certain fundamental rights 3, 1946), Japan's emperor is no more a sovereign, but is the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people.

And, in modern Japanese, Kimi is mainly used as a noun

by males to mean singular 'you' of equal or inferior social status^[2];

both by males and females to mean 'my sweetheart. '

In 1999, during the deliberations of National Flag and Anthem Bill, the official definition of Kimi or Kimi-ga-yo was asked repeatedly. This article is about a law of Japan "Law Concerning the National Flag and Anthem" is a word-to-word translation for an Act on Japan 's national flag and anthem which was

The then Prime Minister Keizō Obuchi replied on June 29, 1999 as follows:

"Kimi" indicates the Emperor, who is the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people, and whose position is derived from the consensus-based will of Japanese citizens, with whom sovereign power resides. And, the phrase "Kimi ga Yo" indicates our State, Japan, which has the Emperor enthroned as the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people by the consensus-based will of Japanese citizens. And it is reasonable to take the lyric of Kimi ga Yo to mean the wish for the lasting prosperity and peace of such country of ours. ^[4]

Origin

Sazare-Ishi pebbles are believed to grow into a boulder in some legends. A photo taken at Shimogamo Shrine in Kyōto. The Kamo Shrines, and are a pair of Shinto shrines in Kyoto, Japan. (IPA /kʲoːto / is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan.

The lyrics first appeared in a poem anthology, Kokin Wakashū, as an anonymous poem. The, commonly abbreviated as, is an early Heian waka Imperial anthology, conceived by Emperor Uda (r While anonymous poems were not uncommon at that time, and the author may have been in fact known, the anonymity might be because the author belonged to one of the lower classes. The poem was also included in a lot of anthologies, and in a later period used as a celebration song by people of all walks of life. Unlike the current anthem, the poem began with "Wa ga Kimi wa" ('you, my lord') instead of "Kimi ga Yo wa" ('your reign'). The change of the lyrics occurred during the Kamakura period. The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 by the first Kamakura Shogun ^[5]

In 1869, around the start of the Meiji Era, John William Fenton, a visiting Irish military band leader, realized that there was no national anthem in Japan, and recommended Iwao Ōyama, an officer of the Satsuma Clan, to make the national anthem of Japan. The, or Meiji era, denotes the 45-year reign of the Meiji Emperor, running in the Gregorian calendar, from 23 October 1868 to 30 July ( 10 October 1842 - 10 December 1916) was a Japanese field marshal, and one of the founders of the Imperial Japanese Army. The Satsuma Clan was a Samurai clan which inhabited the Satsuma Province of Japan 's Kyūshū island Ōyama agreed and selected the lyrics. ^[6] The lyrics are said to have been chosen for their similarity to the British national anthem, due to Fenton stressing the song and also the importance of having a national anthem. "God Save the Queen", or "God Save the King", is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms It is the National ^[7] Ōyama then asked Fenton to make the melody for it. The melody was composed and was performed before the Emperor in 1870. ^[7] Due to the pressure of the Japanese, Fenton had only three weeks to compose the music and a few days to rehearse before performing the anthem to the Emperor. ^[7] This was the first version of Kimi ga Yo, which was discarded because the melody lacked solemnity. ^[8] However, this version is performed annually at the Myōkōji Shrine in Yokohama, as this is where Fenton was based as a military band leader. is the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture, located in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshū and is a major commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area Myōkōji serves as a memorial to him. ^[6]

In 1880, the Imperial Household Agency adopted a new melody composed by Yoshiisa Oku and Akimori Hayashi. The composer is often listed as Hiromori Hayashi, who was their supervisor and Akimori's father. Akimori was also one of Fenton's pupils. ^[7] The German musician Franz Eckert applied the melody with Western style harmony. Franz Eckert ( 5 April 1852 - 8 August 1916) was a German musician who composed the Harmony for Japan 's This is the second and current version of Kimi ga Yo. By 1893, Kimi ga Yo was included in public school ceremonies due to efforts by the then Ministry of Education. The, also known as MEXT or Monkashō, is one of the ministries of the Japanese government. ^[5] According to The Japan Times, Kimi ga Yo is played in C major. See also C minor, C-sharp minor C major (often just C or key of C) is a musical Major scale based on C ^[1]

Controversy

Kimi ga Yo played at a volleyball tournament in Ōsaka. is a city in Japan, located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, in the Kansai region of the main island of Honshū

Since the end of World War II, there has been criticism of the anthem for its association with militarism and the virtual worship of the emperor as a deity, which some see as incompatible with a democratic society. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Militarism is the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or ^[1] Similar objections have been raised to Japan's current national flag, and demonstrations are sometimes held against both. In 1999, the Japanese government passed the bill on national flag and anthem, which designated Kimi ga Yo as the national anthem and Hinomaru as the national flag. This article is about a law of Japan "Law Concerning the National Flag and Anthem" is a word-to-word translation for an Act on Japan 's national flag and anthem which was The national flag of Japan is a white Flag with a large red circle (representing the rising sun) in the center

Since Oct 23, 2003, 410 teachers and school workers have been punished for refusing to stand and sing the anthem as ordered by school principals. This has made recent headlines. ^[9]

Schools have seen conflict over both the anthem and the flag, as the Tokyo Board of Education requires that the anthem be sung and that the flag be flown at events at Tokyo metropolitan government schools, and that school teachers respect both (by, for example, standing for the singing of the anthem) or risk losing their jobs. In successive international tests of Mathematics, Japanese children consistently rank at or near the top (see TIMSS) ^[10][11] Some have protested that such rules violate the Constitution of Japan, while the Board, for its part, has argued that since schools are government agencies, their employees have an obligation to teach their students how to be good Japanese citizens. The has been the founding legal document of Japan since 1947 The constitution provides for a Parliamentary system of government and guarantees certain fundamental rights ^[1]

Opponents respond that as Japan is a democratic country, a national anthem praising a monarch is not appropriate and that forced participation in a ceremony involving the singing of an anthem is against the freedom of thought clause in the Constitution (Article 19). Freedom of thought (also called freedom of conscience and freedom of ideas) is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact viewpoint The has been the founding legal document of Japan since 1947 The constitution provides for a Parliamentary system of government and guarantees certain fundamental rights The government stated at the time of the Act of 1999 that the lyrics are meant to wish for Japan to be at peace with the emperor as a symbol of unity. This article is about a law of Japan "Law Concerning the National Flag and Anthem" is a word-to-word translation for an Act on Japan 's national flag and anthem which was ^[5]

In 2006 Katsuhisa Fujita, a retired teacher in Tokyo, was threatened with imprisonment, and fined 200,000 yen (roughly 2,000 US dollars), after he was accused of disturbing a graduation ceremony at Itabashi High School by urging the attendees to remain seated during the playing of the anthem. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been ^[12] At the time of Fujita's sentence, 345 teachers had been punished for refusing to take part in anthem related events, though Fujita is the only man to have been convicted in relation to it. ^[13]

As a way to avoid that type of punishment, teachers who are opposed to the compulsory singing of the anthem have tried to expand various English-language parody lyrics across Japan and through the Internet. ^[14] The parodies take the Japanese syllables and replace them with English phonetic equivalents (for example, in one of the more popular versions, "Kimi ga yo wa" becomes "Kiss me girl, your old one"), allowing those who sing the new version to remain undetected in a crowd. ^[15] Japanese conservatives deride what they describe as 'sabotage'. There is also a political significance to some of the alternative English lyrics as they can allude to comfort women. Comfort women is a Euphemism for women forced into Prostitution and Sexual slavery for Japanese military brothels during World War ^[16]

On September 21, 2006, the Tokyo District Court ordered the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to pay compensation to all the teachers who had been subjected to fines and/or punishment under the directive of the Tokyo Board of Education. the then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi commented, "It is a natural idea to treat the national anthem importantly". The is the usual English-language term used for the Head of government of Japan, although the literal translation of the Japanese name for the office is Prime is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006 This was seen as a landmark ruling in Japan upholding the Fundamental Law of Education in Japan. The ruling has been appealed by the Metropolitan Government. ^[17]

Protocol

In the Act on national flag and anthem, there is no detailed protocol on how to show respect towards Kimi ga Yo when it is being performed. This article is about a law of Japan "Law Concerning the National Flag and Anthem" is a word-to-word translation for an Act on Japan 's national flag and anthem which was However, local government bodies and private organizations either give suggestions or demand a certain protocol is to be followed. For example, an October 2003 directive by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government told all teachers to stand during the national anthem at all graduation ceremonies. While standing, the teachers are required to sing Kimi ga Yo while facing Hinomaru. The national flag of Japan is a white Flag with a large red circle (representing the rising sun) in the center ^[18] United States military personnel in Japan, while in civilian dress, are required by regulations to place their right hand over their heart when either Kimi ga Yo, The Star-Spangled Banner or any national anthem is performed. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the " The Star-Spangled Banner " is the National anthem of the United States of America ^[19] The Act also does not dictate when or where Kimi ga Yo needs to be played. This article is about a law of Japan "Law Concerning the National Flag and Anthem" is a word-to-word translation for an Act on Japan 's national flag and anthem which was Kimi ga Yo, however, is commonly played at sporting events inside of Japan, or during international sporting events where Japan has a competing team. At sumō tournaments, Kimi ga Yo is played before the award ceremony. is a competitive Contact sport where two Wrestlers ( rikishi) attempt to force one another out of a circular ring ( Dohyo) or to touch the ground ^[8]

Recordings

See also

• Flag of Japan
• Korean Empire Aegukga (modified to resemble the Kimi ga Yo)

References

External links

• Web-Japan. org National Flag and Anthem
• About. com Japanese national anthem - Kimigayo