Kimigayo - 7x.nl

"Kimigayo" (君が代^?) is Japan's national anthem. It is also one of the world's shortest national anthems in current use, with a length of 11 measures and 32 characters.^[1]^[2]^[3] Its lyrics are based on a Waka poem written in the Heian period (794-1185), sung to a melody written in the later Meiji period. The current melody was chosen in 1880, replacing an unpopular melody composed eleven years earlier.

Although Kimigayo had long been Japan's de facto national anthem, it was only legally recognized in 1999 with the passage of Law Regarding the National Flag and National Anthem. After its adoption, there was controversy over the performance of the anthem at public school ceremonies. Along with the Hinomaru flag, Kimigayo is claimed by some to be a symbol of Japanese imperialism and militarism.^[1]

Origin

The lyrics first appeared in a poem anthology, Kokin Wakashū, as an anonymous poem. While anonymous poems were not uncommon at the time, the author's identity may have in fact been known, but he or she may not have been given credit due to his or her belonging to the lower social class.^{[citation needed]}} The poem was included in many anthologies, and was used in a later period as a celebration song by people of all social statures. Unlike the form used for the current national anthem, the poem originally began with "Wa ga Kimi wa" ('you, my lord') instead of "Kimi ga Yo wa" ('your reign'). The lyrics were changed during the Kamakura period.^[4]

In 1869, at the beginning of the Meiji Era, John William Fenton, a visiting Irish military band leader, realized there was no national anthem in Japan, and suggested to Iwao Ōyama, an officer of the Satsuma Clan, that one be created. Ōyama agreed, and selected the lyrics.^[5] The lyrics may have been chosen for their similarity to the British national anthem, due to Fenton's influence.^[6] After selecting the anthem's lyrics, Ōyama then asked Fenton to create the melody. After being given just three weeks to compose the tune and only a few days to rehearse, Fenton debuted the anthem before the Japanese Emperor in 1870.^[6] This was the first version of Kimigayo, which was discarded because the melody "lacked solemnity."^[7] However, this version is still performed annually at the Myōkōji Shrine in Yokohama, where Fenton served as a military band leader. Myōkōji serves as a memorial to him.^[5]

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.^[6] Although the melody is based on a traditional mode of Japanese court music, it is composed in a mixed style influenced by Western hymns, and uses some elements of the Fenton arrangement.^[8] The German musician Franz Eckert applied the melody with Western style harmony, creating the second and current version of Kimigayo. By 1893, Kimigayo was included in public school ceremonies due to the efforts of the then Ministry of Education.^[4] According to The Japan Times, Kimigayo is played in C major.^[1]

Lyrics

Official^[9]
君が代は
千代に八千代に
細石の
巌となりて
苔の生すまで

Hiragana
きみがよは
ちよにやちよに
さざれいしの
いわおとなりて
こけのむすまで

Rōmaji^[7]
Kimigayo wa
Chiyo ni yachiyo ni
Sazare-ishi no
Iwao to narite
Koke no musu made

English
May your reign
Continue for a thousand, eight thousand generations,
Until the pebbles
Grow into boulders
Lush with moss

Poetic English
May Japan's Reign
Last for ten thousand years
May her stones turn to rocks
May those rocks turn to boulders
May Japan Reign and Flourish

Meaning of "kimi" and "Kimigayo"

Traditional Interpretation

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^?).

Current Interpretation

Under the Constitution of Japan (promulgated on Nov. 3, 1946), Japan's emperor is no longer a sovereign, but is the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people.

Protocol

The Law Regarding the National Flag and National Anthem does not detail how one should show respect during performances of Kimigayo, but local government bodies and private organizations sometimes suggest or demand certain protocols be followed. For example, an October 2003 directive by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government required teachers to stand during the national anthem at graduation ceremonies. While standing, the teachers are required to sing Kimigayo while facing the Hinomaru.^[13] United States military personnel in Japan, even when in civilian dress, are required by regulations to place their right hand over their heart when Kimigayo, The Star-Spangled Banner, or any national anthem is performed.^[14] The Law Regarding the National Flag and National Anthem also does not dictate when or where Kimigayo should be played. The anthem, however, is commonly played at sporting events inside of Japan, or at international sporting events where Japan has a competing team. At sumō tournaments, Kimigayo is played before the awards ceremony.^[7]

Controversy

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.^[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 Kimigayo as the national anthem and Hinomaru as the national flag.

Since October 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.^[15]

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.^[16]^[17] 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.^[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). 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.^[4]

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.^[18] 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.^[19]

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.^[20] 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.^[21] 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.^[22]

On September 21, 2006, the Tokyo District Court ordered the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to pay compensation to the teachers who had been subjected to 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 ruling has been appealed by the Metropolitan Government.^[23]

Outside of the school system, there was a controversy regarding Kimigayo soon after the passage of the 1999 law. A month after the law's passage, a record containing a performance of Kimigayo by Japanese rocker Kiyoshiro Imawano was removed by Polydor records for his next album Fuyu no Jujika. Polydor did not want a record to stir up emotion in the Japanese; in response, Imawano re-released the album through a independent label with the track in question.^[24]

Kimigayo - 7x.nl

Contents

Origin

Lyrics

Meaning of "kimi" and "Kimigayo"

Traditional Interpretation

Current Interpretation

Protocol

Controversy

See also

References

External links

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