The national anthem of Japan is Kimigayo.
[Lyrics]
Kimigayo wa
Chiyo ni yachiyo ni
Sazare-ishi no
Iwao to narite
Koke no musu made
I
suppose many people think it prays that the emperor's reign last
forever. The first word of the lyrics "Kimigayo" is regarded as the
emperor's reign. According to the government, today's emperor is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people under the constitution, so Kimigayo means Japan where the symbolic emperor lives.
Kimigayo has legal basis. The Act on National Flag and Anthem provides that the national anthem is Kimigayo
and states the words and music. But it was only recently that the act
was enacted. Before the act was enacted in 1999, many Japanese people
regarded the song as national anthem by convention. But some people
thought Kimigayo was not appropriate for the national anthem. According to them, that is because Kimigayo praises emperor, and the song was used to propagandize nationalism under Japanese militaristic imperialism in the mid 20th century.
Kimigayo first appears in Kokin Wakashu,
a poem anthology compiled in early 10th century. The author of the poem
is unknown. Although the poem is slightly different from today's
Kimigayo's lyrics, it is viewed as, so to speak, the prototype of
Kimigayo.
Japanese people had recited Kimigayo
for hundreds of years as a happy poem before it is regarded as the
national anthem. Kimigayo was first composed by the English musician
John William Fenton in 1870 but was abolished in 1876. In 1880 the
Imperial Household Agency composed a new melody. In 1893 the Ministry of
Education required the new song be sung at primary school ceremonies.
Since then the new song has been took root.
