Everything about Kimi Ga Yo totally explained
, 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. The
lyrics are based on a
Waka poem written in the
Heian period, sung to a melody written in the later
Meiji Era. 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. 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.;
» as an honorific noun or suffix to indicate a person
Origin
The lyrics first appeared in a poem anthology,
Kokin Wakashū, as an anonymous poem. While anonymous poems were not uncommon at that time, and the author may have been in fact unknown, 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.
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. Ōyama agreed and selected the lyrics. 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. Ōyama then asked Fenton to make the melody for it. The melody was composed and was performed before the Emperor in 1870. However, this version is performed annually at the
Myōkōji Shrine in
Yokohama, as this is where Fenton was based as a military band leader.
Myōkōji serves as a memorial to him.
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. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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.
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". 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.
Protocol
In the
Act on national flag and anthem, there's no detailed protocol on how to show respect towards
Kimi ga Yo when it's being performed. 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 City 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.
United States military personnel in Japan 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
Act also doesn't dictate on when or where
Kimi ga Yo needs to be played.
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.
Recordings
Further Information
Get more info on 'Kimi Ga Yo'.
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