Emperor Jimmu: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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The fluidity of Jimmu before the compilation of the ''Kojiki'' and of the ''Nihon Shoki'' is demonstrated by somewhat earlier texts that place three dynasties as successors to the mythological Yamato state. According to these texts, Jimmu's dynasty was supplanted by that of [[Emperor Ōjin]], whose dynasty was supplanted by that of [[Emperor Keitai]].<ref>Ooms, Herman. ''Imperial Politics and Symbolics in Ancient Japan: the Tenmu Dynasty, 650–800''. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2009</ref> The ''Kojiki'' and the ''Nihon Shoki'' then combined these three mythical dynasties into one long and continuous genealogy.

[[File:ROAD TO JINMU.JPG|thumb|right|The mausoleum of Emperor Jimmu in [[Kashihara, Nara|Kashihara City]], [[Nara Prefecture]].]]No site for Jimmu's [[grave (burial)|grave]] is clearly identified by tradition or mythology.<ref name="kunaicho">[[Imperial Household Agency]] (''Kunaichō''): [http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/ryobo/guide/001/index.html 神武天皇 (1)]; retrieved 2013-8-22.</ref> The emperor's ''[[kami]]'' is venerated at the [[Kashihara Shrine]], a [[Shinto shrine]] located at [[Kashihara, Nara|Kashihara]] in [[Nara prefecture]], where his palace was said to have been located. This shrine is formally named ''Unebi-yama no ushitora no sumi no misasagi.''<ref>Ponsonby-Fane, p. 419.</ref>

==Commemorating Jimmu's reign==

[[File:ROAD TO JINMU.JPG|thumb|right|The mausoleum of Emperor Jimmu's mausoleum in [[Kashihara, Nara|Kashihara City]], [[Nara Prefecture]].]]

[[Image:Founding Ceremony of the Hakko-Ichiu Monument.JPG|thumb|left|Founding Ceremony of the ''Hakkō ichiu'' Monument, with [[Prince Chichibu]]'s calligraphy of ''Hakkō ichiu'', carved on its front side.]]

New Year's Day in the Japanese [[lunisolar calendar]] was traditionally celebrated as the regnal day of Emperor Jimmu. In 1872, the [[Meiji Era|Meiji]] government proclaimed 11 February 660 BC, in the [[Gregorian calendar]] the foundation day of Japan, which was then commemorated as the holiday ''Kigensetsu'' ("Era Day") until 1948. Suspended after [[World War II]], the celebration was reinstated in 1966 as the national holiday ''Kenkoku Kinen no hi'' ("[[National Foundation Day]]").

For the ''Kigensetsu'' celebration of 1940, according to the calculation the 2,600th anniversary of Emperor Jimmu,<ref name ="Brownlee">Brownlee, John S. ''Japanese Historians and the National Myths, 1600–1945: The Age of the Gods'', p. 136, 180–185.</ref> the government constructed the Hakkō Tower on the legendary site of Emperor Jimmu's palace near [[Miyazaki, Miyazaki|Miyazaki]]. The building was named after the ancient phrase of ''[[Hakko ichiu|Hakkō ichiu]]'' (literally "eight cords, one roof"), which had been attributed to Emperor Jimmu and, since 1928, has been espoused by the Imperial government as an expression of Japanese expansionism,<ref>[[Herbert Bix|Bix, Herbert]]. (2001). ''Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan'', p. 201.</ref> as it envisioned to the unification of the world (the "eight corners of the world") under the Emperor's "sacred rule", a goal that was considered imperative to all Japanese subjects,<ref>Earhart, David C. (2007). ''Certain Victory'', p. 63.</ref> as Jimmu, finding five races in Japan, had made them all as "brothers of one family."<ref>[[John W. Dower|Dower, John W.]] (1993). ''War Without Mercy: Race & Power in the Pacific War,'' p. 223.</ref> The 1940 celebrations also included a concert at the Tokyo [[Kabukiza]] for which new works were commissioned from composers in France, Hungary, England ([[Benjamin Britten]], [[Sinfonia da Requiem]], ultimately rejected), and Germany ([[Richard Strauss]], [[Japanese Festival Music|Japanische Festmusik]]).<ref>{{cite book |title=Richard Strauss: A critical commentary on his life and works II |author=[[Norman Del Mar|Del Mar, Norman]] |publisher=[[Faber and Faber]] |pages=294–7 |year=2009 (1969)}}</ref>

[[Image:Lantern procession for the 2600th Anniversary Celebrations of the Japanese Empire.JPG|thumb|right|Emperor Jimmu became the object of national commemoration in February 1940.]]

This propaganda narrative was officially abandoned at the end of [[World War II|Pacific War]] when the Japanese government accepted the 1945 [[Potsdam Declaration]]. Because of the association with ''Hakkō ichiu'', the ''Kigensetsu'' celebration of 1976 (1940) is today considered controversial.<ref name ="Brownlee"/>

==See also==