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==Commemorating Jimmu's reign==
[[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.]]Veneration of Emperor Jimmu, who was said to be the divine founder of Japan's unbroken imperial line, was a central component of the [[imperial cult]] that formed following the [[Meiji restoration]].<ref name="martin">Martin, Peter. (1997). ''The Chrysanthemum Throne: A History of the Emperors of Japan'', p. 18-20.</ref><ref name="ruoff">Ruoff, Kenneth. (2001). ''The People's Emperor: Democracy and the Japanese Monarchy'', p. 21-23.</ref> In 1872 the [[Meiji government]] announced a new holiday called ''Kigensetsu'' ("Era Day") commemorating the anniversary of Jimmu's alleged ascension to the throne 2,532 years earlier.<ref name="martin"/><ref name="ruoff"/> Between 1873 and 1945 an imperial envoy sent offerings every year to Mount Unebi, which was claimed to be Jimmu's tomb,<ref name="martin"/> and in 1890 [[Kashihara Shrine]] was established nearby on the spot where Jimmu was said to have become Japan's first emperor.<ref name="ruoff"/><ref>Ponsonby-Fane, p. 419.</ref>
A grandiose ''Kigensetsu'' celebration was put on in the year 1940, reputed to be the 2,600th anniversary of Emperor Jimmu's enthronement, during which the government constructed the Hakkō Tower on the legendary site of Emperor Jimmu's palace near [[Miyazaki, Miyazaki|Miyazaki]]. The tower 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, had 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> ''Hakkō ichiu'' envisioned the unification of the world (the "eight corners of the world") under the Emperor's "sacred rule",<ref>Earhart, David C. (2007). ''Certain Victory'', p. 63.</ref> just as Emperor 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 same year the Japanese government erected numerous stone monuments relating to key events in Jimmu's life which were called "Emperor Jimmu Sacred Historical Sites" and which still exist today.<ref>Ruoff, Kenneth. (2010). ''Imperial Japan at its Zenith: The Wartime Celebration of the Empire's 2,600th Anniversary'', p. 186.</ref><ref>Brownlee, John S. ''Japanese Historians and the National Myths, 1600–1945: The Age of the Gods'', p. 136, 180–185.</ref>
''Kigensetsu'' was suspended in 1948 during the [[occupation of Japan]], but was controversially{{clarify}} reinstated in 1966 as ''Kenkoku Kinen no hi'' ("[[National Foundation Day]]"), a patriotic holiday still celebrated in Japan today.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/1998/02/11/national/founding-day-rekindles-annual-debate/#.U4F2VihWrrB|title=Founding Day rekindles annual debate|publisher=''The Japan Times''|date=February 11, 1998|accessdate=May 24, 2014}}</ref> Although the propaganda narrative surrounding Jimmu's life was officially abandoned at the end of World War II, many Japanese history textbooks continued well into the 1970's to promote the story of Japan's divine origins and Jimmu's founding of an unbroken imperial line.<ref>Tokutake, Toshio. (1995). ''教科書の戦後史'', p. 172-178.</ref>
==See also==
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