Flag and National Anthem of Japan Called the Hi no Maru or Nisshoki, Japan's flag simply represents the rising sun. While no one knows exactly the history behind it, sun symbolism can be found in much of Japan's culture. The central deity in Japanese mythology, Amaterasu Omikami, is a sun goddess, and Nippon, Japan's name in Japanese, means "origin of the sun." Kimi ga YoThe national anthem of Japan is called Kimi ga Yo, "The Emperor's Reign." The words and their translation are:
You can listen to the tune here. (midi file) The words are actually from a waka style poem from Japan's Heian Period, about one thousand years ago. It was an Englishman, J. W. Fenton, that urged Japan to adopt a national anthem, and he wrote the original music for it in 1869. Imperial musicians later revised it into its present form. |