The Japanese national anthem has a total of 28 characters, and after translating it into Chinese, I realized how ambitious the Japanese are

The national anthem reflects the cultural foundation of a country, and every time our country's national anthem "March of the Volunteers" is played, it will make the hearts of Chinese surge and remind them of those difficult war days.

However, the Japanese national anthem has been translated into a very small number of words, only 28 words. Although the number of words is few, the meaning of the lyrics makes people "the more I think about it, the more scared I become". So, what is there in the Japanese national anthem that makes people wonder about it?

【Overthrow of the Shogunate, Meiji Restoration】

Japan's national anthem is called Kimi-no-yo, and it was originally an old Japanese song from the 19th century. At that time, Japan was still a small island country, and China was in the midst of the powerful Tang Dynasty. There is a regular exchange of culture and economy between the two countries. After a long time, Japan learned the social system of the Tang Dynasty and applied these systems to the reform of its own country, so there was the Meiji Restoration.

The Meiji Restoration is an important event in Japan's modern history, which occurred in the mid-19th century. At that time, Japan was tightly controlled by the Tokugawa shogunate, and they adopted the practice of "closing the country to the outside world" and not allowing Japan to communicate with the outside world. Japanese people abroad could not return home, and foreign missionaries, merchants, and ordinary people were not allowed to enter Japan to do business or preach.

The old and backward feudal system soon caused serious class disputes in Japan. The common people were full of complaints, and when the "Black Ship Incident" came out in 1853, the dispute became even more serious. The United States used force to break into Japanese ports and insisted that Japan sign a "Japan-US Goodwill Treaty." As soon as such an unfair treaty was signed, the dissatisfaction of the Japanese people with the Tokugawa shogunate completely exploded.

In order to rid Japan of its feudal and backward conditions and drive out foreign invaders, reformers such as Yoshida Shoin, Takasugi Shinsuke, and Okubo Toshimichi took the lead in launching the activities of "respecting the king." However, the Tokugawa shogunate intervened to suppress it, and the campaign was not successful. However, it also gave impetus to the movement against the shogunate that would later erupt.

In 1864, Takasugi Shinsaku raised an army to take control of the Choshu Domain, taking the campaign one step further. In 1867, Prince Muhito ascended the throne and became Emperor Meiji. As soon as the young and aspiring emperor came to power, he announced the "Imperial Government Retro Decree", overthrowing the Tokugawa Yoshiki shogunate. Two years later, Emperor Meiji cleared the remnants of the shogunate, and Japan was completely unified.

[The creation of the national anthem is full of twists and turns]

After the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate, Emperor Meiji hurriedly sent envoys to Europe and the United States to study. They wanted to learn from the good things of the West, so they first started economically, introduced Western science and technology and equipment, and built large state-owned factories such as military industry, mines, textiles, and railways. In addition, some demonstration factories have been set up, foreign experts have been invited to teach technology, and people have been sent abroad to see and learn on a regular basis.

At the same time, in order to strengthen the control of the central government, the Meiji government adopted the method of "returning the territory" and "abolishing the feudal states and establishing prefectures", which weakened the power of the old feudal lords. In this way, Japan's long-standing feudal division came to an end. In addition, with the policy of making the country stronger, the people richer, the industry more prosperous, and the promotion of civilized education, Japan's social system gradually got rid of the bad things of feudalism and took an important step towards modernization.

The "Meiji Restoration" promoted by Emperor Meiji was, to put it bluntly, a comprehensive study of the good things of the West. The Meiji government was willing to accept policies and institutions that were helpful to Japan and incorporated them into Japan's economic, political, and cultural fields. Over time, Japan gradually became a capitalist country, shedding the label of being colonized.

The great changes that the country has undergone are extremely important to Japan, and it is necessary to find a way to make it remembered forever. At this time, Emperor Meiji and his cabinet found that the national anthem was the most lacking in Japan at the moment. But the national anthem is like a country's "cultural business card", so how can we show the characteristics of our Japan?

In the end, this task fell to Emperor Meiji, the founder of the Japanese Army, who gave Oyama Iwa full authority to handle the Japanese national anthem. Oyama immediately called a meeting of his subordinates to discuss the lyrics and tune of the national anthem. After some discussion, everyone agreed that the Japanese national anthem would be based on the lyrics of the ancient song "Kimi-no-yo".

Just like its name, the song "Kimi-no-yo" was written by some Japanese officials in order to please the emperor. The lyrics are concise and clear, the tunes are nice, and the best part is that they express loyalty to the emperor between the lines. However, although the lyrics are quite good, the Meiji government wanted the national anthem to have a bit of a Western flavor so that it could keep up with international trends.

Next, Oyama Rock invited British musician John William Fenton to help compose Japan's national anthem. In Japan, which had just undergone the Meiji Restoration, it was a bold decision to find a foreigner to write the national anthem. Fenton also put a lot of effort into this, he carefully studied traditional Japanese music books, and finally wrote the first edition of "Kimiyo".

In 1880, at Emperor Meiji's birthday party, the first edition of Kimiyo was unveiled. But after listening to it, the emperor and the people in the government were still not satisfied, and felt that it was too "Westernized". So in 1906, the Japanese government hired its own musician, Okano Sadayoshi, to recompose it. When Emperor Taisho ascended the throne in 1919, the revised second version of "Kimi-no-yo" was officially designated as the national anthem.

[Although the lyrics are short, there is no "deep meaning"]

The second edition of "Kimiyoshi" created by Sadakichi Okano sounds solemn and serious, without the previous Western taste. The melody became concise, there were no dragging parts, and the lyrics were reduced. Overall, this version is closer to Japanese culture than the original. When translated into Chinese, it is only 28 characters, which is shorter than the limerick poems of the Tang Dynasty.

The reign of our emperor will be passed down for a long, long time, from generation to generation to 8,000 generations, just as a small stone slowly turns into a big stone, and the big stone grows moss.

When you listen to the lyrics, it is probably a message to the Japanese to "support the emperor and respect the emperor". The ancient emperors of the mainland also liked to use this trick to consolidate their position, if it was only for this, it would be understandable. But if you dig deeper into the meaning of the lyrics, you will find that the Japanese also have ulterior motives in the national anthem.

You see, the phrase "from a small pebble grows into a big stone" shows that at the time of the Restoration, Japan's territory was as small as a pebble. Don't look at its small area, but it has the great ambition of "becoming a big stone" in my heart. To realize this dream, Japan felt that the quickest way was to fight a war to occupy an area, just as it had waged in the brutal war of aggression against China.

As long as there is a fight, someone will be killed. During World War II, why did Japan start fighting in Southeast Asia? To put it bluntly, militarism is too fierce. The song "Kimi-no-yo" was originally written to praise the emperor, but it has since become a distorted "bushido" and militaristic ideology. This kind of thinking has harmed the Japanese people, making them go crazy too, and even the most basic humanity has been lost.

It's a bit of a sigh to say, because Japan changed the country and society through the Meiji Restoration, but the ideology did not fully keep up. It's as if they've only cured the superficial symptoms, not the root causes. At present, Japan is quite powerful in terms of economy, science and technology, and ranks ahead of the world, but the national anthem still praises the emperor vigorously. But the problem is, it's the prime minister who is in power now, and it's useless to praise the emperor who has no real power!

Japan is indeed a constitutional monarchy, but slowly, the current emperor is more like "just having a title but no real power", like a political symbol of Japan. Speaking of the Japanese national anthem, many Southeast Asian countries do not want to see it, and netizens in our country listened to it and said directly, the tune is like the mourning at the funeral. What's even funnier is that not only foreigners feel wrong, but also many Japanese themselves are awkward to listen to.

Although the national anthem of Japan has been changed several times, it is rarely heard on official occasions. Many Japanese people are like being stepped on by their tails at the mention of the national anthem, and they would rather play stupid than sing it. In the 21st century, do we still want to sing the praises of the emperor all over the world? That's what a Japanese athlete complained.

"The Japanese national anthem sounds terrible, and it's just inappropriate to play this before the game!"

In comparison, our country's national anthem "March of the Volunteers" is much greater, it not only tells all the things about the modern history of our country, but also deeply rooted in our history and culture. No matter where you are, as soon as the national anthem sounds, our Chinese hearts will immediately warm and full of security. The Japanese side wanted to learn from us, but they didn't learn any good things, which is really funny, it's so funny!