“Kimi ga yo” (often translated as &quotReign of the Emperor&quot) is the national anthem of Japan. The lyrics of the anthem are based on a poem in the traditional Japanese waka style created during the Heian era. This the oldest text of the national anthem in the world (the music is much younger) and is the shortest national anthem in the world. In fact, &quotKimi ga yo&quot has been the anthem of Japan since the Meiji Restoration, but officially the Law on the national flag and anthem were adopted only in 1999. The text &quotKimi ga yo&quot first appears as an anonymous poem in the 10th-11th century collection Kokinwakashu. Later the poem was published in various anthologies before the Meiji era. In 1869, British military band conductor John Fenton proposed the creation of a national anthem for Japan and he himself wrote music for it based on the words of Oyama Iwao. This version of the anthem did not gain popularity and was not used after 1876. In 1880, a commission of the imperial court chose a new version of the melody of the anthem, written under the direction of court musician Hiromori Hayashi by his students Yoshiisa Oku and Akimori Hayashi. German musician Franz von Eckert arranged the music in accordance with European harmony. This version of the anthem was performed for the first time on the day birth of Emperor Meiji in 1880. When the anthem was adopted in 1999, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi announced that kimi (in modern Japanese - one of the pronoun “you”, used to refer to equals or juniors, as well as to lovers in old Japanese - &quotlord&quot) means the emperor, who, according to the Constitution, is a symbol of the state and the unity of the people &quotyour reign&quot (kimi ga yo) is understood as the Japanese state, to which those singing the anthem wish longevity. On the left and liberal circles, the anthem (like the flag) is still sometimes protested as being associated with militaristic Japan, a number of teachers refused to sing the anthem at school, etc. The Japanese anthem is performed during all official procedures, in the army, during sports competitions (at matches of Japanese team sports, at sumo tournaments before the award ceremony).
More information about the Anthem in the Book «ANTHEMS OF BROTHERLY COUNTRIES” which now is being published by AS Guitar Edition.