Kimigayo

Kimigayo is Japan’s national anthem, based on a waka poem wishing long life and prosperity to the emperor. Its present melody was adopted in 1880.

Kokin Wakashū: An early tenth-century imperial anthology of Japanese poetry and a foundational work of the waka tradition. The poem later used for Kimigayo first appears in this imperial poetry anthology.
Japanese monarchy: Japan’s hereditary imperial institution, whose sovereign is called the emperor. The poem’s wish for long life is addressed to the emperor.
National anthem: An officially recognized song or musical composition used to represent a country. Kimigayo is Japan’s official example of this civic musical form.
Hinomaru no Uta: A Japanese song celebrating the Hinomaru flag, written for children and widely used in schools. Its flag-centered lyrics offer a civic song distinct from Kimigayo’s imperial poem.
Waka: A traditional Japanese poetic form, especially the five-line, 31-syllable form also called tanka. Kimigayo’s lyrics are a waka poem rather than verses newly written for an anthem.
Emperor of Japan: The hereditary monarch who serves as Japan’s head of state under the postwar constitution. The lyrics name the emperor as the person whose reign they wish to endure.
National Flag and Anthem Act: A Japanese law enacted in 1999 that designates the Hinomaru as the national flag and Kimigayo as the national anthem. This statute gave Kimigayo explicit legal designation as Japan’s anthem.
Kimi ga Yo (Fenton melody): The first known musical setting of Kimigayo, composed by John William Fenton in 1869. This earlier tune was replaced by the melody now associated with the anthem.
O-yashima Gakufu: A music institution established in 1879 to develop Western-style music in Japan. Its leadership commissioned a new melody for the anthem in 1880.
Japanese nationalism: Political ideas and movements that emphasize Japanese national identity, unity, and sovereignty. The anthem became closely associated with state-centered national identity, especially before 1945.

Linked from 2 pages

Marcha RealCompared with: Its ancient text contrasts with Marcha Real’s wordless ceremonial identity.