This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Nanshu (talk | contribs) at 02:37, 28 June 2003. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 02:37, 28 June 2003 by Nanshu (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)"Kimi Ga Yo" (May 1,000 Years of Happy Reign Be Yours) (君が代) is the official national anthem of Japan as was unofficial until (year). It is in the form of a Waka, an ancient Japanese style of poem, from the Heian period. The author is unknown.
Lyrics
| Kimi ga yo wa Chiyo ni, |
May my Lord's reign, |
君が代は |
There is a theory that this lyric was once a love poem.
In 1869 Oyama Iwao and other Satsuma military officers selected Kimi Ga Yo as a national anthem and made an Englishman John William Fenton write music for it. However, due to bad reputation, it was abandoned in 1876. The present music was composed by Hayashi Hiromori in 1880.