Kimi Ga Yo
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kimi Ga Yo is the national anthem of Japan. Its title words roughly mean 'Imperial Reign' in English. The anthem is based on a poem written by an unknown poet from Japan about one thousand years ago. The tune was written more recently (about two hundred years ago) and was then rewritten shortly afterwards because the original tune was unpopular.
Although popular for a long period and sung in situations where people from other countries would usually sing their country's national anthem, Kimi Ga Yo was only considered as Japan's official national anthem in 1999. The law that stated this also defined the Flag of Japan in a similar way.
Interestingly, Kimi Ga Yo is one of the shortest known national anthems of any country.
| Kimi ga yo wa Chiyo ni, |
君が代は |
[edit] External links
- Listen to Kimi ga yo (.ra format)
