The Liberal Democratic Party intends to release their proposed new Japanese Constitution next month, at the party’s 50th anniversary. Until then, here’s a leaked version (with MFT’s rough translation) of the preamble:
日本国民はアジアの東、太平洋と日本海の波洗う美しい島々に、天皇を国民統合の象徴としていただき、和を尊び、多様な思想や生活信条をおおらかに認め合いつつ、独自の伝統と文化をつくり伝え、多くの試練を乗り越えてきた。
The Japanese people have, upon the beautiful wave washed islands of East Asia’s Sea of Japan, while taking the Emperor as the unifying symbol of the people and mangnanimously acknowledging diversity in thought and lifestyle, created and transmitted a distinctive culture and overcome a great number of trials.
日本国は、主権を持つ民主主義国家で、国政は国民の信託に基づき、国民の代表が担当し、その成果は国民が受ける。
The nation of Japan is a sovereign, democratic state whose government is based on the trust of the people, with which the people’s representatives are charged, and whose results are borne by the people.
日本国は、自由、民主、人権、平和、国際協調を国の基本として堅持し、国を愛する国民の努力によって国の独立を守る。
The nation of Japan maintains freedom, democracy, human rights, peace, and international cooperation as the fundamentals of the nation and protects its independence via the effort of a people who love their country.
日本国民は正義と秩序による国際平和を誠実に願い、他国とともに協力し合う。国際社会において、圧政や人権の不法な侵害をなくすため不断の努力を行う。
The Japanese people, faithfully wishing for an international peace based on justice and order, cooperate with other nations. In international society, [the Japanese people] will make persistent efforts to eliminate tyranny and the illegal violation of human rights.
日本国民は、自由とともに公正で活力ある社会の発展と国民福祉の充実を図り、教育の振興と文化の創造と地方自治の発展を重視する。自然との共生を信条に、美しく豊かな地球環境を守るため力を尽くす。
The Japanese people, for the fulfillment of a free, fair and vibrant society, emphasize the development of the promotion of education and the creation of culture. Making living as one with nature an article of faith, the Japanese people make every effort to protect the beautiful and bountiful global environment.
日本国民は、大日本帝国憲法および日本国憲法の果たした歴史的意味を深く認識し、現在の国民とその子孫が、世界の諸国民とともに、さらに正義と平和と繁栄の時代を内外につくることを願い、日本国の根本規範として自ら日本国民の名においてこの憲法を制定する。
The Japanese people, while deeply acknowledging the historical meaning of the Imperial Constitution of Japan and the Japanese Constitution, establish this Constitution in the name of themselves, the Japanese people, as the fundamental norm of the Japanese nation, while the present Japanese people and their progeny wish for the creation, both domestically and internationally, of a further just, peaceful, and prosperous era along with the various peoples of other nations.
Good post, thanks. I wonder if they’ll ever give Japan a proper name? It’s one of the only nations in the world without a political augmentation to it’s name, i.e. it’s not the Kingdom of Japan, the Democratic Republic of Japan, etc etc. Ishihara was talking about this a while back.
Oh btw the preamble isn’t actually “leaked” as much as it was “officially released”
http://www.jimin.jp/jimin/daily/navi/e.html
Just so you know.. Oh and the full text isn’t so much “exclusive” to MF as it is “taken from Kyodo News”
The translation is still ours though! Don’t be getting TOO humble there Adam.
“It’s one of the only nations in the world without a political augmentation to it’s name”
The other ones I know is Mongolia.It used to be Mongolian People’s Republic from 1924 to 1992.Turned in to just plain Mongolia.
BTW what’s with all the bizzare “related” posts?
The “related” posts are chosen automatically by software. I think it just picks which words are most common or something like that.
太平洋と日本海の波洗う美しい島々に – MTF forgot the Pacific. Boy, the Koreans will be upset -now the Japanese are claiming that ALL seas around them are the Japan Sea? And how could you forgot all about the famous Japanese Wa….?
I remember Ishihara wanted 日本皇国 a while back – he ran some sort of poll, and that was what he said was most favoured. Difficult to agree with either the need for a political augmentation or the choice of “Empire.” – bit too close to prewar use of 皇国 皇軍 etc. One related question I’ve never seen a satisfactory answer for is, why IS Japan seen as an Empire? When did this start? Back in the 1600s when Europeans thought the various daimyo were kings?
“why IS Japan seen as an Empire? When did this start?”
As I understand it, because back in the Fujiwara/Nara era or thereabouts the ancestors to the modern Imperial family decided to impose a Chinese style imperial system on the pre-existing clan based structure of pre-literate Japanese society. They ended up building a series of capital cities on the Chinese model, culminating in Heiankyo, which were laid out and architected as a small-scale replica of the Tang capital of Chang’an. Reasons for copying the Chinese imperial state model probably reflect:
A- desire to be seen as an independent state co-equal with Tang China, and not be the latest minor country along the Chinese frontier to be absorbed.
B- create a legalistic centralized state based on the only model they knew of, to legitimate expansion of the Yamato dynasty throughout Japan, into what was not even close to a unified country in the pre-Heian era. As I recall, it wasn’t even until the late Heian, 12th century or so, when the Imperial court finally controlled the Tohoku region where the Emishi (very likely Ainu) still lived.
I think that Jade Oc is asking about when Whitey decided that Japan was to be called an “empire” (with an emperor) rather than a kingdom. Tenno could be translated in many ways and Japanese called the Chinese emperor something else – kotei, I believe. Roman emperors are also “kotei” and Tenno is something different.
The Latin origin of empire is “Imperium” (as in Impreium Romanum) which referred to an area dominated (emperor not needed). In English usage, however, you need an emperor in most cases.
As for when Westerners started calling Japan an empire and its ruler and emperor, I have no idea.
Interesting note – somebody decided that the Shogun was a “Tycoon” for a while there in the 19th century….
It’s true that the Japanese term “Tennou” is different from the more standard Chinese word for “Emperor,” but I would assume that Westerners decided to refer to the Japanese sovereign as “Emperor” because they could see that he had adopted the court style of the Chinese Empire, and was therefore equivalent. It is an interesting research topic though, and I’m honestly mostly guessing.
I am amused by the “tycoon” title.
I’ve always considered the closest parallel to the Emperor/Shogun relationship (interesting how Shogun, like Samurai, is left un-translated in English, yet Emperor is translated) in Europe was that between the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope. Whatever power the Japanese Emperor had during early periods, when the Shogun was dominant his actual job was more ceremonial, and the way in which the Emperor had to anoint the Shogun is vaguely similar to the way in which the medieval Holy Roman Emperor was not Emperor until he was crowned by the pope, after which he had basically all of the power. The requirement of their blessing was the biggest trump card that both the Japanese Emperor and European Pope had during these periods, and the incident (I forget who it was) in which one Emperor refused to anoint the new Shogun until some concessions had been made reminded me of the Investiture Controversy when I first heard about it.
M-Bone is right – I was talking about the English (or European) use of the word ‘Empire’. Both the Chinese and Japanese called the Chinese Emperor 皇帝, but the Japanese ended up with 天皇 for theirs, which MAY derive from the sacred name for the North Star, Tenou Daitei (天皇大帝), which, by remaining still and at the most northly (top, esp in Chinese cosmology, cf the locations of Imperial Palaces) was clearly the most important, the centre of the universe. So no ego there at all…. Anyway, it explains the closeness of 皇 and 星…. And back then it was said Sumera-mikoto (also written as 主明楽御使 apparently). Incidentally, the term Mikado, made famous by Gilbert and Sullivan’s little fantasy, refers originally to the August (as in Great, Noble, not last month) Gate to the palace rather than the man himself.
The Shogun was called the Tycoon because he was; the Taikun (大君), the Great Prince. Which is where our word ‘tycoon’ comes from. A word originally used to refer to the Emperor way back when, but used by the Edo Shogunate to refer to the Shoguns in communication with Korea and Ryukyu and later Europe.
And yeah, I have often thought the Emperor is more like a form of Pope, but usually without the Pope’s temporal powers….
PS: Found this on Heraldica.org. Can’t vouch for it, but sounds logical enough:
“After the Meiji Restoration (1868), the Satsuma-Choshu oligarchs adopted the English word “emperor” (Kaiser in German and l’Empereur in French) as the official translation for Tennô. They did so largely to put the “restored” Japanese monarch on an equally footing with sovereigns of the great powers –the Tsar of Russia, the Emperor of the French (1857-1871), the Emperor of Austria, the German Emperor (from 1871), and the Queen-Empress of India (from 1877) – and the emperors of China, Mexico and Brazil. Moreover, the Satsuma-Chosou oligarchs sought to use “restored” emperor to both unify the country and bolster Japan’s standing relative to the Western powers.”