National Foundation Day

 How many national holidays do you have in your country? In Japan, we have 16 national holidays in a year.  One of them is National Foundation Day, which is February 11th. Today, I’d like to talk about National Foundation Day. You may think that is the day when Japan’s country was founded, but according to the Japanese government, it is the day to remember the country’s founding and cultivate a love for the country. 

Why is February 11th designated as a national foundation day?  That is based on Japanese mythology, saying that the first emperor of Japan, Emperor Jimmu, ascended to the throne on January 1st in 660 B.C. in the lunisolar calendar. That is February 11th in the Gregorian calendar.  It isn’t easy to define when the country of Japan was formed. One of the theories says the beginning of Japan is the first emperor’s enthronement because the successive emperors had ruled the country.  Although samurai were in power at some time in the past, the Emperors were respected as above the samurai. After World WarⅡ, the Emperor is defined as a symbol of the country in the constitution. His Majesty the Emperor is the 126th from the first emperor, Emperor Jimmu.
I’m proud that we have an emperor and that the Japanese imperial family has the world’s oldest history.