八紘一宇
Japanese
Kanji in this term | |||
---|---|---|---|
八 | 紘 | 一 | 宇 |
はち > はっ Grade: 1 |
こう Jinmeiyō |
いち Grade: 1 |
う Grade: 6 |
on’yomi |
Etymology
八紘 (hakkō, “eight corners”) + 一宇 (ichiu, “one roof”) ≅ “the eight corners of the earth [united] under a single roof”
The concept originates from a passage in the Nihon Shoki (720): 兼六合以開都、 掩八紘一而為宇, in which Emperor Jimmu declares Kashihara to be the capital of the lands. Originally limited to context of Japan as a whole, but in 1903 Tanaka Chigaku first used it in reference to world unification. Widely used around 1937 during the Sino-Japanese War, the phrase was later included in the July 26, 1940 national policy known as Kihon Kokusaku Yōkō (基本国策要綱) during the Fumimaro Konoe administration.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /hakkoː itɕiu/
Noun
八紘一宇 (hiragana はっこういちう, rōmaji hakkō ichiu)
- unifying and controlling the whole of world as a single house
- during World War II, used as a nationalistic slogan to rationalize oversea expansion
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