君が代

Japanese
Kanji in this term
君 代
きみ
Grade: 3		 よ
Grade: 3
kun’yomi
Alternative spellings
君が世
君代
君世

Etymology

From Old Japanese 君が代 (kimi ga yo). Found already in the Man'yōshū, completed in 759 CE.[1][2][3][4]

Analyzable as a noun phrase composed of 君 (kimi, “lord, master”) +‎ が (ga, ancient possessive particle) +‎ 代 (yo, “life, lifespan; reign”).[1][2][3]

The lyrics to the national anthem are from the 776th poem of the Wakan Rōeishū (c. 1013), in turn based on the 343rd poem of the Kokin Wakashū (905 CE):

わが君(きみ)は千代(ちよ)に八千代(やちよ)にさざれ石(いし)の巌(いはほ)となりて苔(こけ)の生(む)すまで
waga kimi wa chiyo ni yachiyo ni sazare-ishi no iwao to narite koke no musu made
May our lord endure for a thousand, eight thousand long generations―may he live until pebbles grow into mossy boulders.[5]

Pronunciation
  • (Tokyo) きみがよ [kìmí gá yó] (Heiban – [0])[2]
  • IPA(key): [kʲimʲi ɡa̠ jo̞]

Noun

君(きみ)が代(よ) • (kimi ga yo) 

  1. (poetic) your age/era/generation
  2. (poetic) the era of a nobleman or ruler
    • 905–914, Kokin Wakashū (book 20, poem 1085)
      君(きみ)が代(よ)は限(かぎ)りもあらじ長浜(ながはま)のまさごの数(かず)はよみつくすとも
      kimi ga yo wa kagiri mo araji Nagahama no masago no kazu wa yomitsukusu to mo
      The age of our lord will be without limit, though one count the sand, calling the grains one by one, down Nagahama's long shore.[6]
  3. (poetic) the emperor's reign
  4. (Can we verify(+) this sense?) boiled eggs mixed with white bean jam and red bean paste
  5. Synonym of 岩千鳥 (iwachidori): a species of orchid, Ponerorchis keiskei syn. Amitostigma keiskei

Derived terms
  • 君(きみ)が代(よ)に (kimi ga yo ni, pillow word)
  • 君(きみ)が代(よ)の (kimi ga yo no, pillow word)
  • 君(きみ)が代蘭(よらん) (kimigayoran, orchid)

Proper noun

君(きみ)が代(よ) • (Kimi ga Yo) 

  1. Kimigayo, the national anthem of Japan
    君(きみ)が代(よ)は千代(ちよ)に八千代(やちよ)にさざれ石(いし)のいわおとなりて苔(こけ)のむすまで
    kimi ga yo wa chiyo ni yachiyo ni sazare-ishi no iwao to narite koke no musu made
    May your majesty's reign for a thousand―even eight thousand―generations, until pebbles become boulders covered over moss.[7]
    「君(きみ)が代(よ)」の歌詞(かし)は世界最古(せかいさいこ)の国歌(こっか)です。
    “Kimigayo” no kashi wa sekai saiko no kokka desu.
    The lyrics of the national anthem of Japan are the oldest of all national anthems in the world.
    「君(きみ)が代(よ)」は正式(せいしき)には日本(にほん)の国歌(こっか)です。
    “Kimigayo ” wa seishiki ni wa nihon no kokka desu.
    Kimigayo is officially the national anthem of Japan.

Usage notes

As a proper noun, 君(きみ)が代(よ) (Kimi ga Yo) is used exclusively to refer to the national anthem of Japan. The generic term for "national anthem" is 国歌(こっか) (kokka).

References
  1. Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  4. c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 1, poem 10:
    , text here (in Japanese)
  5. Helen Craig McCullough (1985) Brocade by Night: Kokin Wakashū and the Court Style in Japanese Classical Poetry, Stanford University Press, →ISBN, page 444
  6. Edwin A. Cranston (1993) A Waka Anthology: Grasses of remembrance, Part A, Stanford University Press, →ISBN, page 9
  7. Roger K Thomas (2013) “Kimigayo (National Anthem)”, in Louis G. Perez, editor, Japan at War: An Encyclopedia, illustrated, reprint edition, ABC-CLIO, →ISBN, page 177

Old Japanese

Alternative forms
  • 君が世

Etymology

Analyzable as a noun phrase composed of 君 (kimi, “lord, master”) +‎ が (ga, ancient possessive particle) +‎ 代 (yo, “life, lifespan; reign”).[1][2][3]

Phrase

君が代 (ki1mi1 ga yo2) (kana きみがよ)

  1. (poetic) your age/era/generation
    • c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 1, poem 10:
      , text here
      君之齒母 吾代毛所知哉 磐代乃 岡之草根乎 去来結手名
      ki1mi1 ga yo2 mo waga yo2 mo siru ya ipasiro1 no2 woka no2 kusane wo iza musubite na
      The span of your life[,] and of my life too, is determined by the grass on Iwashiro Hill. Come, let us bind it together.[4]

Descendants
  • Japanese: 君が代 (kimi ga yo)

References
  1. Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  4. Gary L. Ebersole (1992) Ritual Poetry and the Politics of Death in Early Japan, Princeton University Press, →ISBN, page 233
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