Talk:Kimi Ga Yo

email me with your favorite tanka (thats a japanese poem like this one,5 lines 31 syllables) at psychoswimmer@msn.com.

The Emperor's Attitude?

I don't see anything in this article about some of His Majesty's recent remarks about the use of the Kimi Ga Yo and Hinomaru in school ceremonies. Should that not be mentioned? I think it caused some controversy, that the Emperor himself was opposed to the forcing of a song in praise of him to be sung... elvenscout742 17:46, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Natural?

"If you compare Kimi Ga Yo democratic countries' (for example England's God Save The Queen) National Anthems, this sort of praise of a ruler is very natural."

There is debate within the UK as to whether references to God are appropriate in a multi-faith country, and (as with Japan) whether references to hereditary monarchy are appropriate in a representative democracy.

Should the article reflect this in the 'response' the the arguments against Kimi Ga Yo? The response here appears slightly fallacious, or at leastr should be restated so as not to suggest that leader worship is 'natural' (which is a POV, not a fact). User:Phil webster

In taking a look at List_of_national_anthems, there really seems to be very few National Anthems that praise a ruler: Brunei, Jordan, Nepal, Netherlands (?), Oman, Saudi Arabia, Spain (?), and the United Kingdom. There are also a few countries that have separate Civil and Royal Anthems: Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Thailand. Finally, there are a few more that mention God but not the ruler: Fiji, Ghana, Hungary, Kenya, Latvia, Libya, New Zealand, Republika Srpska (Serbia), Solomon Islands, Sudan, Suriname, and Tanzania. This data says that "National" Anthems praising a ruler are very rare, even for Kingdoms and Constitutional Monarchies. [[User:GK|gK ¿?]]

In taking a look at national flags, there seem to be very few with big red maple leafs... Since when did we compare national elements to each other? How does this equate with NPOV? The anti-anthem arguments, while spurious, are accurate for what I read in the news (when it comes up 1-2 times every year). The arguments for the anthem are equally spurious, but again-- the whole issue is a tempest in a teapot (IMHO). Basically, it becomes a political football for the nationalists on one side an the commies on the other to jump up and down a bit (and get membership dues from the riled). Perhaps, if anything, the article should scale back these arguments with such a description of the proper relevance of the issue.Davejenk1ns 11:45, 16 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I think that the comment "this sort of praise of a ruler is very natural" is very POV. Since the arguments do come up regularly, I guess that they should probably be kept in the article (I was thinking of suggesting just deleting them). Still, I do think that the arguments do need to be trimmed back. Are there any particular events (holidays, etc.) that seem to trigger the arguments? [[User:GK|gK ¿?]] 12:29, 16 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Regardless of NPOV status, the section was badly written (I didn't look at other sections, so not sure about them), and also the original author has little knowledge in this issue. I rewrote it in such a way that it sounds more familiar and removed a number of irrelevant facts like if the song is about nature or not. Finally, I tried ot make it more clear why the government has got such a backlash. I hope this will help. (Don't forget to copyedit so it reads better.) -- Taku 16:31, Nov 16, 2004 (UTC)

World National Anthem Contest?

Someone please confirm that "World National Anthem Contest in Germany, 1903" bit. All I've found about it on Google is this same page; is there any factual evidence?

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I think that the origin of "Kimi Ga Yo" is in the "Otogi Sōshi".