Tensei Jingo (天声人語, literally, ''the voice of heaven is the voice of people'') is the title of a column which appears on the front page of the ''

Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...

'', a Japanese newspaper. It is a translation of the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

phrase as ''Vox Populi, Vox Dei'' ("The voice of the people is the voice of the gods"). The column is limited to 607 Japanese characters.

History

The column first appeared in 1904 in the Osaka ''

''. It was named by Nishimura Tenshu, the chief editor of Osaka Asahi Shimbun. The origin of the name is not clear, though it might be the translation of "Vox Populi, Vox Dei", or "the voice of the people is the voice of god". In 1913, the Tokyo ''Asahi Shimbun'' started a similar column named The until the end of August 1940. On the next day, both offices of the ''Asahi Shimbun'' changed the name of the column to The and then on January 1, 1943, The . On September 6, 1945, the title of the column returned to ''Tensei Jingo''.

Characteristics

While appearing

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. O ...

, the columns are actually written by professional newspaper reporters. The column often reflects on recent news, or other contemporary matters such as a change of seasons. It tends to find parallels or explanation in poetry, literature or folk customs. It may contradict the editorial opinion of the paper. Translations in English are published daily by the newspaper's online team https://www.asahi.com/sp/ajw/ . Books containing the English translations are published for readers in Japan to practise their English. Special triangular "tenseijingo" pencils are sold in some stationery stores in Japan. The column started under strong influence of English essay literature at the beginning of the 20th century. The ''Asahi Shimbun''

advertised Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

that short essays in the ''Tensei Jingo'' were frequently cited in entrance examinations to universities. Recently, ''Tensei Jingo'' transcription note was published.This means that there are many fans of Tensei Jingo who want to improve their short essays in Japanese. At any rate, the Tensei Jingo has profound effects on Japanese people.

Writers

The writers were top journalists of the ''Asahi Shimbun'' at that time. *

Ryuichi Kaji was a Japanese journalist and political critic. Life He was born in Hyogo Prefecture. Having graduated from the Department of Law of Tokyo University, he joined the East-Asiatic Commercial Intelligence Institute at Tokyo of the South Manchuria ...

– Between September 1945 and April 1946 *

Hideo Aragaki was a Japanese newspaperman and a columnist in the Showa era. He was known for writing essays in the Tensei Jingo of Asahi Shimbun for 17 years. Life Ariyama Teruo, ''Aragaki Hideo'' in Kokushi Daijiten, 15, Yoshikawa Kobunkan, Born in 1903 in ...

– Between May 1946 and April 1963 *

Tokuro Irie was a Japanese journalist, newscaster and essayist. Life *Graduated from Tochiku High School in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, and from Tokyo University. He began working for the Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper company. He was dispatched to Nomo ...

– Between May 1963 and April 1970 *Keiichiro Hikita – Between May 1970 and February 1973 *Junro Fukaya – Between February 1973 and November 1975 *Kazuo Tatsuno – Between December 1975 and August 1988 *Kensaku Shirai – Between August 1988 and August 1995 *Wataru Kurita – Between August 1995 and March 2001 *Tamio Oike – Between April 2001 and March 2004 *Ikuo Takahashi – Between April 2004 and March 2007 *Shinji Fukushima – Started April 2007 *Tadashi Tominaga – Started April 2007

Other Japanese newspapers

Other Japanese newspapers have similar columns, for instance ''

Yomiuri Shimbun The (lit. ''Reading-selling Newspaper'' or ''Selling by Reading Newspaper'') is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are t ...

'' has a column (Henshū Techō, 編集手帳), ''

Mainichi Shimbun The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...

'' has a column (Yoroku, 余録), ''

Tokyo Shimbun ''The Tokyo Shimbun'' (東京新聞, ''Tōkyō Shinbun'', literally ''Tokyo Newspaper'') is a Japanese newspaper published by The Chunichi Shimbun Company. The group publishes newspapers under the brand name of The Tokyo Shimbun in the Tokyo Metr ...

'' has a column (Hissen, 筆洗) and ''

Nihon Keizai Shimbun ''The Nikkei'', also known as , is the flagship publication of Nikkei, Inc. (based in Tokyo) and the world's largest financial newspaper, with a daily circulation exceeding 1.73 million copies. The Nikkei 225, a stock market index for the Tok ...

'' has a column (Shunjū, 春秋).

Footnotes

References

*Akio Namekata ''Taishita Mondaija Naiga... English column masterpieces'' 2009, Iwanami Shoten, p. 226 *''Asahi Shimbun'' featuring Tensei Jingo on February 4, 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:TENSEIJINGO Asahi Shimbun Company Mass media in Japan Mass media in Osaka 1904 establishments in Japan Publications established in 1904 Japanese language