is an annual public holiday in Japan celebrating the birthday of the reigning

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

, which is currently 23 February as Emperor Naruhito was born on that day in 1960. It is enforced by the Emperor Abdication Law passed in 2017.

History of holiday

Ancient – medieval

The name of is ancient, and derived from the birthday of

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (; 8 September 685 – 3 May 762), personal name Li Longji, was an Emperor of China, emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, reigning from 712 to 756. His reign of 44 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. Throu ...

. It was changed to in 729 in the first year of

Tenpyō was a after '' Jinki'' and before ''Tenpyō-kanpō.'' This period spanned the years from August 729 through April 749. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * 729 : The new era name was created to mark an event or series of events. The p ...

, but it was renamed to in the 7th year of Tenpyo (748 in the first year of Katsuho) 19 years later. is taken from

Laozi Laozi (), also romanized as Lao Tzu #Name, among other ways, was a semi-legendary Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosopher and author of the ''Tao Te Ching'' (''Laozi''), one of the foundational texts of Taoism alongside the ''Zhuangzi (book) ...

's . The earliest historical record of an Emperor's birthday celebrations relates to the 6th year of Hōki in Emperor Kōnin's reign (775 CE). The Emperor's birthday was already celebrated during the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

. This is recorded in the record of Hōki 10 (779). It is recorded that:

This day being the ''Tencho'', a great drinking feast was held for all the ministers, fine ''sake'' that are favoured y the Emperorwere presented. After the feast, stipends were awarded. ()

An edict dated the 11th day of the Ninth month is also recorded:

The 13th day of the Tenth birthday being Our birthday, each year on this day, it is both emotional and celebratory. On this day, all the monks and nuns of the monasteries must on this day turn the sutras and perform the rituals, and no animals should be butchered throughout the country, and all of the officials of inner and outer courts are awarded feasts for the day. The day will be called ''Tenchosetsu''. Thus the moral merit is used to repay the deceased imperial mother, and the celebration is spread throughout the land. ()

There is also a description in the as a record of the

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

Modern – contemporary

Flag-for-the-Emperor-Birthday-Japan-Tenchosetsu-Toyohara-Kunichika

On 26 August 1868 (11 October 1868), a decree by the Daijo-kan said, "22 September, the Emperor's Birthday is equivalent to the Emperor's Birthday. On 22 September (6 November 1868), the Emperor's Birthday was celebrated as a national holiday. In the 2nd year of the Meiji era (1869), the ministers of each country were invited to the Enryokan to receive a drink, and in the 3rd year of the Meiji era (1870), various officials, non-employees, Kazoku, etc. worshiped. The ministers and below received a feast at each ministry, and royal gun salute was shot on various warships. The ritual of the Emperor's Festival was completed in 1872, in the same year of the Emperor's Birthday. Until 1948, it was called . ''Tenchōsetsu'' paralleled , "Chikyū Festival", which referred to the

Empress consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but historically she does not formally ...

's birthday. The two names originate from the

idiom An idiom is a phrase or expression that largely or exclusively carries a Literal and figurative language, figurative or non-literal meaning (linguistic), meaning, rather than making any literal sense. Categorized as formulaic speech, formulaic ...

in , borrowed from

Lao Tzu Laozi (), also romanized as Lao Tzu #Name, among other ways, was a semi-legendary Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosopher and author of the ''Tao Te Ching'' (''Laozi''), one of the foundational texts of Taoism alongside the ''Zhuangzi (book) ...

's ''

Tao Te Ching The ''Tao Te Ching'' () or ''Laozi'' is a Chinese classic text and foundational work of Taoism traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship and date of composition and compilation are debated. The oldest excavated por ...

'' during the reign of Emperor Kōnin (708–782 CE), meaning "The sky and the earth, the universe is eternal," and expressed a hope for the eternal longevity of the reigning Emperor. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1948, the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

renamed it to and made the day a public holiday. Under the law, when the throne passes to a new Emperor, the

National Diet , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

must convene and change the holiday date's to that of the new Emperor's birthday. Thus, there exists a small chance that the former Emperor's birthday may come before the change can be made. During the reign of Emperor

Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...

(the

Shōwa era The was a historical period of History of Japan, Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) from December 25, 1926, until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death on January 7, 1989. It was preceded by the T ...

, 1926–1989), the Emperor's birthday was observed on 29 April. That date remained a public holiday, posthumously renamed Greenery Day in 1989 and

Shōwa Day is a public holiday in Japan held on April 29. It honors the birthday of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito), the reigning emperor from 1926 to 1989. Shō (昭) means "shining" or "bright", and wa (和) means "peace", signifying the "enlightened peace" ...

in 2007. On 30 April 2019, the 125th Emperor

Akihito Akihito (born 23 December 1933) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 1989 until 2019 Japanese imperial transition, his abdication in 2019. The era of his rule was named the Heisei era, Hei ...

abdicated as per the

Constitution of Japan The Constitution of Japan is the supreme law of Japan. Written primarily by American civilian officials during the occupation of Japan after World War II, it was adopted on 3 November 1946 and came into effect on 3 May 1947, succeeding the Meij ...

and in accordance with the Imperial Code Special Law Concerning the Retirement of the Emperor. Because

's birthday is December 23, and his successor

Naruhito Naruhito (born 23 February 1960) is Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne following 2019 Japanese imperial transition, the abdication of his father, Akihito, on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era. He is the 126th monarch, ...

's is 23 February, 2019 was the first year since the introduction of the Holidays Act in 1948 that there were no Emperor's Birthday celebrations. Because of concerns related to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the public celebrations for

's birthday were cancelled in 2020 (

Reiwa is the current and 232nd era of the official calendar of Japan. It began on 1 May 2019, the day on which Emperor Akihito's eldest son, Naruhito, ascended the throne as the 126th Emperor of Japan. The day before, Emperor Akihito abdicated ...

2), 2021 (

3) and 2022 (

4). However, the emperor addressed and thanked the public for their wishes in a press conference and a recorded video message 2020 and 2021 respectively.

Observance

Many citizens write letters to the emperor during the week leading up to his birthday, and display the Japanese flag on the day. On the Emperor's Birthday, a public ceremony takes place at the

Tokyo Imperial Palace is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda district of the Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda ward of Tokyo and contains several buildings including the where the Emperor h ...

, where the gates are opened (the palace is usually off-limits to the public). Usually only the surrounding park can be visited. The emperor, accompanied by the

empress The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

, and several other members of the imperial family appear on a palace balcony to acknowledge the birthday greetings of well-wishers waving Japanese flags. This event is called . Only on this occasion, and during New Year's celebrations on 2 January, are members of the public permitted to enter the inner grounds of the palace. The crowd must wait in an orderly manner in a pre-established area between the main road and the building: at a later time the police accompany visitors, guiding them from the square in front of them to the inside of the building. Admission is free and those who wish are given a small Japanese flag. The area in front of the reception pavilion is called Chōwaden. Visitors wait in line next to the Nijubashi bridge, at around 9:30 in the morning the police make a first group of people cross the bridge and manage the entrance to the square below the balcony. At around 10:20 am, the emperor, accompanied by the empress, the heirs to the throne and their respective spouses, looks out on the balcony and the crowd below wishes the emperor long life by repeating the word " banzai" in chorus which means "ten thousand years" (for the emperor). On the day of the holiday, the Imperial Palace complex and the surrounding streets are guarded by police, which, according to tradition, hand out small flags of Japan at the gate for free. Citizens may also bring their own if they wish. Once his thanks and public greetings are concluded, the crowd begins to wave flags and the Imperial Family retreats inside the palace. The ceremony lasts three minutes in all, after which the group of subjects is guided outside, and a second group is allowed to enter. This operation is repeated several times, so that as many citizens as possible can pay homage to the emperor. The same evening, national television broadcasts a special during which the emperor addresses a few words of thanks to the country. The crowd that attends the ceremony usually consists of adults and elderly people. Among the crowd, there may also be groups of foreign tourists who organize palace visits and enjoy the event.

Song

"The Emperor's Birthday ()" () (lyrics Mayori Kurokawa, composer Yoshisa Oku) was enacted as "a holiday festival date song" in 1893 ( Meiji 26). These are the lyrics of the song: , The Emperor's Birthday, 1893

List of emperors' birthdays

References

External links

The Imperial Household Agency
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*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emperor's Birthday, The Public holidays in Japan February observances Birthdays of heads of state Annual events in Japan 1948 establishments in Japan