Foreign Student (hereinafter FS): February 11 is National Foundation Day and a public holiday, but when was Japan actually founded? Teacher (hereinafter T): In ancient times the concept of borders didnʼt exist. As time went on, human beings found that living in a group was safer. Before long, communities developed into nations. However, because of disagreements between influential individuals and invasions from other countries, rulers changed with the times. The majority designate their national foundation day as the day on which the current regime founded that countryʼs government. National foundation days are dierently named depending on the nation; for instance, for the USA, Independence Day was in 1776, while in China the Founding of the Peopleʼs Republic of China was in 1949. As Japan has never been occupied by a foreign country, it is not possible to specify the date the nation was founded. FS: Well then, why was February 11 designated to be National Foundation Day. T: In 1873 during the Meiji era, the government decided to designate this day as National Foundation Day (Kigensetsu). Since ancient times, Japan has been governed by the emperor, who is considered to be the direct descendent of the sun goddess Amaterasu. However, the shogun, who, as the leader of the samurai was originally meant to guard the emperor, became Japanʼs de facto ruler in the 12th century. In the late 19th century a faction that wanted to restore the emperor to the heart of politics fought and defeated the shogunʼs army. This was the Meiji Restoration, which laid the groundwork for Japanʼs rise as a modern nation. By establishing Kigensetsu, the new government aimed to clarify the doctrine that the emperor had a divine right to rule. The date comes from February 11, 660 BC; the day it was said that the first Emperor Jimmu was enthroned. This is based on an account written in the 8th century in the Nihon Shoki (the chronicles of Japan). However, historically, the existence of the Emperor Jimmu is considered to be unlikely. FS: Why did “National Foundation Day” replace Kigensetsu? T: After Japan was defeated in World War Two the USA was afraid that the Japanese peopleʼs worship of their emperor would be misused again and so they had the idea of abolishing Kigensetsu. Several years later there was increased demand among citizens for a new national foundation day. There were a variety of different opinions from scholars and members of the public over when that day should be. The debate lasted for more than 10 years, but in the end the majority eventually decided that it would be February 11, the same day as Kigensetsu. However, there was strong opposition to making national foundation day the same as Kigensetsu because pre-war negative associations about the worship of the emperor remained. The matter was settled when “Kenkoku Kinen no Hi” not “Kenkoku Kinenbi” became a public holiday in 1966. In other words, by inserting “no” (of), it became a day for the nation of Japan to celebrate its own foundation. You could say this is an example of a typical Japanese solution; solving a problem by taking dissenting opinions into account.