Once upon a time, two deities, the male Izanagi, and the female Izanami, came down from Takamagahara (The Plains of High Heaven) to a watery world in order to create land. Droplets from Izanagi’s ‘spear’ solidified into the land now known as Japan. Izanami and Izanagi then populated the new land with gods. One of these was Japan’s supreme deity, the Sun Goddess Amaterasu (Light of Heaven), whose great-great grandson Jimmu, was to become the first emperor of Japan, reputedly in 660 BC.
Through the 700s, Japan was much influenced by China, and the Yamato clan set up an imperial court similar to that of China. In the ensuing centuries, the authority of the imperial court was undermined as powerful gentry families vied for control.
At the core of unification was Shintoism, a religion indigenous to Japan and marked by its worship of nature, ancestors, and ancient national heroes. At one time, Shintoism also conferred divine status to the Emperor. Two of Japan's most revered shrines said to have been built in the age of the gods, are the Ise Grand Shrines at Ise and Izumo Taisha Shrine near Matsue.
The flag of Japan is formally called Nisshoki meaning sun-mark flag but it is generally known as Hinomaru meaning “sun discâ€. It has a plain white rectangular filled with a red circle in the center. The red circle represents the sun. This flag is known as the sun-disc flag and was known as the default national flag even before a law regarding a national flag was established.
The Japanese national banner was assigned by their constitution on August 13, 1999. The brief history of the banner has its cause in two orders of the Daij?-kan in the early Meiji Era. The Daij?-kan is an administration association who declared two announcements expressing that the sun plate banner is to be used as a banner for dealerships and the banner used by the naval force.
Japan has been associated with the symbol of the sun since at least the seventh century, and although the exact origin of the flag is not known, most scholars believe it is related to the country's nickname. Other theories include a representation of the sun goddess Amaterasu, from which Japan's Imperial family is said to have descended. A sun flag was used by shogun in the thirteenth century when the Japanese fought the invasion of the Mongolians.
Through the 700s, Japan was much influenced by China, and the Yamato clan set up an imperial court similar to that of China. In the ensuing centuries, the authority of the imperial court was undermined as powerful gentry families vied for control.
At the core of unification was Shintoism, a religion indigenous to Japan and marked by its worship of nature, ancestors, and ancient national heroes. At one time, Shintoism also conferred divine status to the Emperor. Two of Japan's most revered shrines said to have been built in the age of the gods, are the Ise Grand Shrines at Ise and Izumo Taisha Shrine near Matsue.
The flag of Japan is formally called Nisshoki meaning sun-mark flag but it is generally known as Hinomaru meaning “sun discâ€. It has a plain white rectangular filled with a red circle in the center. The red circle represents the sun. This flag is known as the sun-disc flag and was known as the default national flag even before a law regarding a national flag was established.
The Japanese national banner was assigned by their constitution on August 13, 1999. The brief history of the banner has its cause in two orders of the Daij?-kan in the early Meiji Era. The Daij?-kan is an administration association who declared two announcements expressing that the sun plate banner is to be used as a banner for dealerships and the banner used by the naval force.
Japan has been associated with the symbol of the sun since at least the seventh century, and although the exact origin of the flag is not known, most scholars believe it is related to the country's nickname. Other theories include a representation of the sun goddess Amaterasu, from which Japan's Imperial family is said to have descended. A sun flag was used by shogun in the thirteenth century when the Japanese fought the invasion of the Mongolians.
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