"Kimigayo" is the national anthem of Japan. The lyrics are from a waka poem written by an unnamed author in the Heian period (794–1185), and the current melody was chosen in 1880, replacing an unpopular melody composed by John William Fenton in 1869. While the title "Kimigayo" is usually translated as "His Imperial Majesty's Reign", no official translation of the title or lyrics have been established in law.
Sazare-Ishi pebbles are believed to grow into boulders in some legends. A photo taken at Shimogamo Shrine in Kyōto.
Franz Eckert's notes, presented to the Meiji-Tennō in 1880 (cover design by Curt Netto)
The Act on National Flag and Anthem (Japan) as it appears in the Official Gazette on 15 August 1999
A photo taken on November 6, 2007, as "Kimigayo" was being played before a volleyball tournament in Ōsaka
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European nations tend towards more ornate and operatic pieces, while those in the Middle East, Oceania, Africa, and the Caribbean use a more simplistic fanfare. Some countries that are devolved into multiple constituent states have their own official musical compositions for them ; their constituencies' songs are sometimes referred to as national anthems even though they are not sovereign states.
Early version of the "Wilhelmus" as preserved in a manuscript of 1617 (Brussels, Royal Library, MS 15662, fol. 37v-38r)
Holographic copy of 1847 of Il Canto degli Italiani, the Italian national anthem since 1946
Rouget de Lisle performing "La Marseillaise" for the first time