Japan is an island state in the Pacific Ocean, whose inhabitants are the first on the planet to celebrate a new day. All of Japan's neighbors are located to the west, so the first mention of Japan in a Chinese book describes it as a country in the east, from where the sun rises.
An ancient legend about the creation of Japan says that the divine brother and sister Izanagi and Izanami descended from heaven to the blue expanses of waters along the rainbow. The water merged with the sky and was indistinguishable from it. Then Izanagi struck the water with his sword. A string of drops rolled down from the blade of the sword, turning into a curved chain of islands above the water. Obviously, the sword was rather big, since there were almost seven thousand islands in the Japanese archipelago.
Through the mountains to dawn
At the dawn of our era, a small island country called Wo and was in complete vassalage to China. In Japan, there was a period of feudal fragmentation and civil strife.
Gradually, one of the warring clans, Yamato, became stronger than the others and began to unite the feudal lords under his rule. Fragmentation was replaced by centralization, and with it culture and prosperity. By the 5th century AD, the word "Yamato" (translated as "the path of the mountains") had become synonymous with Japan.
Around the year 600, the Japanese prince-regent Shotoku wrote in a letter to the Chinese emperor: "From the land where the sun rises to the land where the sun sets." The Chinese did not like this treatment, as it indicated that Japan was chosen by the sun itself.
According to legend, the first Japanese emperor was a direct descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu. She inherited the land from her parents Izanagi and Izanami and sent her grandson Ninigi to rule the Japanese islands. The emperor bore the title Tenno, which means “Heavenly Master”.
When a land reform was carried out, which declared the entire land the property of the imperial family, Japan became officially known as the Land of the Rising Sun. China could only come to terms with this name, as well as with the independence of Japan.
Happy future of a small country
The self-name of Japan is "Nippon" or "Nihon". Both of these options are spelled the same and consist of two hieroglyphs: sun and root, beginning. The literal translation of this phrase sounds like "the beginning of the sun", "the root of the sun", that is, sunrise. In a poetic arrangement - the land of the rising sun. With the advent of the daylight, the Japanese associated future happiness and prosperity, so this name of the country emphasized its happy future.
The chrysanthemum, whose arrangement resembles the rays of the sun, has become a symbol of Japan. This flower is depicted on the cover of passports, on the state seal and is the mark of the imperial house of Japan. The hieroglyph "kiku" has two meanings: chrysanthemum and sun. The national flag of Japan depicts a red circle on a white background, representing the rising sun.
