In Japan, February 11 is a holiday celebrating the birth of the Japanese state. But this was not always the case. Originally, this day commemorates the accession to the throne of the first emperor, Jinmu, in the year 660 BC. This is the occasion to look at this key figure of Japanese history. Who was he really? Is his story more based on facts or on mythological tales? Was he a warrior leader or a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu? Not easy to untangle all this when history and mythology are mixed!
This date is also the occasion to come back on the origin of this holiday, the first of the year after New Year in Japan, from its creation to its ephemeral disappearance, as well as its return in the 60s.
SUMMARY:
00:00 An ordinary holiday?
00:30 Credits
00:51 The beginnings of Japanese history
02:27 A descendant of Amaterasu
03:40 Once upon a time in Kyûshu...
04:17 The journey to the East
04:53 Jinmu VS Nagasune
05:13 Reasons for a defeat
05:59 Yatagarasu, the three-legged raven
06:41 The conquest of Yamato
07:12 Jinmu, first emperor of Japan
08:42 The Emperor? Don't know him!
09:28 Edo: Emperor VS Shogun
10:21 Meiji: "the law is me!"
11:31 The Kigensetsu (紀元節): long live the emperor!
14:00 The Emperor strikes back!
15:21 For or against the Kenkoku Kinenbi (建国記念日)
16:25 Don't leave just yet!
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