The term Rising Sun first came into the English language in 1839 when C.W. King & G. T. Lay spoke about the people of the Rising Sun in their book, “Claims of Japan & Malaysia upon Christendom”. But why do they use this term? What is the connection between Japan and the Sun?
Your first thought may be of the Japanese flag with its red sun on a white background; it is simple yet, at times, highly controversial. The sun motif has existed throughout Japanese history with the first recordings of it in the court of Emperor Mommu in 701. However, it was because of the use of this motif by the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Meiji Restoration that it became synonymous with national pride and devotion to the emperor, then with aggression and imperialism during the Second Sino-Japanese war. When the motif was officially adopted as the national flag of Japan in 1999, China and South Korea, both formerly occupied by the Empire of Japan, felt that this signaled Japan’s step towards re-militarisation.
Despite this history of the sun motif, it still does not explain the connection of Japan with the Sun. Perhaps it can be explained by the two characters in the word Nippon (Japan in Japanese) which translate as Origin of the Sun – 日本. It answers the question partly, but actually, we must go all the way back to Japan’s ancient mythology and to a goddess named Amateresu – goddess of the sun and universe. Her name derives from Amateru which means Shining in Heaven and it was traditionally believed that the Emperors of Japan were her direct descendants. The Meiji and Taisho emperors reigned as divine rulers in human form, but during the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II Emperor Hirohito was made to publicly proclaim that he was not divine and must not be worshipped as such.
This simple term, Rising Sun, has a back story that takes us from Japan’s ancient mythology to its modern history – from days of glory to days of national despair; and there are not many other flags that can be so emotive. No matter whether these emotions are positive or negative, it is undeniable that the history of this term is fascinating.
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