International Programs

International To understand how the 1947 Constitution came into existence, one must first have a firm grasp on the history and culture of Japan. The Japanese people believe in a mythical beginning, as do most peoples with a beginning long ago. The history of Japan begins with a divine pair of siblings, a sister and a brother, who gave birth to the island of Japan by stirring the ocean with a long thin stick. As the sister removed the stick from the water, four droplets fell into the water, and formed the four main islands of Japan. This same divine couple created a number of deities, the most important being the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu. As time went by, the Grandson of the Sun Goddess, Ninigi, descended to the earth in Kyushu, the southern most island of Japan. It was Ninigi's grandson, Jimmu, who started the Great Imperial line in Japan, starting in 660 B.C.. These mythical beginnings of Japan are the basis of what the Japanese people believe in, and the foundation of all forms of government until after World War II.
Much of the early history of Japan has been recorded by the Chinese, and was later pieced together with the help of archeological finds, however, it is still sketchy. The Japanese did not have the skill of written language until they borrowed it from the Chinese in the late seventh century A.D. The first works written by Japanese authors were of the utmost importance, they are Record of Ancient Matters (Kojiki), compiled in 712, and the History of Japan (Nihon shoki or Nihongi), compiled in 720. The authors of these works pulled together myths and traditions and displayed them in a way to enrich the standing of the ruling family and portray a long cohesive rule comparable to that of China. In 589 the Sui Dynasty in China reunited the country after three and a half centuries of dissension. Seeing the increasing strength in China under the T'ang Dynasty, Prince Shotoku, the regent of Japan, was determined to mold Japanese society and government using a Chinese model.