Which country celebrates National Foundation Day on 11th February, the anniversary of the coronation of the first emperor, Jimmu, in 660BC?
National Foundation Day National Foundation Day The origin of National Foundation Day is New Year's Day in the traditional lunisolar calendar. On that day, the foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu was celebrated based on "Nihonshoki", which states that Emperor Jimmu ascended to the throne on the first day of the first month. In the Meiji period, the government of Meiji Japan designated the day as a national holiday because of the modernization of Japan by the Meiji Restoration. Under the "bakufu", people in Japan had worshiped the emperors as living gods, but regional loyalties were just as strong as national loyalties with
Emperor Jimmu Restoration. In 1873, a holiday called "Kigensetsu" was established on February 11. The holiday commemorated the anniversary of Jimmu's ascension to the throne 2,532 years earlier. After World War II, the holiday was criticized as too closely associated with the "emperor system." It was suspended from 1948 to 1966, but later reinstated as National Foundation Day. Between 1873 and 1945 an imperial envoy sent offerings every year to the supposed site of Jimmu's tomb. In 1890 Kashihara Shrine was established nearby, on the spot where Jimmu was said to have ascended to the throne. Before and during World War II,