Heroes

Strong tie between the Emperor and the people/天皇陛下と国民の絆

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Outer appearance of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto/京都御所外観

When we compared the style of foreign castles and palaces with the former Imperial Palace located in Kyoto, there was the clear difference, that is,  the height of the castle walls.
It was probably common for foreign kings and emperors to have lived in castles or palaces surrounded by high, thick walls.
Although the emperor in Japan also lived in a palace surrounded by a wall, it was so low that people could easily climb over.   


Why is that possible?
It dates back to the early 5th century when the 16th Emperor Nintoku ruled the country.
He found that there were houses with no cooking smokes and worried that people might have suffered from famine and natural disasters.
So, he decided to lift taking taxes for three years.
Three years passed, and then people became rich enough to have sufficient food.
However, the emperor insisted on keeping tax exemption for another three years.
Due to a lack of tax revenue, even the leaking roofs of the Imperial Palace were not able to be repaired.
When the people saw the emperor’s situation, they felt sorry for him and offered to pay their taxes.
Finally, the emperor decided to resume tax collections.
People who heard that news came to the palace and volunteered to restore the palace as well as work hard to pay taxes.

Emperor Nintoku/仁徳天皇

There was a feeling of caring for each other.
The people never thought the emperor was a person who exploited the people. 
Rather, the people thought that the emperor was a venerable person who prayed for them.
There was no reason for the people to attack the emperor and for the emperor to be afraid of the people, that is to say, the high and thick wall was not necessary.
It was possible that the single low wall worked well as the boundary between the Imperial Palace and people’s residential areas until Emperor Mutsuhito went to Tokyo in 1869.


Do you think it is quite unique to Japan?

【Translation for language learners of either English or Japanese】/英語・日本語学習者向け翻訳 えいご ・  にほんごがくしゅうしゃむ  ほんやく


外国のお城や宮殿と京都御所を比べると、明確な違いがあります、その城壁の高さです。
恐らく外国の王様や皇帝は高くて厚い壁に囲まれた城や宮殿に暮らしていたのは、一般的でしょう。
日本の天皇陛下も、壁に囲まれた御所に住んでおられましたが、人が簡単によじ登れる程低いものでした。

なぜ、そんなことが可能なのでしょうか。
五世紀初めの第十六代仁徳天皇の時代に戻ってみましょう。
仁徳天皇は、民家のかまどの煙が立っていないことに気づき、民は飢饉や災害に苦しんでいるのではないかと心を痛められました。
そこで、三年間免税することを決めたのです。

三年が経ち、人々は十分な食べ物を手にできるだけ富んでいました。
しかし、仁徳天皇は、あと三年間は免税を続けるとおっしゃいました。
税収不足により、雨漏りする皇居の屋根すら修理できませんでした。
民は仁徳天皇の様子を拝見して、申し訳ない氣分となり納税を申し出ました。
遂に、仁徳天皇は徴税を再開することを決断されました。
民はこの知らせを聞いて、皇居に駆けつけ、自主的に皇居の修繕や納税に励みました。

そこには、お互いを思いやる気持ちがありました。
国民は天皇が国民を搾取する人物だとは思っていませんでした。
寧ろ、国民は天皇を自分たちのために祈って下さる尊いお方だと思っていたのです。
したがって、国民が天皇を攻撃する理由はなく、天皇が国民を恐れる理由もありませんでした、つまり、高くて厚い壁は必要ありませんでした。
1869年に明治天皇が東京に行幸されるまで、この一枚の低い塀が皇居と人々の居住区との境界となりえたのです。

日本独特のものだと思いますか。

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Miki

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