八紘一宇

Japanese

Kanji in this term
八	紘	一	宇
はち > はっ Grade: 1	こう Jinmeiyō	いち Grade: 1	う Grade: 6
on'yomi

Etymology

八紘 (hakkō, “eight corners”) + 一宇 (ichiu, “one roof”) ≅ “the eight corners of the earth [united] under a single roof”

The concept originates from a passage in the Nihon Shoki (720): 兼六合以開都、 掩八紘一而為宇, in which Emperor Jimmu declares Kashihara to be the capital of the lands. Originally limited to context of Japan as a whole, but in 1903 Tanaka Chigaku first used it in reference to world unification. Widely used around 1937 during the Sino-Japanese War, the phrase was later included in the July 26, 1940 national policy known as Kihon Kokusaku Yōkō (基本国策要綱) during the Fumimaro Konoe administration.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hakkoː itɕiu/

Noun

八(はっ)紘(こう)一(いち)宇(う) • (hakkō ichiu) 

1. unifying and controlling the whole of world as a single house
2. during World War II, used as a nationalistic slogan to rationalize oversea expansion