The 'Japanese Spirit' Conveyed Through the Anecdotes of Emperor Nintoku [National History Textbook] Support No. 31
○ The world's largest tomb located in Japan
In the 5th century, keyhole-shaped burial mounds reached their greatest size, and their construction sites shifted from Yamato to Kawachi. The most prominent of these is the Mausoleum of Emperor Nintoku. It boasts the largest area of any tomb in the world.
○ Emperor Nintoku, the 'Sage Emperor' who served as a model for successive emperors
There is an anecdote about Emperor Nintoku in the Nihon Shoki as follows.
It is a bit long, but I will quote the description from the Reiwa Shoseki National History Textbook.
Emperor Nintoku looked out from a high place and noticed that no smoke was rising from the houses. Concerned that the people might be so poor that they could not even light their cooking stoves, the Emperor lamented, 'The five grains are not ripening, and the people are in distress. If this is the state of the capital, the provinces must be in even greater distress,' and issued an imperial decree: 'From now on, for three years, suspend all taxes and labor services to alleviate the suffering of the people.'
From that day on, in the palace, frugality was strictly enforced; clothes and shoes were not replaced until they were worn out and torn, food was not thrown away until it spoiled, the palace fences were not repaired even when broken, and the roof thatch was not replaced even when it came loose. It is said that every time it rained, the roof leaked, wetting their clothes, and the state of the palace was such that one could see the stars from inside the rooms.
Then, three years later, the lives of the people had become prosperous. When the Emperor climbed to the high place, he saw smoke rising incessantly from the cooking stoves. At this time, the Emperor said to the Empress, 'Heaven establishes a ruler for the sake of the people, and for the ruler, the people are the foundation. Therefore, if even one person is starving, the ruler must blame himself.'
At that time, the people of the various provinces, feeling that they had become prosperous, wanted to pay taxes to repair the palace, but the Emperor did not allow it.
Three years later, the Emperor finally ordered the resumption of taxes and labor. Then, without being urged by anyone, the people worked together day and night, and in no time at all, they built a new palace.
Since then, Emperor Nintoku has been praised as a Sage Emperor and has been considered the ideal image of an emperor that successive emperors should emulate. And that sacred virtue has been passed down to the current Imperial Family, approximately 1,600 years later.
From the description in the Nihon Shoki, we can understand how ancient Japanese people viewed Emperor Nintoku.
Regarding this anecdote of the 'People's Cooking Stoves,' former Ambassador to Ukraine Mutsuo Mabuchi states the following.
Emperor Nintoku's words, 'If the people are poor, I am poor. If the people are prosperous, I am prosperous,' can be said to be the Japanese philosophy of absolute equality known as 'Jita Funi' (self and others are not two).
From that, a sense of community leading to racial equality, the liberation of East Asia, and Hakko Ichiu (the world under one roof) was born. Naturally, slavery did not arise.
I think there are some Japanese people who feel a sense of guilt when they are the only ones enjoying a good life.
For example, when a major earthquake occurs, it seems that in disaster-stricken areas around the world, people fight over food, but in Japan, the spirit of altruism (the spirit of Jita Funi) works, and even in the midst of a disaster, food is distributed to those who need it more.
What is a Japanese person?
What is the Japanese spirit that connects to the present day?
Why did our ancestors, the Japanese people, make such historical decisions?
What should Japanese people aim for and how should they live in the future?
When thinking about these things, if you know this anecdote of Emperor Nintoku's 'People's Cooking Stoves,' who was called a Sage Emperor, the answer might become visible.
By the way, regarding this anecdote, some people might suspect that it is a fabrication.
However, to me, the size of Emperor Nintoku's tomb seems to embody the gratitude of the people for the tax cuts.
In other mythologies, such as the Old Testament, there are no episodes where a king lived a frugal life to save his people.
The story of the 'People's Cooking Stoves' is a story I want many Japanese people to know.
I pay my respects to the National History Textbook for including this anecdote.