八紘一宇

Chinese

		eight	cord for hat; vast	one; single; a one; single; a; (before verbs) as soon as, once; (before a noun) entire (family, etc.)	room; universe
trad. (八紘一宇)		八	紘	一	宇
simp. (八纮一宇)		八	纮	一	宇

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 八紘一宇.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): bāhóngyīyǔ
(Zhuyin): ㄅㄚㄏㄨㄥˊ ㄧㄩˇ

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: bāhóngyīyǔ [Phonetic: bāhóngyìyǔ]
  - Zhuyin: ㄅㄚㄏㄨㄥˊ ㄧㄩˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: bahóngyiyǔ
  - Wade–Giles: pa¹-hung²-i¹-yü³
  - Yale: bā-húng-yī-yǔ
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bahorngiyeu
  - Palladius: бахунъиюй (baxunʺijuj)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pä⁵⁵ xʊŋ³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ y²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

Phrase

八紘一宇

Hakkō ichiu (WWII-era phrase used by the Empire of Japan)

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)

unifying and controlling the whole world as a single house
during World War II, used as a nationalistic slogan to rationalize overseas expansion