Talk:Humanity Declaration

message: Do Westerners think that Japanese people believed the Emperor was a deity just as some Americans still believe God created all life? --Nanshu 08:20, 15 Apr 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: The short answer would be "yes", and I'm restoring the content you deleted.  Views of Ningen-sengen in Japan and the rest of the world vary greatly, this should be covered in the article. Jpatokal 23:15, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC)

text: Huh? Of course you have to account for Western views, because Japan was under occupation by the West, and the famous paragraph was forced onto the Emperor by the West!  See Dower's Embracing Defeat (敗北を抱きしめて）, quite a famous book in Japan too) for lots of detail. Jpatokal 09:43, 18 Apr 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Western belief

message: This article is about a speech forced on the Emperor by people ignorant of the culture and the language. It should at least expand on the various interpretations of the word Kami, as it can have as little meaning as `above` to as much as `almighty god ruler of heaven an earth`. I do not think the Japanese ever considered the emperor more than the leader and figurehead of his country. The speech was therefore never intended for the Japanese people who could not understand it any more than non-Japanese speakers. It was for western new agencies alone.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.190.216.170 (talk) 11:38, 6 May 2014 (UTC)
thread_title: Meaning of the word Kami

message: This article is heavy on interpretation and light on facts. As a first-time reader of the piece, I haven't really learned anything other than a notion that some wikipedia editors are offended that the declaration happened at all. It should be about the declaration, what was said, why MacArthur wanted the declaration (according to the cited sources, it was drafted by Westerners), and why Hirohito chose his revisions to the final piece; all with appropriate citations. This article should not be a place to debate the relationship between royalty and deities in Japan. Ando228 (talk) 23:10, 17 January 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Interpretations and Facts

message: Could the following sentence please be clarified?
However, the meaning of the exact contents — delivered in stilted, archaic court Japanese — has been the subject of much debate.  In particular, instead of the common word arahitogami for "living god", the more unusual phrase  was used instead.
Clearly what is being discussed here is a word that appears in the declaration.  But does this word appear in the passage quoted earlier?  It appears to be in the Japanese:
but not in the English:
The ties between Us and Our people have always stood upon mutual trust and affection. They do not depend upon mere legends and myths. They are not predicated on the false conception that the Emperor is divine, and that the> Japanese people are superior to other races and fated to rule the world.
Not knowing Japanese, I cannot determine which word(s) in the English translation correspond to .  The only thing I can think of is the word "divine", but in English that is an adjective and hardly synonymous with "living god".  Could this somehow be clarified?  I can see why you might not want to alter the official translation, but maybe you could change "the more unusual phrase  was used instead, as represented above by the word 'divine'," or something like that." — Lawrence King (talk) 00:39, 19 June 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes, the official translation glosses "天皇ヲ以テ現御神" as "the Emperor is divine" , and the mismatch between the two is precisely the reason for the debate. Jpatokal (talk) 06:56, 19 June 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Comparing the text to the cited word 

message: I have removed the following text from the article. My rationale was stated in my edit summary. If any portion of it is to be restored, consensus should be sought on the talk page. The majority of it appears to be misinterpreted content written by and then read by non-specialists.
Japanese manga artist Yoshinori Kobayashi said, "The reason why GHQ recommended the human declaration is because it misunderstood that the Japanese believe the emperor as an <absolute god>." In the late Meiji era, when American missionaries came to Japan, "God" was translated as "Shin" (神, しん) and Japanese people used the ancient "Kami" (カミ) as "God" (神) as well as China.{{Annotation = When Kobayashi describes "China", in this case, Tibet, Uighur, Northeast China (formerly Manchuria), Taiwan] ・ Refers to areas that do not include Inner Mongolia.}} Therefore, the mixture of "Kami" and "God" began around the Meiji era, and GHQ misunderstood that the Japanese believed the emperor to be "God" (absolute god) from this mixture, so he declared humanity to Emperor Showa. However, if I dare to say that, it is a humorous act that makes "the god of cartoons (manga)" Osamu Tezuka and "the god of management" Konosuke Matsushita make a "human declaration". In addition, the emperor used to say that he was "Akitsumikami (currently God)" but never a Western-style "God" (absolute god). In addition, the traditional concept of "Akitsumikami" for the emperor is physiologically as if Osamu Tezuka is called "God of Manga", Konosuke Matsushita is called "God of Management", soccer goalkeeper or baseball pitcher is called "Guardian God". It is similar to the traditional practice of Japanese people, who call extremely precious people "God" (神様), even if they are humans. In addition, it is difficult for Westerners who know only monotheism to understand this kind of feeling of Japanese people.小林:ja:ゴーマニズム宣言スペシャル・天皇論P169〜P173
Hijiri 88 (聖やや) 06:24, 30 March 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Inclusion of dubious statements by mangaka as the final paragraph of the "Japanese view"