Humanity Declaration (人間宣言, Ningen-sengen?) is an imperial rescript issued by the Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) as part of a New Year’s statement on January 1, 1946 at the request of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers. In the rescript, which follows the Five Charter Oath of 1868, the Emperor denied the concept of his being a living god, which would eventually lead to the promulgation of the new Constitution, under which the Emperor is “the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people.”
The rescript is not officially titled, but apart from its popular name, “Humanity Declaration” or “Ningen-sengen”, it is also known as Imperial Rescript on the Construction of a New Japan (新日本建設に関する詔書, Shin Nippon Kensetsu ni Kan suru Shōsho?) and Imperial Rescript on National Revitalization (年頭、国運振興の詔書, Nentō, Kokuun Shinkō no Shōsho?).
Read more about Humanity Declaration: The Declaration, Interpretation
Famous quotes containing the words humanity and/or declaration:
“If only nature is real and if, in nature, only desire and destruction are legitimate, then, in that all humanity does not suffice to assuage the thirst for blood, the path of destruction must lead to universal annihilation.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
“Ignorance, forgetfulness, or contempt of the rights of man are the only causes of public misfortunes and of the corruption of governments.”
—French National Assembly. Declaration of the Rights of Man (drafted and discussed Aug. 1789, published Sept. 1791)