In Japan, today is Culture Day, a national holiday.
Although "cultural events" are supposedly held on this day in Japan, in reality, they are mostly at the level of garden party at elementary school or at kindergarten. Low-level events cannot be called "culture" at all.
It makes you wonder, "What kind of 'culture' could there be in a Japanese monkey village?"
Originally, this day was a national holiday as it marked Emperor Meiji's birthday, unrelated to Japanese monkey culture.
It is said that then-Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru was the one who ordered the promulgation of the Japanese Constitution on Emperor Meiji's birthday (although a different "theory" is stated on the Japanese Wikipedia).
As of November 3, 2025, Wikipedia is available in 23 languages, excluding Japanese.
I have excerpted from the Japanese version explanatory parts about historical processes that are not included in the Japanese version, translated them into English, and reproduced them.
The Japanese Wikipedia pages often has poorly written sentences, and the "Culture Day" page is no exception. As a result, the English translation results in many strange sentences.
Furthermore, since Japanese people have poor linguistic ability, particularly speaking, as a nation that does not use language and is not allowed to use it, many of the answers in the English translations are incomprehensible.
Please forgive me for this.
【History】
As a national holiday, since the 1873 (Meiji 6) Daijokan Proclamation (Meiji 6, Daijokan No. 344) establishing annual holidays (Meiji 6, Daijokan Proclamation No. 344) was issued, it was known as Tencho-setsu (Emperor's Day) until 1911 (Meiji 44). Since the 1927 (Showa 2) amendment regarding holidays (March 4, 1927, Imperial Ordinance No. 25) it was known as Meiji-setsu (Meiji Day) until 1947 (Showa 22), marking the birthday of Emperor Meiji.
At the time the National Holidays Act was enacted, Yamamoto Yuzo played a central role in its creation as chairman of the House of Councilors' Cultural Affairs Committee. His memoir, "Until Culture Day Was Created," written after his retirement from politics, contains no mention of Meiji Day.
According to Yamamoto, the Constitution was originally scheduled to be promulgated on November 1, but the date was changed at the last minute to November 3 because the effective date would have coincided with May Day. Yamamoto and other members of the House of Councilors adamantly insisted that November 3 be designated Constitution Memorial Day, but GHQ insisted that November 3 was an absolute no-no.
The House of Representatives agreed to May 3, leaving the House of Councilors isolated. Then, suddenly, GHQ brought up the idea of what a better name for the holiday would be if it wasn't called Constitution Memorial Day.
At a meeting of the House of Councilors' Cultural Affairs Committee on June 18, 1948 (Showa 23), Yamamoto gave the following explanation:[2]
This is an important day when the Constitution declared the renunciation of war, something that no other country has ever done before, and as such, it is a day that Japan will never forget, so we want to preserve it. Renunciation of war meant that we were no longer militaristic, and the declaration was made from a truly peace-loving standpoint. In that sense, we decided to make this day "Culture Day," a day to "love freedom and peace and promote culture."
Furthermore, at the House of Councilors plenary session on July 4 of the same year, the following explanation was given: The day was designated a national holiday not because it was Meiji Day, but because it was the day the new Constitution, particularly Article 9, which renounces war, was promulgated.[1]
The reason November 3rd was designated Culture Day is that it was the birthday of Emperor Meiji and the day on which Meiji Day was celebrated, but in the spirit of the legislation, as you know, this day was the day the new Constitution was promulgated. And so, in this new constitution, we have made a momentous declaration of renunciation of war, something never before made by any country in the world. This is not only an unforgettable day for the Japanese people, but it is also an important day that carries international cultural significance.
And so, in the spirit of promoting peace and culture, we have named this day Culture Day. We could have called it Peace Day, but we have avoided that as we have scheduled the day of the peace treaty to be a separate event.
Regarding the decision to promulgate the Constitution on November 3rd, according to Toshiro Irie, of the three possible dates for the implementation of the Constitution, May 1st, May 3rd, and May 5th, were considered, but May 1st was deemed inappropriate because it was May Day, and May 5th was Boys' Day, a festival for boys, so it was deemed inappropriate for a constitution that guaranteed gender equality, and May 5th was a festival for warriors, so it was deemed inappropriate for a constitution that renounced war. Therefore, by a process of elimination, it was decided to implement the Constitution on May 3rd, and it was decided to promulgate the Constitution six months earlier, on November 3rd. Therefore, the promulgation date was not decided to coincide with Meiji Day[5].
