勤王

• Reading: きんのう
• Romaji: kinno
• Kanji breakdown: 勤 (kin) — serve, devote; 王 (ō) — king, emperor
• Pronunciation: /kin.noː/

Meaning

Loyalty to the emperor; imperial loyalism. The political stance of supporting and serving the emperor's cause.

A noun describing the ideological commitment to imperial authority, central to the political upheaval of the late Edo period. 勤王 (also written 勤皇) was the rallying position of those who sought to restore direct imperial rule and expel foreign influence (尊王攘夷, sonnō jōi). 勤王の志士 (loyalist patriots) played a key role in the Meiji Restoration. Today the term appears primarily in historical contexts.

Examples

1. 幕末の志士の多くは、強い勤王の志を持って京都に集まった。 Many of the patriots of the late Edo period gathered in Kyoto with strong imperial loyalist convictions.
2. 勤王派と佐幕派の対立が、やがて戊辰戦争へと発展した。 The conflict between the imperial loyalist faction and the pro-shogunate faction eventually developed into the Boshin War.
3. 勤王思想の根底には、天皇を中心とした国家観があった。 At the root of imperial loyalist thought lay a national vision centred on the emperor.

Usage Guide

Context: history, politics, Meiji Restoration, literature

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

From 勤 (kin, serve/devote oneself) and 王 (ō, king/emperor). In Japanese context, 王 here refers to the emperor (天皇). The term draws on Confucian concepts of loyal service to one's sovereign.

Cultural Context

Era: Edo–Meiji

Generation: Adults

Social background: Universal