国体(こくたい)

こくたい
noun
national polity; National Sports Festival
1. national polity; national structure; form of government
The fundamental character or political structure of a nation. Historically significant in prewar Japan as an ideological concept centering on the emperor system.
国体(こくたい)の護持(ごじ)を主張(しゅちょう)する。
To advocate for preserving the national polity.
戦前(せんぜん)は国体(こくたい)という概念(がいねん)が政治(せいじ)の中心(ちゅうしん)にあった。
Before the war, the concept of national polity was at the center of politics.
終戦(しゅうせん)時(じ)、政府(せいふ)は国体(こくたい)の維持(いじ)を最優先(さいゆうせん)条件(じょうけん)とした。
At the end of the war, the government made preserving the national polity its top priority condition.
2. National Sports Festival
Short for 国民体育大会 (National Sports Festival), an annual multi-sport competition held in a different prefecture each year. Renamed to 国民スポーツ大会 in 2024, but the abbreviation 国体 remains in common use.
国体(こくたい)に出場(しゅつじょう)する。
To compete in the National Sports Festival.
来年(らいねん)の国体(こくたい)は地元(じもと)の県(けん)で開催(かいさい)される。
Next year's National Sports Festival will be held in our home prefecture.
高校(こうこう)時代(じだい)に国体(こくたい)の代表(だいひょう)選手(せんしゅ)に選(えら)ばれた。
In high school, I was selected as a representative athlete for the National Sports Festival.

This word has two very different meanings depending on context. Sense 1 (国体(こくたい) = national polity) is a historically loaded term, central to prewar Japanese ideology emphasizing the emperor as the foundation of the state. It appears frequently in discussions of Japanese wartime history. Sense 2 is an abbreviation of 国民(こくみん)体育(たいいく)大会(たいかい), Japan's annual national athletic competition held since 1946. Context usually makes the intended meaning clear: political/historical contexts point to sense 1, sports contexts to sense 2.

general
Added 2026.3.21 18:56 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
18000/18344_kokutai