the eight directions; the whole land; the whole world
Classical Chinese-derived term for the entire world or all directions under heaven. Rare in modern everyday speech; mainly encountered in historical, literary, or ideological contexts, such as the wartime slogan 八紘一宇.
Hakkō ichiu is known as a wartime slogan.
In old texts, hakkō was used as a word meaning the whole realm or the entire world.
From Chinese 八紘 (bāhóng), literally 'eight vast ropes' or 'eight directions', referring to the eight points of the compass and by extension the entire world. The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the spelling is conventionally associated with this meaning.