If the constitution is the very desire of what kind of country we make.

Mari Akasaka

Originally "constitution" means the way something is formed or organized.  The Constitution is not a rule or framework but it should be "a design drawing or blueprint" that shows how the state is built, including "desires and ideals". From a long critical essay, "The Postwar Era of Love And Violence And After That", which the writer says is a record that shows how she struggled to find out about the modern history of her own county. 

November 2, 2015

from “Oriori no Kotoba” by Kiyokazu Washida, The Asahi Shimbun