The meaning of Reiwa [令和] - New era of Japan

On April first (It's not a lie), which marks a new fiscal year in Japan, the name of the country's new era was announced as Reiwa [令和]. In this article, we will understand the true meaning of Reiwa and why this name was chosen.

Japan always changes eras when changing emperors, but this time the Emperor asked to abdicate the throne and the rise of Crown Prince Naruhito will begin on May 1, 2019, ushering in the New Era.

The Emperor of Japan, Akihito, was the first to abdicate the throne in the last 200 years, his departure will be exactly on April 30th. Although the fiscal year starts on April 1st, I thought it was a terrible day to make this announcement.

The era that lasted the name of Akihito is called Heisei [平成], which started on January 8, 1989, and ended on April 30, 2019, totaling a period of about 30 and 31 years.

In total, Japan has had almost 250 eras, which is actually a number greater than the number of Emperors. These eras are called gengo [元号].

The meaning of Reiwa [令和]

According to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the word Reiwa [令和] suggests that culture is born and nurtured when people "beautifully care for one another."

The word Reiwa [令和] is composed of the ideograms:

• [令] meaning command, order, dictation, ancient laws, good fortune, command and decree;
• [和] means harmony, Japanese style, peace, Japan;

In summary, we can understand the 2 ideograms as order and command and peace and harmony. The ideograms are selected from ancient Chinese texts, but this time they were taken from a collection of classical Japanese poetry called Manyoshu.

Manyoshu [万葉集] - Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves, an ancient collection of Japanese poems compiled around 759 during the Nara period. At the end of the article, we will leave links to this book.

Shinzo Abe added that the more than 1200-year-old poem talks about the ume [梅] plum blossoms that come into full bloom signaling the arrival of spring after having survived the bitter cold of winter. He added that each person can look forward to the future and make their own flowers bloom.

Original Poem: 「初春の令月にして、気淑く
く風和ぎ、梅は鏡前の粉を披き、蘭は珮後の香を薫らす」

Romanized poem: Shoshun no reigetsu ni shite kyoku kuyawara gi kyouzen no konawohiraki ranwahaigo no kou wo kaorazu.

Experts say the choice taken from a book of Japanese poetry created a milestone in the history of Japan. This was actually the first time a name was taken out of ancient Chinese books.

Reiwa also carries feelings such as hope, resilience, prosperity, peace, and unity. There is also a homonym of reiwa [例話] which means illustration and anecdote.

Reiwa remember peace and harmony?

Unfortunately, the name peace pronounced Heiwa [平和] cannot be chosen as the name of the new era. There is a rule that era names cannot have the same initials, so names with H, M, T, and S were out of consideration.

Still, the name Reiwa [令和] was not chosen by chance; the aim was to remind of the word Heiwa [平和], which means peace. These similarities are not mere coincidences; the name of the new era may not contain the ideogram [平], but it ends with [和], which means harmony.

The previous name of the era Heisei [平成] that resembled the homonymous word [平静] which means calmness, serenity, and tranquility. Where [平] means peace or full and [成] means to transform, to become, to stay, to grow, to arrive, and to proceed.

Note that if we combine the first character [平] from the previous era and the second character [和] from the new era, we will form the word Heiwa [平和] which means peace and harmony. Not to mention the Showa Era.

The names of previous Japanese eras were "Meiji" (enlightened rule) of Emperor Mutsuhito; "Taisho" (great legitimacy) of Emperor Yoshihito and "Showa" (Peace and Harmony), 1926.

How is the name of the new Reiwa era chosen?

The name of Japan eras needs to be composed of two Chinese characters, be easy to read and write. It is also recommended not to use a previously used combination or one that is in common use.

Currently the name must be appropriated with the ideals of the nation, some academics and bureaucrats draw up a list of suggestions and the cabinet makes the final decision.

Nowadays, only about 34% of people use the gengo [元号] or the era counting in their daily lives. Japan is globalized, and many question the need to use the era and period system.

What did people think of the name Reiwa? The majority approved the choice, but some questioned the choice of the character [令] which means order.

What did you think of the new era name Reiwa [令和]? If you liked this article, don't forget to share it with your friends and leave your comments.