A New Era! Goodbye Heisei, hello Reiwa!
The name of the new era is officially announced! 令和 (Reiwa)
Today at about 11:30 a.m. JST the name of the next era was announced. Many Japanese people stopped what they were doing to be a part of this momentous occasion. But what does this mean? What exactly is an era? Let’s dive into it!
Japan has been using their own unique method of counting years based on the reign of the emperor since 645 AD, adapted from the Chinese method of dating using dynasties. This method is called 元号 (gengou). To date, there has been a total of 248 eras. An era begins when a new emperor ascends to the throne and ends with his death (or, in rarer cases, abdication). This time, the emperor is elderly, has health issues, and has asked to step down from the throne. This is the first abdication since 1817.
Currently, it is April 1st on the 31st year of the Heisei Era. That can be written like this:
平成３１年４月１日 (Heisei 31nen, shigatsu tsuitachi)
“Heisei 31” can be abbreviated like this:
What’s more commonly used in Japan, gengou or the western system?
On official documents, it is standard to use gengou. Also, all money uses it to denote the year it was minted. However, nine out of ten Japanese people will tell you that the western system (西暦 seireki) is easier to understand. For this reason, people will often choose to use seireki when talking or in non-official paperwork. You will often commonly see both side-by-side, with one or the other in parentheses.
What are the eras up until now?
Lol I’m not gonna list all 248. Sorry. However, all Japanese people know all the eras from Meiji to present, so I’ll talk about those. The Meiji Era was kicked off by the Bakumatsu, in which the centuries-long system of an all-powerful shogun and largely ceremonial emperor was overthrown, and Japan opened itself up to trade with the rest of the world for the first time in over 200 years. The start of the Meiji Era marks the start of modern Japan, the beginning of a more traditional monarchy (according to western standards), and the adoption of Western technology, education, etc.
25 Jan 1868 – 30 Jul 1912
30 Jul 1912 – 25 Dec 1926
How are era names chosen?
This is actually really interesting. In centuries past, government officials would determine the gengou within 1-2 years of the emperor’s enthronement. The names were chosen using auspicious kanji like 明 (bright), 永 (eternity), 寿 (longevity), 和 (peace, Japan), etc. There were few rules, except that an era name could not be used more than once.
Nowadays, when these dates are used by all Japanese people on a daily basis instead of just by the select elite, several criteria have been established.
The meaning of the kanji must reflect the image of Japan and the way Japan wants to move forward in history. (Nothing negative or unlucky)
The kanji must be easy to write and pronounce. (The 嘉 of 嘉永 [Kaei Era, 1848 - 1855] wouldn’t stand muster today because it’s ridiculous to write.)
It can only be two characters. (In the past, there were some eras with four kanji.)
The starting letter cannot be M, T, S, or H. (This is because the gengou is commonly shortened to “H31" to mean Heisei 31, or 2019. If the next era used the same consonant, we wouldn’t know which era was being referred to.
It cannot be a word already in use. It cannot be used in a surname, company name, or place name of any kind.
A small group of select historians, literary experts, and political scientists (I think this time it was 8 or 10?) sequester themselves away for several long months while they decide the new gengou. The gengou is of the utmost secrecy up until it is announced, so they are completely cut off from the outside world. No phones, no television, no radio, no contact with family, no internet until it is announced. Why is it so secret? Because Japan likes to be spooky and mysterious, I guess. lol I’m honestly not sure, but it’s probably just because that’s how it’s always been done.
Since the emperor’s abdication is scheduled for April 30th, the new gengou was announced one month in advance, today. Because many computer programs and official government/business forms have been pre-made with “Hesei” on them (sort of like how we may sometimes make templates that have 20__ written on them), you can imagine how busy this change will make company and government employees. They will be spending this month creating new templates or getting rubber stamps with the new era on it and stamping over the obsolete Heisei. Poor guys.
Let’s take a look at each kanji.
orders, ancient laws, command, decree
harmony, Japanese style, peace, soften, Japan
When I first saw it, I thought it was something like “decree of peace,” which sounded very…militaristic? I mean, can you command that there be peace? Haha. But then I looked further, and it appears that this is taken from a line of poetry in the Man’yoshu, which is the oldest anthology of Japanese poetry.
Classical: 于時、初春令月、氣淑風和、梅披鏡前之粉、蘭薫珮後之香。
Modern: 時、初春の令月にして、氣淑く風和ぎ、梅は鏡前の粉を披き、蘭は珮後の香を薫す。
Summary: 人々が美しく心を寄せ合う中で文化が生まれ育つ
English Summary: Culture blooms and grows through the beautiful cooperation of the people.
Okay, so it’s not as dour as I thought it was at first haha. It’s actually pretty!
What do you think about the new name? Is it fitting? Do you have any other questions about eras?
