Reiwa: Japan reveals name of new era ahead of Emperor's abdication
japantimes.co.jp | 2019/04/01
In a much-awaited moment that heralded a new chapter in Japan’s history, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga announced Monday that the new Imperial era will be named Reiwa, taking one of the final steps toward initiating the nation’s first imperial succession in three decades.
Suga, who displayed a placard showing off the kanji characters for the new era, said the name was formulated based on a poem from “Manyoshu,” the oldest existing compilation of Japanese poetry.
{令和} The first character represents “good fortune,” while the second can be translated as “peace” or “harmony.”
This was the first time that the characters chosen were taken from Japanese classical literature. Prior era names had used kanji from Chinese literature.
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