A Splendid Peace Indeed,

yesterday in Tokyo,

 the much-anticipated name reveal for Japan’s upcoming imperial era was announced, Reiwa, written 令和 will be the new era, which will officially commence on May 1, 2019 when the emperor abdicates the throne and transitions the role to his son. In the coming days, much will be said and written about the meaning behind the new name but here is one correspondence take on the meaning,

Japan’s new imperial era name: Reiwa

The term Reiwa was derived from the Manyoshu, the oldest existing collection of Japanese poetry dating back to around the mid-700s. The poem describes the scent of plum-blossoms carried by an early Spring breeze and appear in Japanese as: 初春の令月にして、気淑く風和らぎ、梅は鏡前の粉を披、蘭は珮後の香を薫らす

Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum offers the following translation from a 1971 publication:

When with the first month comes the spring,

Thus breaking sprays of plum-blossom,

We’ll taste pleasure to the full

PLANTS IN EARLY JAPANESE POETRY

令 (rei) was taken from 令月, meaning a splendid month. It’s an old character that is unfamiliar to most and has never been used in an imperial era name. Meanwhile, 和 (wa) was taken from 風和らぎ, meaning soft breeze. It’s a very familiar character that’s known to many to mean harmony or peace. In that sense, it’s a very combination of old and new, and is meant to signify splendid peace – 令和. let us all hope it is indeed a splendid peace.