2020 is finally here and like every year, Japan has elected the “Kanji of the year” and for 2019 the choice was very logical.

December and January always force us to do some retrospectives on the year that just passed and the choice for Kanji of the year is not less worthy.
Administered by the Kyoto-based Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, a single Japanese character is chosen by open ballot. The final choice is meant to embody a deep significance for the year as it comes to a close.

This yearly tradition is announced by Seihan Mori, the head abbot of Kyoto’s historical Kiyomizudera Temple. This is not a normal announcement, in fact, the head abbot writes the kanji with a giant calligraphy brush while standing on the temple’s balcony.

This time, 216,325 votes were cast, and the winner kanji of the year is 令 pronounced rei.

Rei means “order” (in the sense of orderly control), however, in some contexts it can also mean “beautiful”. This kanji has become famous during 2019 not just as the winner choice, but also when Reiwa, Japan’s new imperial era, was announced. The Japanese government clarified that the meaning of this new era is “beautiful harmony”

令/rei received 30,427, roughly 14% of the total votes. Considering that the Japanese language has more than 2100 regular-use kanji, this is still a very important result for any single character. Second-place was occupied by 新/shin, meaning “new,” and third-place 和/wa, which means “harmony” and is the second kanji in Reiwa.

2019 was a very important year for Japan since it marked the change in the imperial era since 1989. The selection of 令/rei isn’t much of a surprise. However, it reflects a happier mindset than the Kanji of the Year in 2018 (“disaster”), 2017 (“north,” in reference to North Korean missile launches) and 2014 (“tax,” the result of an unpopular sales tax increase that year).

Hopefully, 令和/rei will be not just a reminder of the significant changes of 2019, but also a ray of hope that more beautiful things are coming in 2020.

And with this, we want to wish a Happy New Year to all our readers, your families and loved ones. 明けましておめでとうございます。

Sources: ©SoraNews24
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