Gengo - Japanese Calendar

"Reiwa" is a name that will be on the lips of most Japanese for years to come. It's the name the Japanese government selected for the new era which is set to start when Crown Prince Naruhito becomes the new Emperor on 01 May 2019. The announcement was highly anticipated because it will define the years ahead, as well as play a daily role in people's lives. Japan's era names were taken from ancient Chinese texts in the past, but "Reiwa" is derived from the Manyoshu, the oldest anthology of Japanese poetry.

After some delay, Japan's Foreign Ministry instructed the country's ambassadors across the world to explain that the newly announced Imperial era name "Reiwa" means "beautiful harmony." Some foreign media outlets, including the BBC, reported that "Rei" can include meanings of "order" or "commands," if translated. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, "We'll work towards getting the new era name widely accepted and deeply rooted in the lives of the Japanese people." Suga saif the new name was taken from Manyoshu, the oldest existing anthology of Japanese poetry. It comes from a passage that can be translated as: "In early spring, the air is fresh and the wind is calm. The plum flowers are blooming like a beautiful woman applying white powder in front of the mirror. And the fragrance of flowers is like that of robes scented with incense."

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the name represents the hope that every Japanese person will achieve their aspirations just like a plum flower flourishing after a severe winter. He said, "Culture is nurtured when people beautifully bring their hearts together. REIWA has that meaning."

"Reiwa" is the first era name to include the character "rei." The second character, "wa," has been used 19 times before. The names with this character include "Showa" and "Wado." The word "Rei" can have meanings related to "order" but also "auspicious" and "Wa" is usually translated as "peace" or "harmony." The new name is made up of the two characters for "order" or "command," and "peace" and "harmony."

"Eiko," "Kyuka," "Koshi," "Banna," and "Banpo" were also considered. "Eiko" was sourced from classical Japanese literature, while "Koshi" was derived from both Japanese and Chinese classics. They are "The Chronicles of Japan" and "The Classic of Poetry" from "The Four Books and Five Classics," a collection that contains the basic teachings of Confucius. Chinese classics are included in the sources for "Kyuka," "Banna" and "Banpo."

The traditional Japanese calendar is based entirely on the reigns of its emperors. In Japan, AD 1999 is Year "Heisei 11," and this "11" means that it is the eleventh year of the "Heisei" Era, the reign of Emperor Akihito. Though this system is not specifically designated as the "official calendar," it is used by most Japanese people just as commonly as the Gregorian calendar. And under the law, official government documents must be dated with this system. This is the calendar system called Gengo. Telling the year by using an era system was a common tradition of most East-Asian countries. Japan, which had been using the traditional Chinese zodiac system, started using its own Gengo system in 645.

In recent years, one era name is used during an emperor's reign, but in earlier periods, the names changed more frequently such as after a natural disaster. As many as eight era names were used during the reign of one emperor. The rule of having one "Gengo" for one emperor was adopted with the start of the Meiji era in 1868. It was written in the Imperial House Law of the time.

As of the "Meiji" Era, which started in 1868 with the imperial succession of Mutsuhito, each emperor's reign constituted one Gengo: The year an emperor ascends the throne is the first year of a new era, and the era stays the same as long as the emperor reigns. For instance, Hirohito ascended the throne on December 26, 1926, and that day, the new era, "Showa," started; "Showa" lasted for 62 years and two weeks, until his death on January 7, 1989. It was also decided that, after the death of an emperor, he would be referred to by the name of the Gengo he used, not by his own name. So today, Hirohito is known to the Japanese as the Showa Emperor.

The previous Gengo, "Heisei," meaning "Achieving Peace," was unveiled only six hours after the death of Hirohito. The new year, "Heisei 1," officially began at midnight, January 8. Therefore, 1989 is regarded as both Year "Showa 64" (the first 7 days) and Year "Heisei 1" (the rest of the year).

Gengo has no year zero, with 1989, for example, called Heisei 1 instead of Heisei 0. It is also possible that two different gengo co-exist in the same year, as in 1989, when Emperor Hirohito, who represented the Showa Era (1926-1989), died on Jan. 7 that year. The first seven days of 1989 are recognized as Showa 64, while the rest is Heisei 1. Each gengo is said to represent an ideal of an era and in principle consists of two auspicious kanji, including hei (peace), ei (eternal), ten (heaven) and an (safety).

The era name is used in numerous kinds of occasions and papers -- including drivers' licenses, health insurance cards, and calendars. The process to choose a new era name involves numerous steps, lots of discussion and is shrouded in secrecy There are stringent guidelines for the selection process. The Prime Minister first chooses experts to present candidate era names. Then, he requests each expert to make two to five proposals. The experts need to keep in mind that a "Gengo" cannot merely be a combination of kanji characters. They are asked to explain the meaning and source of each one. Although the guidelines don't specify what the sources should be, many of the past era names were taken from phrases in ancient Chinese literature.

After the experts make their proposals, the Chief Cabinet Secretary screens the list based on these criteria;

1. First... that it has a positive meaning that represents the ideals of the people;
2. It's comprised of two kanji characters;
3. It's easy to read and write;
4. It hasn't been used as an era name or a posthumous name of an Emperor;
5. And that it's not a commonly used word or phrase.

The first letter is widely used as an abbreviation for the year. For example, "H31" stands for Heisei 31, which is 2019. So the government at the time wanted a name with a different first letter. Heisei worked because the most recent era names were Meiji, Taisho and Showa. The choice of the name Reiwa reflects a wish that the new era will be peaceful like a sunny spring day. Most of the previous era names were taken from ancient Chinese texts related to Confucianism. This time the name has been chosen from an anthology of Japanese poems - the Manyoshu - the embodiment of Japanese sensibilities. As was so with the death of veteran TV celebrity Kyosen Ohashi, gengo is also used to lament the passing of an era that the deceased was synonymous with. To many Japanese, gengo is also a proud part of their identity, with phrases such as Heisei umare (born in Heisei) frequently used among today’s youths to emphasize which era they were born in.

Meiji (1867-1912) Mutsuhito Meiji 1 = 1868 Meiji 2 = 1869 Meiji 3 = 1870 Meiji 4 = 1871 Meiji 5 = 1872 Meiji 6 = 1873 Meiji 7 = 1874 Meiji 8 = 1875 Meiji 9 = 1876 Meiji 10 = 1877 Meiji 11 = 1878 Meiji 12 = 1879 Meiji 13 = 1880 Meiji 14 = 1881 Meiji 15 = 1882 Meiji 16 = 1883 Meiji 17 = 1884 Meiji 18 = 1885 Meiji 19 = 1886 Meiji 20 = 1887 Meiji 21 = 1888 Meiji 22 = 1889 Meiji 23 = 1890 Meiji 24 = 1891 Meiji 25 = 1892 Meiji 26 = 1893 Meiji 27 = 1894 Meiji 28 = 1895 Meiji 29 = 1896 Meiji 30 = 1897 Meiji 31 = 1898 Meiji 32 = 1899 Meiji 33 = 1900 Meiji 34 = 1901 Meiji 35 = 1902 Meiji 36 = 1903 Meiji 37 = 1904 Meiji 38 = 1905 Meiji 39 = 1906 Meiji 40 = 1907 Meiji 41 = 1908 Meiji 42 = 1909 Meiji 43 = 1910 Meiji 44 = 1911 Meiji 45 = 1912

Taisho (1912-1926) Yoshihito Taishou 1 = 1912 Taishou 2 = 1913 Taishou 3 = 1914 Taishou 4 = 1915 Taishou 5 = 1916 Taishou 6 = 1917 Taishou 7 = 1918 Taishou 8 = 1919 Taishou 9 = 1920 Taishou 10 = 1921 Taishou 11 = 1922 Taishou 12 = 1923 Taishou 13 = 1924 Taishou 14 = 1925 Taishou 15 = 1926

Showa (1926-1989) Hirohito Showa 1 = 1926 Showa 2 = 1927 Showa 3 = 1928 Showa 4 = 1929 Showa 5 = 1930 Showa 6 = 1931 Showa 7 = 1932 Showa 8 = 1933 Showa 9 = 1934 Showa 10 = 1935 Showa 11 = 1936 Showa 12 = 1937 Showa 13 = 1938 Showa 14 = 1939 Showa 15 = 1940 Showa 16 = 1941 Showa 17 = 1942 Showa 18 = 1943 Showa 19 = 1944 Showa 20 = 1945 Showa 21 = 1946 Showa 22 = 1947 Showa 23 = 1948 Showa 24 = 1949 Showa 25 = 1950 Showa 26 = 1951 Showa 27 = 1952 Showa 28 = 1953 Showa 29 = 1954 Showa 30 = 1955 Showa 31 = 1956 Showa 32 = 1957 Showa 33 = 1958 Showa 34 = 1959 Showa 35 = 1960 Showa 36 = 1961 Showa 37 = 1962 Showa 38 = 1963 Showa 39 = 1964 Showa 40 = 1965 Showa 41 = 1966 Showa 42 = 1967 Showa 43 = 1968 Showa 44 = 1969 Showa 45 = 1970 Showa 46 = 1971 Showa 47 = 1972 Showa 48 = 1973 Showa 49 = 1974 Showa 50 = 1975 Showa 51 = 1976 Showa 52 = 1977 Showa 53 = 1978 Showa 54 = 1979 Showa 55 = 1980 Showa 56 = 1981 Showa 57 = 1982 Showa 58 = 1983 Showa 59 = 1984 Showa 60 = 1985 Showa 61 = 1986 Showa 62 = 1987 Showa 63 = 1988 Showa 64 = 1989

Heisei (1989-2019) Akihito Heisei 1 = 1989 Heisei 2 = 1990 Heisei 3 = 1991 Heisei 4 = 1992 Heisei 5 = 1993 Heisei 6 = 1994 Heisei 7 = 1995 Heisei 8 = 1996 Heisei 9 = 1997 Heisei 10 = 1998 Heisei 11 = 1999 Heisei 12 = 2000 Heisei 13 = 2001 Heisei 14 = 2002 Heisei 15 = 2003 Heisei 16 = 2004 Heisei 17 = 2005 Heisei 18 = 2006 Heisei 19 = 2007 Heisei 20 = 2008 Heisei 21 = 2009 Heisei 22 = 2010 Heisei 23 = 2011 Heisei 24 = 2012 Heisei 25 = 2013 Heisei 26 = 2014 Heisei 27 = 2015 Heisei 28 = 2016 Heisei 29 = 2017 Heisei 30 = 2018 Heisei 31 = 2019

Reiwa [2019-20xx] Naruhito Reiwa 1 = 2019 Reiwa 2 = 2020 Reiwa 3 = 2021 Reiwa 4 = 2022 Reiwa 5 = 2023 Reiwa 6 = 2024 Reiwa 7 = 2025 Reiwa 8 = 2026 Reiwa 9 = 2027 Reiwa 10 = 2028 Reiwa 11 = 2029 Reiwa 12 = 2030 Reiwa 13 = 2031 Reiwa 14 = 2032 Reiwa 15 = 2033 Reiwa 16 = 2034 Reiwa 17 = 2035 Reiwa 18 = 2036 Reiwa 19 = 2037 Reiwa 20 = 2038 Reiwa 21 = 2039 Reiwa 22 = 2040 Reiwa 23 = 2041 Reiwa 24 = 2042 Reiwa 25 = 2043 Reiwa 26 = 2044 Reiwa 27 = 2045 Reiwa 28 = 2046 Reiwa 29 = 2047 Reiwa 30 = 2048