‘REIWA’ RECEIVES MIXED REACTION
Japan’s new imperial-era name stirs debate and controversy
PRINTERS rushed to make calendars emblazoned with the new imperial-era name yesterday as the public tried to make sense of the meaning of Reiwa a day after its unveiling gripped the nation.
The new era begins on May 1 when Crown Prince Naruhito ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne a day after his father Emperor Akihito abdicates, ending his 31-year Heisei era.
The name, or gengo, is part of daily life — used on coins, drivers’ licences and official paperwork, as well as to count years, although Japanese also use the
Western calendar.
But Reiwa’s meaning has generated confusion and controversy. The first character, rei, is often used to mean “command” or “order”, which has an authoritarian nuance that offends some people.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his government prefer “good” or “beautiful”, a lesser-known meaning of the character.
The second character, wa, is defined as “peace” or “harmony”, so together the two characters mean “beautiful harmony”, Japan’s consulate in New York said in a bid to clear up any confusion.
“It does not mean ‘order and harmony’ as has been reported in the press,” the consulate said.
The gengo is chosen by the cabinet — not the emperor — from a shortlist of candidates proposed by scholars. While many Japanese were positive about the new name, to some, particularly the young, it sounded harsh.
“Do they mean ‘give in to orders?’ They probably want another militarist era,” one Twitter user said.
The mixed response may reflect a generation gap or a decline in knowledge about kanji, the Chinese characters used in Japanese and in gengo, said Masaharu Mizukami, a professor of Chinese philosophy at Chuo University in Tokyo.
“To those who don’t know the ‘good’ meaning, it can come across as negative.”
Still, Mizukami said his initial impression of Reiwa wasn’t very positive because of the forceful nuance of rei. In fact, rei was rejected in the 1860s, toward the end of the Tokugawa shogun’s rule over Japan, because the “command” meaning implied the emperor had power over the military rulers, Mizukami said.
Abe added to the confusion with a convoluted explanation of Reiwa’s meaning on Monday, saying it meant “a culture nurtured by people bringing their hearts together in a beautiful manner”.