Given Japan’s year of natural catastrophes, the Japanese Kanji Proficiency Society thought that \u201cdisaster\u201d was a suitable symbol for 2018.<\/b>
\nAfter a year of earthquakes, torrential rains, floods, typhoons and torrid heat, the Chinese character meaning \u201cdisaster\u201d (\u00a0 \u707d: \u201cwazawai\u201d or \u201csai\u201d) was named as Japan’s \u201c2018 Kanji of the Year\u201d. Chinese characters are known as\u00a0kanji\u00a0(\u6f22\u5b57) in Japan.
This year’s kanji was selected by the\u00a0 Japanese Kanji Proficiency Society \u00a0based on the results of a nationwide poll conducted earlier in the fall. Of the\u00a0193,214 entries submitted from all Japan,\u00a0\u201cwazawai\u201d received the most ballots at 20,858.
Throughout 2018, Japan endured a steady series of hammer blows, including:
In a news release, the Kyoto-based\u00a0Japanese Kanji Proficiency Society\u00a0explained that \u201cdisaster\u201d was a suitable symbol for 2018 in Japan because the kanji character touched people’s lives in different ways:
\u65e5\u672c\u5168\u56fd\u300c\u707d\u300d\u5bb3\u306f\u3001\u3044\u3064\u3069\u3053\u3067\u8d77\u304d\u308b\u304b\u5206\u304b\u3089\u306a\u3044\u3068\u3001\u81ea\u52a9\u5171\u52a9\u3092\u91cd\u8996\u3059\u308b\u4eba\u304c\u5897\u3048\u3001\u9632\u300c\u707d\u300d\u306e\u610f\u8b58\u304c\u9ad8\u307e\u3063\u305f\u3002\u591a\u304f\u306e\u4eba\u304c\u300c\u707d\u300d\u5bb3\u3092\u5fd8\u308c\u305a\u3001\u6559\u8a13\u3068\u3057\u3066\u6e1b\u300c\u707d\u300d\u306b\u3064\u306a\u3052\u3066\u3044\u304d\u305f\u3044\u3068\u5fc3\u306b\u523b\u3093\u3060\u4e00\u5e74
Since, all over Japan, no one knew when calamity ( \u707d \u5bb3) might strike, the number of people who decided to take personal responsibility for disaster preparedness (\u9632 \u707d) increased. And since no one could forget the calamities that afflicted Japan, it was a year when many wanted to learn more about how to reduce the effects of natural disasters (\u6e1b \u707d).
Each December, the Kanji of the Year is announced at historic Kiyomizu-dera, a temple and UNESCO world heritage site in Kyoto, first established 1,300 years ago. Reverend Mori Seihan, the chief abbot of the temple, typically unveils the Kanji of the Year by writing it in traditional calligraphy, captured in this video of the 2018 ceremony:
As Japan prepares for the abdication of its current emperor in May 2019, thereby ending the Heisei Era as it makes the transition to a new emperor, the second most popular Chinese character in this year’s poll was \u201chei\u201d (\u5e73). \u201cHei\u201d is one of two kanji that make up \u201cHeisei\u201d ( \u5e73 \u6210), the name of the reign of the current Emperor of Japan, who is typically known in the rest of the world as\u00a0 Akihito:
1\u4f4d\u306f\u300c\u707d\u300d\u3067\u3057\u305f\u304c\u30012\u4f4d\u306e\u300c\u5e73\u300d\u3092\u9078\u3093\u3060\u65b9\u306e\u30b3\u30e1\u30f3\u30c8\u306b\u306f\u3001\u300c\u5e73\u6210\u6700\u5f8c\u300d\u3001\u300c\u5e73\u660c\u300d\u4e94\u8f2a\u3067\u306e\u65e5\u672c\u9078\u624b\u306e\u6d3b\u8e8d\u3001\u7c73\u671d\u9996\u8133\u4f1a\u8ac7\u3067\u300c\u5e73\u548c\u300d\u306e\u5146\u3057\u3068\u3044\u3063\u305f\u30dd\u30b8\u30c6\u30a3\u30d6\u306a\u5185\u5bb9\u304c\u591a\u304f\u898b\u3089\u308c\u307e\u3057\u305f????
2019\u5e74\u306f\u3088\u308a\u660e\u308b\u3044\u6f22\u5b57\u304c\u4e0a\u4f4d\u306b\u9078\u3070\u308c\u308b\u5e74\u306b\u306a\u308b\u3068\u826f\u3044\u3067\u3059\u306d\u2728 #\u4eca\u5e74\u306e\u6f22\u5b57 #2018\u5e74
\u2014 2018\u5e74\u300c\u4eca\u5e74\u306e\u6f22\u5b57\u300d (@Kotoshinokanji) December 13,2018
While the most popular character was \u201cwazawai\u201d, number-two was \u201chei\u201d (\u5e73) with some commentators stating it is the end of the Heisei ( \u5e73 \u6210) Era in Japan. For many others, the 2018\u00a0PyeongChang (written as\u00a0 \u5e73 \u660c in Japanese) Olympics and the 2018 US-Korea summit \u00a0that sought peace ( \u5e73 \u548c) were positive aspects of the past years.\u00a0???? We hope that the next year will be one for which a positive and bright kanji character can be chosen.\u00a0\u2728
\u2014 2018 Kanji of the Year .<\/p>\n