Japan is unique in many diverse ways – that’s why tourists from abroad flock to have the first-hand touch with things Japanese – and a recent event highlights just one of them: Era Calendar. The term may not be familiar to many of you but this is an outstanding feature Japan, Japan alone – mark you, can offer by way of cultural heritage.

The current year is 2019 in the Christian calendar and concurrently the 31st year of Heisei in the era calendar, Heisei being the era name accorded to the present Emperor Tsuguhito about to retire, April 30, to conclude his 31 years of “reign”. In other words, he had a crucial name of his own “Heisei” to identify his Emperorship, just as his father Emperor Hirohito had his own – “Showa”.

As a matter of fact, every Japanese emperor had his own era name accorded at enthronement and often opted to change it twice or more in the course of his/her reign to meet some politico-social requirement or to address specific policies.

Era names are normally composed with meaningful Kanjis, the Chinese characters, that signify good omen or positive intention.

Now, out goes the era name Heisei and in comes Reiwa in honor of Crown Prince Hironomiya who steps in to succeed his father Emperor Tsuguhito effective May 1. It took time and wisdom to pick Reiwa for the new era name. The choice is unique as it originates for the first time in a Japanese text while the past era names have always been Chinese in origin. The authentic collection of Waka (poems) “Man-yo Shu” is the source of a combination of two letters Rei and Wa to signify “esteemed” well-balanced and “harmony”.

I might mention in passing that there is yet another calendar for the Japanese to live by. It is called Koki or imperial calendar. The Koki calender set off with the enthronement of the first emperor of Japan, Jinmu, in 660 B.C., that is to say, the current year 2019 happened to be 2679 in Koki or imperial calendar. Certain historical facts and events are still quoted in Koki even today but the public is almost unaware of its existence, much less its practical application in daily life.

Japan then has a set of three calendars to live by and any particular one or two are employed as occasions call for. Common foreign tourists have no reason to respect the two traditional calendars but it should pay to observe them if they are intent on digging farther into Japanese cultural traditions that are often quoted in either Era or Koki calendars.

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