Kanji of the year

Japanese character chosen by annual ballot

The kanji of the year (今年の漢字, Kotoshi no kanji) is a character chosen by the Japanese Kanji Proficiency Society (財団法人日本漢字能力検定協会, Zaidan hōjin Nihon Kanji Nōryoku kentei kyōkai) through a national ballot in Japan, starting in 1995. The character with the most votes, selected to represent the events of that year, is announced in a ceremony on December 12 (Kanji Day) at Kiyomizu Temple.

Year  | Kanji  | Readings  | Meanings  | Events  | Source

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1995

shin
furu-u

quake

| The Great Hanshin–Awaji earthquake and growing feelings of unease caused by the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway.  |

[1]

1996

shoku
ku-u

food
eat

| Multiple outbreaks of food poisoning due to E. coli O157 occur, affecting school lunch programs.  |

1997

tou
tao-su

collapse
knock down

| The 1997 Asian financial crisis results in a wave of corporate bankruptcies and bank failures, while the Japanese team beats regional powerhouses in the Asia qualifying tournament to win a berth in the 1998 FIFA World Cup.  |

1998

doku

poison

| Sixty-seven people are sickened and four die after eating poisoned curry, for which Masumi Hayashi is arrested. Similar incidents follow amid concerns about dioxins. |

1999

matsu
sue

end

| The final year of the century, when the Tokaimura nuclear accident occurs.  |

2000

kin
kane

gold
money

| Judo athlete Ryoko Tamura (now Ryoko Tani) and marathon-runner Naoko Takahashi win gold at the Sydney Olympics, Kim Dae Jung and Kim Jong-il hold the first North-South Korean presidential summit, the deaths of centenarian twin sisters Kin-san and Gin-san (whose names sound like "gold" and "silver"), and the introduction of the ¥2,000 note.  |

2001

sen
tataka-u

battle

| The September 11, 2001 attacks, the U.S. war in Afghanistan, and the global recession.  |

2002

kae-ru

return

| Japan and North Korea begin talks and five Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korea return to Japan.  |

2003

tora

tiger

| The Hanshin Tigers win the Central League pennant for the first time in 18 years and the involvement of the Japan Self-Defense Force in the Iraq War, which some equated to "stepping on a tiger's tail" (虎の尾を踏む).  |

2004

sai
wazawa-i

disaster

| The Chūetsu earthquake, Typhoon Tokage wrecks great damages upon landfall, the accident at the Mihama Nuclear Power Plant, and scandal at Mitsubishi Motors involving the cover-up of known defects.  |

2005

ito-shii

love

| Expo 2005 is held in Aichi, Princess Nori marries Yoshiki Kuroda, and table tennis athlete Ai Fukuhara plays in China, as well as a spate of child-by-parent and parent-by-child murders.  |

2006

mei
inochi

life

| Prince Hisahito of Akishino is born, while feelings of uncertainty about life arise from hit and run accidents due to driving under the influence, suicide due to bullying, and the notable suicide of a member of the Imperial Guard.  |

2007

nise

deception

| A series of food labeling scandals in which expired products were relabeled and sold, problems over political funds and faulty pension records, and allegations of copyright infringement at the Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park.  |

2008

hen
kawa-ru

change

| Changing of the Japanese prime minister, Barack Obama winning the American presidency using the slogan "change", economical and ecological changes around the world.  |

2009

shin
atara-shii

new

| The Democratic Party of Japan is swept into power by lower house elections to end half a century of LDP dominance, the worldwide outbreak of swine flu (known as Shin-gata influenza), and Ichiro Suzuki sets a new MLB record with nine consecutive seasons with 200 hits.  |

[2]

2010

sho
atsu-i

hot

| Record heatwaves affecting both people's livelihoods and the natural environment and the Chilean mine collapse trapped 33 men about 700 meters underground in a hot, humid mine.  |

2011

han
kizuna

bonds

| The Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami occurs, with people across Japan rediscovering the importance of their bonds with family and friends and Japan's women's national football team, Nadeshiko Japan, wins the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, a result of confidence and teamwork among its members.  |

[3][4]

2012

kin
kane

gold
money

| Several medals are won at the 2012 London Olympics, Shinya Yamanaka wins a Nobel Prize, and an annular solar eclipse is observed covering a large part of Japan for the first time in 932 years, amid concerns such as consumption tax and welfare ("金" is also the first kanji to be selected more than once).  |

2013

rin

wheel
ring

| Successful bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics. (the original Japanese word for "Olympics" is 五輪, literally meaning "five rings")  |

2014

zei
mitsugi

tax

| Social discussion and additional expense tax in Japan. (VAT switching from 5% to 8%)  |

2015

yasu

safety

| Safety (安全) issues concerning explosion in Yasukuni Shrine, terrorist attack on Paris, and the public outcry at the new State Secrecy Law devised by prime minister Shinzo Abe (安倍晋三).  |

[5]

2016

kin
kane

gold
money

| High number of gold medals won at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the shift to minus interest (“interest rate” is “kinri” in Japanese), Trump’s U.S. presidential election victory (“blonde hair” is “kinpatsu”), and Piko Taro, singer of ‘PPAP’, who's known for wearing a gold-colored animal print outfit. (This is the third time this kanji has taken this honor.)  |

[6]

2017

hoku
kita

north

| North Korea's missile tests and nuclear test, the heavy rain in northern Kyushu, and the poor harvest of potatoes in Hokkaido.  |

[7]

2018

sai
wazawa-i

disaster

| The 2018 Osaka earthquake along with the heavy floods in southwestern Japan. This Kanji was also selected in 2004 as Kanji of the Year.  |

[8]

2019

rei
ryou

good
order

| Japanese era name was changed into Reiwa (令和, "good harmony"). As safety measures against the storm and downpour caused by Typhoon Faxai and Typhoon Hagibis in Kantō region, the government issued ("issuing order" is "hatsurei (発令)" in Japanese) evacuation orders.  |

[9]

2020

mitsu
hiso-ka

secret
close

| Reference to the san mitsu (３密, the three Cs), a government recommendation to avoid closed spaces, crowds and close contact due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also references how people were brought closer together thanks to the stay-at-home directive. 'Mitsu' additionally alludes to secrets unveiled in the political and entertainment worlds in 2020.  |

[10]

2021

kin
kane

gold
money

| Reference to the gold medals of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, which proceeded this July after being postponed but under special restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other great sporting achievements by Japanese athletes during the year. Shohei Ohtani was awarded the Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award, while Sōta Fujii became the history's youngest shogi 4-crown title holder. In addition, new designs for Japanese banknotes were unveiled, and a new 500 yen coin was introduced into circulation.  |

[11][12]

2022

sen
ikusa

war
battle

| Reference to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the assassination of Shinzo Abe.  |

[13][14][15]

2023

zei
mitsugi

tax

| Reference to tax hikes and cuts, introduction of a new invoice system, and municipal tax payments in exchange for gifts.  |

[16]

## See also[edit]

* Word of the year \- Japan sponsors an annual word of the year contest called "U-Can New and Trendy Word Grand Prix" (U-Can shingo, ryūkōgo taishō) sponsored by Jiyu Kokuminsha.[17]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "過去の「今年の漢字」一覧". Matome.Naver.jp. 2015-12-16.
2. ^ ""Shin" Selected as Kanji of the Year New Administration, Record-Breaking Ichiro Suzuki..." Kyoto Shimbun. 2009-12-11.
3. ^ "Japanese public chooses 'kizuna' as kanji of 2011". BBC News online. 24 December 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
4. ^ "2011年の漢字は「絆」 「災」「助」など続く". Nikkei News. 2011-12-12.
5. ^ "今年の漢字、2015年は"安"に決定。とにかく明るい安村も興奮「安心の安！」". HuffingtonPost. 2015-12-15.
6. ^ ""Gold" named 2016 Kanji of the Year". 12 December 2016.
7. ^ "今年の漢字は「北」 その理由は？". 12 December 2017.
8. ^ "A Disastrous Kanji of the Year? "Wazawai" Picked as Top Character for 2018". Nippon.com. 2018-12-12.
9. ^ "'Rei' named the Kanji of the Year for 2019". NHK. December 12, 2019.
10. ^ Rikako Takai (December 14, 2020). "Japan's kanji of the year, 'mitsu,' reflects gloom of 2020 pandemic". Retrieved December 15, 2020.
11. ^ "'Kin' (gold) chosen as the kanji character of 2021". The Japan Times. 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
12. ^ "'今年の漢字は「金」 京都・清水寺で発表、五輪の金メダルや各界の金字塔反映". 京都新聞 (in Japanese). 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
13. ^ https://www.kanken.or.jp/kanji2022/common/data/release_kanji2022.pdf
14. ^ "今年の漢字は「戦」 清水寺で発表、最多1万804票 2位は「安」：朝日新聞デジタル". 12 December 2022.
15. ^ "Kanji of the Year for 2022: Strife Comes Out on Top". 12 December 2022.
16. ^ Yukana Inoue (December 12, 2023). "Talk of taxes spurs choice for Japan's kanji of the year". The Japan Times.
17. ^ Miller, Laura (2017). "Japan's trendy Word Grand Prix and Kanji of the Year: Commodified language forms in multiple contexts". Language and Materiality: Ethnographic and Theoretical Explorations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 43–62.

## External links[edit]

* Japanese Kanji Proficiency Society

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