Dog Eaters

A Showa era feeling in the new Reiwa era

Posted on 04.15.19 7:27PM under Nakano, Renga Zaka

The Showa Era was the reign of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) from December 25, 1926 until his death on January 7, 1989. World War II and the modernization of Japan is also encompassed during this period of time.

Heisei Era followed and will end on April 30, 2019 when the Emperor Akihito of Japan is set to abdicate and will transition into the Reiwa era. Crown Prince Naruhito will take the throne on May 1, 2019 and the Reiwa era will start.

The kanji characters for Reiwa are derived from the Man’yōshū, an eighth-century (Nara period) anthology of waka poetry. The headnote attached to a group of 32 poems (815–846) in Volume 5 of the collection, composed on the occasion of a poetic gathering to view the plum blossoms.

English translation:

It was in new spring, in a fair (“Rei”) month,
When the air was clear and the wind a gentle (“wa”) breeze.
Plum flowers blossomed a beauty’s charming white
And the fragrance of the orchids was their sweet perfume.

NakanoRengaZaka

NakanoRengaZaka_2

Post Comments





XHTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

* Required. Your email will never be displayed in public.