The Kyoto Shimbun
  • Home
  • Kyoto
  • News
  • "Disaster" Selected as Kanji of Year
    Announced at Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Kyoto

    8 January 2019 - Kyoto//Temples/Shrines

     

    Seihan Mori, the chief priest of Kiyomizu-dera Temple, writing the character for "disaster" with a brush (Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Kyoto)

    Seihan Mori, the chief priest of Kiyomizu-dera Temple, writing the character for "disaster" with a brush (Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Kyoto)

    The "kanji," or Chinese character, pronounced "sai," meaning "disaster," was selected as "Kanji of the Year" for 2018 in an annual December event to choose one kanji character which reflects the year. The selection was announced at Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, by the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, based in Higashiyama Ward, on December 12. A total of 193,214 people voted in this contest. "Disaster" received 20,858 votes.

    This is the 24th anniversary of the contest that was inaugurated in 1995. Seihan Mori, the chief priest at Kiyomizu Temple, wrote the character with powerful brush strokes on a large-sized Japanese paper, on the terrace of the temple's Okuno-in hall.

    Reasons voiced among those who voted for the character meaning "disaster" included the earthquakes in Hokkaido and northern Osaka Prefecture, flooding in western Japan, the typhoons, a record heat wave, and other events which have led many people to hope for much less disaster damage in the new year, when the era name will be changed with the accession of the new emperor.

    Last year's character was "kita," meaning "north," reflecting North Korea's repeated missile launches and nuclear tests, as well as flooding in northern Kyushu. "Fall," read as "tou," was the chosen character for 1997, when financial institutions went under, one after the other. The character for 2011, when the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred, was "kizuna," or "bonds."

    (Translated by Mie Hiuzon, Psyche et l’Amour, Inc.)
  • Also in Kyoto//Temples/Shrines:

    Bonfires Drastically Scaled-Back This Summer
    Seen as Points of Flame from Kyoto City; COVID-19 Countermeasures
    12 August 2020

    No Float Procession This Year
    Earlier Part of Kyoto's Gion Festival Changed Due to COVID-19
    12 August 2020

    Do You Feel Like a Shogun?
    Get a Closer Look at Powerful Murals during the Special Access to Nijo-jo Castle's Third Room of Kuro-Shoin, Kyoto
    12 August 2020

    Two Doctors Arrested on Suspicion of Murdering Woman with ALS at Her Request
    Sudden Change in Condition after Their Visit; Drug Detected in Her Body
    12 August 2020

    Professor Yamanaka of CiRA Calls for "At Least One Year's Patience"
    Non-Specialist Continues Sharing Information to End Novel Coronavirus
    15 April 2020

News Archive
  • August 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • November 2019
  • More...
Categories
  • Sightseeing/Events
  • Temples/Shrines
  • Tradition/Culture
  • Local topics
  • Education/University
  • Business/Company
  • Traffic
  • Gourmet
  • 1min Kyoto
  • Kyoto
  • Shiga
Web site
Introducing Privacy Policy Japanese Site
Copyright © 1995-2021 The Kyoto Shimbun Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.
We use cookies for a number of reasons, such as keeping our websites reliable and secure, providing social media features and to analyze the performance of ads. Accept & continue Read More
Privacy Policy