What is "Kanji of the Year"?
Since the year 1995, Japan has celebrated the tradition of selecting a 'Kanji of the Year'. It is an annual custom where a kanji character chosen is the embodiment of Japanese societies collectively significant experience/events that stood out or creates a big impact on that year.
How the Public Determines the Kanji of the Year
Each year, the Japanese Kanji Proficiency Society (財団法人日本漢字能力検定協会), the organization in charge of this annual tradition invites the public to submit the kanji character they believe summarizes the year's event succinctly.
With submissions coming from all over Japan, this approach ensures that the Kanji chosen will capture the sentiments of everyone from different walks of life. Entries are usually accepted via Mail submission (until the 5th of December) and via E-mail submission (until the 9th of December).
When is the Kanji of the Year announced
On the 12th of December, also referred to as Kanji Day (漢字の日), the kanji of the year is revealed to the public.
This specific date is picked because the 12th of December (12/12) can be playfully pronounced as ii ji ichi ji which means "a single good character".
The kanji reveal ceremony is done by the chief priest of the famous Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto. The chief priest will write the selected kanji through a performative Japanese calligraphy, on a large piece of paper (150cm × 130cm to be exact), with a staggering 26cm calligraphy brush for everyone to see.
Japanese calligraphy or shodo (書道), can be directly translated to "way of writing", is a discipline practiced by a lot of Buddhist monk. It is said to master calligraphy you must a person must master one's mind. With only one chance to make your mark, a clear brush stroke can only be done with confidence and concentration.
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Kanji of the Year for 2024
The kanji character chosen to represent 2024 is 金 (kin, 'gold').
The character gold is meant to captures Japan's success at the Olympics and Paralympics and celebrates Shohei Ohtani's achievements in baseball. It also symbolizes the slush-fund scandal involving the Liberal Democratic Party.
The kanji 金 (kin, 'gold') was chosen in the year 2000, 2012, 2016, and 2021. This year it received a total of 12,148 votes out of 221,971 votes.
Some Q's for you:
- How does the kanji chosen this year 金 (kin, 'gold') relate to your experience in 2024?
- If you submitted/were to submit a Kanji of the Year to represent 2024, what would it be?
- If you were to choose a Kanji of the Year to represent your personal life and growth this year, what would it be?
