6 ms·

It's a combination of two existing characters, the rei as in meirei/命令 (order, command) and wa as in heiwa/平和 (peace, harmony). No new characters need to be res

It's a combination of two existing characters, the rei as in meirei/命令 (order, command) and wa as in heiwa/平和 (peace, harmony). No new characters need to be reserved.

qlk1123 7y ago
Also, this seems to be the first time that Japanese Royal choose the kanjis from their classical literature[1] instead of Chinese literature. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%27y%C5%8Dsh%C5%AB https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%27y%C5%8Dsh%C5%AB
tanilama 7y ago
Rei, 令, in this case means 'good, fortunate', not command.
- archgoon 7y ago
  Huh, according to Jim Breen's dictionary (http://nihongo.monash.edu/cgi-bin/wwwjdic http://nihongo.monash.edu/cgi-bin/wwwjdic) 'good, fortunate' is '礼' (rei). '令' (rei) is listed as 'command, decree'. The official character that is being used is '令'. Is there some rule or convention that explains why 令 means 'good, fortunate' here? Is it due to the usage in the 7th century poetry that is referenced in the article?
  - tanilama 7y ago
    In this particular case, '令月' means[1], a good month. https://kotobank.jp/word/%E4%BB%A4%E6%9C%88-660939 https://kotobank.jp/word/%E4%BB%A4%E6%9C%88-660939 If we have to trace back even further, it can date back to the ancient Chinese classic, the Classic of Poetry, where it is being used as good/respectful: https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%A4%E9%97%BB%E4%BB%A4%E6%9C%9B https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%A4%E9%97%BB%E4%BB%A4%E6%...
    - needle0 7y ago
      The namers can publicly claim it to mean one thing while privately intending to be another, of course.
      - tanilama 7y ago
        In case of Chinese characters, they can be interpreted under different context, I agree.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - comex 7y ago
    Even though there's an explanation, I've seen a bunch of negative reaction to the name from Japanese people online because of the association with "command", also linking it to the current prime minister and his relatively militaristic politics.
    - archgoon 7y ago
      Interesting; came across this Twitter thread with a fairly detailed analysis. https://mobile.twitter.com/nick_kapur/status/1112703951646937088 https://mobile.twitter.com/nick_kapur/status/111270395164693...
- ekianjo 7y ago
  Unless you do mind reading this is all a matter of interpretation. There is no single meaning.

It's a combination of two existing characters, the rei as in meirei/命令 (order, command) and wa as in heiwa/平和 (peace, harmony). No new characters need to be reserved.

qlk1123 7y ago

Also, this seems to be the first time that Japanese Royal choose the kanjis from their classical literature[1] instead of Chinese literature. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%27y%C5%8Dsh%C5%AB https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%27y%C5%8Dsh%C5%AB

tanilama 7y ago

Rei, 令, in this case means 'good, fortunate', not command.

archgoon 7y ago
Huh, according to Jim Breen's dictionary (http://nihongo.monash.edu/cgi-bin/wwwjdic http://nihongo.monash.edu/cgi-bin/wwwjdic) 'good, fortunate' is '礼' (rei). '令' (rei) is listed as 'command, decree'. The official character that is being used is '令'. Is there some rule or convention that explains why 令 means 'good, fortunate' here? Is it due to the usage in the 7th century poetry that is referenced in the article?
- tanilama 7y ago
  In this particular case, '令月' means[1], a good month. https://kotobank.jp/word/%E4%BB%A4%E6%9C%88-660939 https://kotobank.jp/word/%E4%BB%A4%E6%9C%88-660939 If we have to trace back even further, it can date back to the ancient Chinese classic, the Classic of Poetry, where it is being used as good/respectful: https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%A4%E9%97%BB%E4%BB%A4%E6%9C%9B https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%A4%E9%97%BB%E4%BB%A4%E6%...
  - needle0 7y ago
    The namers can publicly claim it to mean one thing while privately intending to be another, of course.
    - tanilama 7y ago
      In case of Chinese characters, they can be interpreted under different context, I agree.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- comex 7y ago
  Even though there's an explanation, I've seen a bunch of negative reaction to the name from Japanese people online because of the association with "command", also linking it to the current prime minister and his relatively militaristic politics.
  - archgoon 7y ago
    Interesting; came across this Twitter thread with a fairly detailed analysis. https://mobile.twitter.com/nick_kapur/status/1112703951646937088 https://mobile.twitter.com/nick_kapur/status/111270395164693...
ekianjo 7y ago
Unless you do mind reading this is all a matter of interpretation. There is no single meaning.