Kanji of the Year 2024
This year the kanji 金 (Gold) was chosen as the kanji of the year. The character symbolizes the gold medals Japan won at the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, in addition LA Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani's golden year. In Kyoto on Thursday December 12th, Chief Buddhist priest at Kiyomizu temple, Seihan Mori, drew the character with a giant calligraphy brush on Japanese paper measuring 1.5 meters high and 1.3 meters wide at the famous temple. The event was televised live. This is the fifth time gold was chosen as the kanji of the year in the thirty year history of the poll.
I read there are 2136 daily use kanji. It seems strange to me that one kanji has won five times in 30 years when there are so many possible choices.
5 comments:
Very interesting Pamela, Thank-you for sharing so much information and history in Japan, a very beautiful country and the people are amazing.
Catherine🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄
That's an excellent choice!
There have been many golden awards for Japanese athletes, and if you count the Nobel Peace Prize as a 'gold medal' for hard work, you have one more reason to celebrate.
On the other hand, 金 can also mean money. Prices are up, salaries are said to be up, and the political scandal with monetary donations has been in the news almost every day this year. Money, money, money.... makes the world go round....
Let's hope there is another kanji next year!
Few people may know that this Kanji is chosen through a pubic contest ever year. It is not a Kanji chosen by the chief priest of Kiyomizu-dera Temple or a specific person. The fact that most popular Kanji in the public contest was “Kin” is probably due to the influence of the Olympics. There are also many people who are worried about money as prices continue to soar. What really bothered me was that the Kanji for gold written by the chief priest didn't look like gold.😓
Maybe the Japanese people choosing this kanji just hope it will finally rub off and bring a good year!
Post a Comment