WIT Life #61: 今年の漢字
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Translator/Interpreter/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03). Recently she’s been watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese and sharing some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
Yesterday at Kyoto’s Kiyomizu Temple the official announcement of 今年の漢字 (kotoshi no kanji), or the Kanji of the Year, took place. This is an annual contest run by the Japanese Kanji Proficiency Society that had a record number of applications from all over the country this year, 161,365. Coming off of last yea
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selection of 変 (hen) or change, this year’s winner by 14,093 ballots was 新 (shin) or new. Among the reasons why this character was picked were the new political administration and the new strain of the flu.
This morning’s news interviewed both young and seasoned prominent political figures regarding what their picks would have been. One was new LDP Diet member 28-year old Shinjiro Koizumi, son of the former PM, who chose 初 (hatsu) or first. He explained his reasoning as, “This year was my first political appearance and my first time being elected. Everything for me was a first!” 38-year old Osaka governor Toru Hashimoto picked 崩 (kuzureru), or to collapse, because “the country’s system and the administration system are starting to collapse.”
Finally, 52-year old former entertainer Miyazaki governor Hideo Higashikokubaru opted for 分 (bun or wakeru) or to divide, saying that “because of the administration change it is a turning point (分岐点 or bunkiten) for this period, and this also refers to the division of roles （役割分担 or yakuwari buntan） between the federal and local governments. Also, it marks the division involved with this year’s sorting out operations (事業仕分け or jigyo shiwake).
What would your pick for kanji of the year be? If shin sounds good to you, what aspect of Japan’s newness would you highlight? I would have to go with the new relationship between the U.S. and Japan since the DPJ victory and the accompanying redefinition of the U.S.-Japan alliance.
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