A thread on how to understand/translate Japan's brand new imperial era name "Reiwa" (令和).



To ordinary Japanese people at first glance (including many of my friends yesterday), the character 令 means "to order" or "to command" and 和 means "peace," "harmony," or "Japan" 1/

This leads to vaguely unsettling lay translations such as "commanding Japan," or "commanding harmony."



和 was also the second character of the disastrous "Shōwa" (昭和) era of Emperor Hirohito, which included militarism, World War II, atomic bombings, and defeat. 2/