era name / gengo

In this article, I'm going to write about era name; called gengo or nengo in Japanese.


Today, it's January 17th 2012, if we describe it with the Christian Era. But it also could be described as January 17th Heisei 24, with the name of era: gengo or nengo. The first gengo in Japan was Taika, and was used for about five years since 645 A.D.


Then, let's think about the origin of nengo. Originally, it was born in ancient China. In those days, the emperor's power and authority were enormous there. So, his domination was supposed to be not only over space (or territory) but also over time. Yes, this is an incredible story, but it is a fact. To show that he is dominating time, the emperor named the era, made calendar, and give it to every king who obeyed him. The concept of nengo is supported by such a magnificent thought in ancient China.


As the time passes, the thought was imported into Japan. The emperor proposed it to use his calendar, but Japan did not; in order not to admit that it is a dependency of China. So, Japan made its own era name, the first one was Taika. And the concept has been inherited to today's Japan.


Today, my article is little bit strayed from this blog's theme "clock / watch". Please take it like a coffee break :D