Dear friends,
Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year 2021! This is a new year, and a new beginning. The things will change.
Japan is now in the Reiwa (令和) era, which translates to “Beautiful Harmony” in English. It is such a beautiful name. This year, 2021 is Reiwa 3.
The two kanji characters of Reiwa were chosen from the Manyoshu (万葉集), which is the oldest existing collection of Japanese poetry compiled in late 8th century. At the beginning of Reiwa era, the former Prime minister said the Reiwa represents “people are coming together in harmony, creating and nurturing our culture.”
I hope that we will remember the meaning of Reiwa and that the year of 2021 will be a year of beautiful harmony in the world.
All the best,
Kumiko