On May 1, 2019, Emperor Naruhito became the 126th Emperor of Japan. The Japanese imperial dynasty is the oldest dynasty in history, officially tracing back to 660 BC. Modern historians think it started somewhere between 200 and 600 AD. In either case, the Chrysanthemum Throne has a history of epic length.
Every emperor has a reign name, and the Imperial Household Ministry, in concert with the Japanese government, selected Reiwa for Naruhito. The Japanese Foreign Ministry, in response to some alarming translations and interpretations of the name in the foreign press, provided an English translation of Reiwa as “beautiful harmony.” The name comes from two characters in a poem published in an 8th century anthology, the Manyoshu.
This is the first reign name ever taken from Japanese literature; the previous 247 (some emperors had more than one reign name) were taken from Chinese literature. This is also the first time the “rei” character, 令, has ever been used in a reign name.
