Many Japanese let out a gasp of suprise when the 新元号 (shin-gengō, new name of the Imperial era) of 令和 (Reiwa) was announced on April 1.

It was the first time in history that the 元号 (gengō, era name) was announced ahead the new Emperor's ascension to the throne and a considerable amount of suspense had been building as to what it might be. But then again, the Japanese have a tendency to get excited about new things, which are usually expressed with the kanji 新 (shin, new).

Ten years ago, 新 was voted kanji of the year to reflect the wave of "new ideas and hopes" that were introduced to Japan in 2009. The kanji itself comes from China and is made up of the radicals derived from needle and tree on the left, and axe on the right. A long time ago, when your parents died you would toss a needle toward a group of trees and whichever one it hit would be the one you chopped down to create a memorial tablet. It's a much harder mnemonic than the one for 魚 (sakana, fish), which just looks like a fish.