Kanji Day (Kanji no Hi)

What Is Kanji Day?

December 12th is "Kanji Day" (Kanji no Hi). The date comes from a double wordplay: "1" and "1" are each read as "ii" (good), and "2" can be read as "ji" (as in "-ji," part of "kanji"), so "12/12" can be read as "ii-ji, ii-ji" — playfully evoking "good character, good character" (12/12 = ii-ji ii-ji, where "ji" stands in for "kanji"). It was established in 1995 by the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation. Every year on this date, the "Kanji of the Year" is announced. Since 1995, this single character — chosen to represent the events and mood of the year — has been written in bold brushstrokes on a large sheet of washi paper by the head priest of Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto, a scene broadcast on TV as a beloved year-end tradition.

Examples of Past "Kanji of the Year" Selections

• 1995: 震 ("shin," meaning "quake" — for the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake)
• 2011: 絆 ("kizuna," meaning "bonds" — for solidarity in recovery after the Great East Japan Earthquake)
• 2020: 密 ("mitsu," meaning "close/crowded" — for avoiding the "3Cs" during COVID-19)
• 2021: 金 ("kin," meaning "gold" — for Japan's gold medal rush at the Tokyo Olympics)
• 2023: 税 ("zei," meaning "tax" — for the new invoice system and rising tax revenue, among other reasons)

The Charm of Kanji and How to Study Them

• One character, many meanings: Characters like 愛 (love), 水 (water), and 道 (way/road) carry a rich depth, with a single kanji holding multiple meanings and readings
• Kanji Aptitude Test (Kanken): With around 1.5 million test-takers per year, it's used for job hunting, school admissions, and self-improvement
• The formation of kanji (the "six categories"): Understanding how characters were formed — pictographs, ideographs, compound ideographs, phono-semantic compounds, and more — makes them easier to remember

Things to Try on Kanji Day

• Choose a single kanji that represents your year and write it down
• Sign up for the Kanji Aptitude Test (Kanken) and set yourself a goal
• Look up phrases and idioms you don't usually use to expand your vocabulary