Kanji of the Year for 2024: Yet Another Golden Era

Fifth Time for a Golden Choice

Each year on December 12, a date chosen for the ii ji ichi ji (a single good character) pronunciation of the characters in the 12/12 date, the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation announces its Kanji of the Year. This year the top selection was 金 (kin or kane, meaning “gold” or “money”).

This is the fifth time in the history of the contest, which began in 1995, for this character to take top honors. Each time it has been selected it has been a Summer Olympic year, and 2024 was no exception. But beyond the “gold medal” association made by many voters, the character also won the most votes this year thanks to its association with money—the illicitly collected funds that hit the ruling Liberal Democratic Party so hard in the political scandal that cost it many of its seats in the October general election, and the desire for an easy payday that drove many to seek out “dark part-time jobs” in what became a social phenomenon in 2024.

Bright and Dark Reasons for Gold to Shine

The vote totals are compiled from postcards sent in by fans of the written language, as well as online voting and selections made at bookstores across the nation. This year the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games saw many Japanese athletes top the podium, attracting numerous votes for the golden color of their medals. Other sports fans tied the meaning of the character to Ohtani Shōhei’s “golden performance” this year in Major League Baseball, thanks to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ star designated hitter’s first-ever entry into the 50-50 club, with his 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the regular season, along with his selection as the National League’s most valuable player for the year.

The kane pronunciation of the character, meaning “money,” also inspired some voters to select it in honor of the new paper bills put into circulation this year.

On the flip side, many kanji contest voters noted the negative monetary associations of the character, particularly the fund-raising scandal that enveloped the LDP, bringing down the administration of Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and dealing a severe blow to his successor, Ishiba Shigeru, in the House of Representatives election on October 27. Also mentioned by some voters was the connection with the money sought by people taking to dark corners of the web and agreeing to do criminal acts in the hope for a quick payday.

Elections, Increasing Heat, and Other Change

Below we present the top 10 vote-getters. Coming in second was 災 (sai or wazawai), meaning “disaster.” The year started with the New Year’s Day quake in Ishikawa Prefecture, setting a tone for many voters. (One of the characters in the Japanese word jishin, “earthquake,” also came in fourth.) The third-place kanji was 翔 (shō or tobu), notable as part of Ohtani Shōhei’s given name and representative of the “great leaps” he made in his baseball career with the Los Angeles Dodgers this season.

Other vote-getters this year included the number-six 選, part of senkyo, meaning the “elections” that took place in Japan, the United States, and other places around the world. Also making repeat appearances in the top-10 list were 暑 (sho/atsui), signifying the “heat” of the brutal summer global warming brought to Japan in 2024, and 変 (hen/kawaru, kaeru), which often makes the list for its associations with the “change” people face in their lives today and the “strange” nature of the reality they face.

1. 金 (kin/kane). Gold; money. 12,148 votes.
2. 災 (sai/wazawai). Disaster. 9,772 votes.
3. 翔 (shō/tobu). Leap; advance. 7,487 votes.
4. 震 (shin/furueru). Shake. 7,427 votes.
5. 新 (shin/atarashii) New. 6,545 votes.
6. 選 (sen/erabu). Choose (part of senkyo, “election”). 6,071 votes.
7. 変 (hen/kawaru, kaeru). Change; strange. 6,027 votes.
8. 暑 (sho/atsui) Hot; heat. 5,674 votes.
9. 楽 (gaku, raku/tanoshii). Enjoyment; ease. 4,562 votes.
10. 米 (bei, mai/kome). Rice; America. 4,335 votes.

Below we present a list of the winners since the launch of this contest in 1995. Nippon.com hopes that the coming year will be a golden one for all our readers, in the very best senses of the term.

(Originally written in English. Banner photo: Mori Seihan, Kiyomizudera’s head priest, writes 金, the Kanji of the Year for 2024, on December 12 at the Kyoto temple. © Jiji.)