Kyoto’s Kiyomizu-dera Temple Announces the Character That Best Represents 2015: “安” (Peace/Tranquility)

▲ Selected by Japanese voters, the Kanji that best represents 2015 is: “安”. (Photo / Screenshot from the official website of the Japanese Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation)

Travel Centre / Comprehensive Report

What do you think is the character that best represents 2015? On the 15th, Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto announced the results on the stage of its Main Hall. Based on public opinion surveys across Japan and online submissions,the Kanji character representing 2015 is “安”.

Each year, the “Kanji of the Year” event, hosted by the Japanese Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, selects one character following more than a month of submissions. Out of 129,647 entries, the winning Kanji was “安”, which received 5,632 votes.Japanese citizens commented that factors such as the controversy surrounding Prime Minister Abe’s security legislation, the frequent terrorist attacks around the world this year, global climate change, and other sources of unease — along with hopes for a peaceful coming year — contributed to the selection of this character.

▲ The head priest of Kiyomizu-dera wrote this year’s Kanji on the 15th. (Photo / FromKiyomizu-dera’s official fan page)

Coming in second place with 4,929 voteswas the Kanji “爆” (Explosion/Boom).According to most respondents,the main reason for choosing this character was the sight of Chinese tourists going on massive shopping sprees, buying large quantities of home appliances within the country.Other contributing factors included the eruption of Mount Aso’s Kuchinoerabu Island volcano, which forced all residents to evacuate the island, the raising of the alert level for Mount Hakone to Level 3, and ISIS carrying out simultaneous terrorist attacks and bombings in France, resulting in many casualties.

On the 15th, Kiyomizu-dera’s head priest Seihan Mori used a calligraphy brush to write this year’s “Kanji of the Year” on the stage of the temple’s Main Hall. The temple also stated that the calligraphy piece will be on display in the Main Hall from now until December 31st.

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