2024 Kanji of The Year Is, Once Again, All About Money
The people have spoken: The Kanji of the Year for 2024 is, once again, 金 (kin, kane), meaning money or gold.
Today, the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation revealed the 2024 Kanji of the Year in its annual ceremony at Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto. Not surprisingly, this year’s repeat kanji reflects a Japan that relished its sports victories — and reeled from a political financial scandal.
The Foundation, which has run the vote since 1995, asked the public to vote on the year’s kanji. The winner is then written at Kiyomizu-dera by Mori Seihan, the famous Buddhist temple’s chief priest.
The kanji chosen was 金 (kin; kane), — “money” or “gold.” In a funny turn of events, while some commenters on video site NicoNico Doga recognized it immediately, others had trouble deciphering Mori’s handwriting, with something saying it looked like 毛 (mou, ke), or hair, or 重 (juu, omo), or heavy. (“Sloppy-ass writing??,” one user griped.)
It’s a repeat of the 2021 Kanji of the Year and the fifth time since 1995 that the kanji has won. That year, the kanji reflected Japan’s gold medal wins at the Olympics. It was also a constant topic of discussion thanks to the Japanese government’s COVID-19 subsidies, which kept many businesses and families afloat during health lockdowns.
