Introducing the coolest Japanese phrases, as chosen by the Japanese people themselves.
Get them tattooed, adopt them as your motto, or show them off to everyone!
- 信義(shingi)
- 不屈(fukutsu)
- 覚悟(kakugo)
- 闘志(toshi)
- 飛翔(hisho)
- 黎明(reimei)
- 仁愛(jinai)
- 風雅(fuga)
- 幽玄(yugen)
- 久遠(kuon)
黎明(reimei)
■The Meaning of “黎明(reimei)”
The moment night ends and light is born.
A harbinger of something beginning.
黎: Dark, black (the still-dark state at night’s end)
明: Brightness, light, dawn
Together, the “moment of beginning” where darkness and light exchange places.
By extension, it’s used as a word symbolizing the dawn of a new era, the stage where things give birth to their first cry.
■The Origin of “黎明(reimei)”
The concept appears in ancient Chinese Han texts, where “dawn” has been treated as an auspicious sign and symbol of rebirth.
In Japan too, it came to be frequently used in literature (modern poetry and novels), during periods of political and social reform, and when discussing new developments in science and culture, becoming widely established as a term signifying “the start of a new era.”
