Nostalgia and hope as Japan’s emperor hands over throne
The staff of candy company Kintaro-Ame was fixated on the television April 1, awaiting news of the name of Japan’s new imperial era.
Finally, at midday, a serious, suited official appeared on the screen, bearing a white placard. “Reiwa” (pronounced Ray-wah), it proclaimed in bold black calligraphy. The Kintaro-Ame workers leaped into action. Within a half-hour, they were brewing molten rivers of colored sugar and coaxing them into cylindrical designs.
In another two hours, the first “Reiwa”-branded candies were bagged in shiny plastic and placed on shelves, each piece displaying the tiny characters for “beautiful harmony,” as the Foreign Ministry translates the new era’s name.
“First came an order for 10,000 pieces,” says Kintaro-Ame president Akio Watanabe, a member of the sixth
Heisei: A time of challengesReiwa: Beautiful harmonyA family story mirrors Japan’s journeyYou’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.
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