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Huh, according to Jim Breen's dictionary (http://nihongo.monash.edu/cgi-bin/wwwjdic http://nihongo.monash.edu/cgi-bin/wwwjdic) 'good, fortunate' is '礼' (rei). '

Huh, according to Jim Breen's dictionary (http://nihongo.monash.edu/cgi-bin/wwwjdic http://nihongo.monash.edu/cgi-bin/wwwjdic) 'good, fortunate' is '礼' (rei). '令' (rei) is listed as 'command, decree'. The official character that is being used is '令'. Is there some rule or convention that explains why 令 means 'good, fortunate' here? Is it due to the usage in the 7th century poetry that is referenced in the article?

tanilama 8y ago
In this particular case, '令月' means[1], a good month. https://kotobank.jp/word/%E4%BB%A4%E6%9C%88-660939 https://kotobank.jp/word/%E4%BB%A4%E6%9C%88-660939 If we have to trace back even further, it can date back to the ancient Chinese classic, the Classic of Poetry, where it is being used as good/respectful: https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%A4%E9%97%BB%E4%BB%A4%E6%9C%9B https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%A4%E9%97%BB%E4%BB%A4%E6%...
- needle0 8y ago
  The namers can publicly claim it to mean one thing while privately intending to be another, of course.
  - tanilama 8y ago
    In case of Chinese characters, they can be interpreted under different context, I agree.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
comex 8y ago
Even though there's an explanation, I've seen a bunch of negative reaction to the name from Japanese people online because of the association with "command", also linking it to the current prime minister and his relatively militaristic politics.
- archgoon 8y ago
  Interesting; came across this Twitter thread with a fairly detailed analysis. https://mobile.twitter.com/nick_kapur/status/1112703951646937088 https://mobile.twitter.com/nick_kapur/status/111270395164693...