"""May 1, 2019, Tokyo, Japan: As Japan entered the Reiwa Era, the Tokyo Hands department store displayed a posing panel with kanji characters Reiwa at their Shinjuku store. This was made by artist Tomoyuki Shioya, part of a special event by an artists group. As Japanese Emperor Akihito abdicated the Chrysanthemum Throne, this brought an end to the Heisei Era (Jan. 8, 1989 to Apr. 30, 2019). The new era called 'Reiwa"""" began May 1, 2019 when Crown Prince Naruhito ascended the throne. The two kanji characters """"'rei"""" and """"wa"""" can be translated as either """"fortunate harmony"""" or """"peace in harmony"""" and were taken from a stanza about plum blossoms in Man'yoshu, a collection of Japanese poetry written sometime after 759. Japanese calendars years are based upon the reigns of it's emperor's."""
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