Japanese Eras and Emperor Names: A Guide to 20th Century Periods
Understanding Japanese era names unlocks the history woven into every vintage textile. At Hunted and Stuffed, our authentic vintage Japanese obi cushions and kimono silk pillows date from the late Taishō period
through the mid-Shōwa period—spanning some of the most culturally rich decades of the 20th century.
But what do these Japanese era names mean? In Japan, each Emperor's reign is given its own special name, or nengō,
inspired by classical Chinese texts. These era names set the tone for the coming period and become part of everyday life—the calendar itself resets with each new era. For example, 1912 marks "Taishō year 1."
Let's explore the Japanese periods from the start of the 20th century to understand the heritage behind these exquisite textiles.
Meiji Era / Meiji Period (1867-1912)
Emperor Meiji took to the throne at the age of 15 and under his reign Japan transformed from a localised shogun (lords) system to a unified and industrialised world power, known as the 'Meiji Restoration'. His real name was Mutsuhito.
Taisho Era / Taisho Period (1912-1926)
Emperor Meiji (Meiji the Great) dies in 1912 and crown prince Yoshihito becomes emperor. The picture above shows his wedding. He names the period “Taisho” meaning ‘great righteousness’.
Western influences, especially Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles, begin to creep into the creative arts mixing with traditional Japanese styles.
Showa Era / Showa Period (1926-1989)
Emperor Hirohito begins his reign.
The name ’Showa” was taken from the Chinese ‘Book Of Documents’ and roughly translates as ‘enlightened peace’, however the period up to 1945 was anything but peaceful. After defeat in WW2 radical change occurred and an economic boom ensued. Many of our textiles date from the middle of this period.
Heisei Era / Heisei Period (1989-2019)
Emperor Hirohito dies and Emperor Akihito takes up the throne. Heisei is a name taken from classical Chinese history and philosophy books and is intended to mean “peace everywhere”. We rarely upcycle textiles from this period as it is relatively modern!
Crown Prince Akihito & Michiko Shoda at their wedding in 1959. By 宮内庁 / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Reiwa Era / Reiwa Period (2019-now)
Emperor Akihito steps down at the age of 85, the first to do so in over 200 years and Emperor Naruhito begins his reign. The name Reiwa has many meanings including “auspicious harmony” and “order and peace”. For the first time, the name was taken from Japanese poetry rather than from
classic Chinese literature which had always previously been the tradition, specifically an eighth century anthology called Manyoshu.
The throne is known as the Chrysanthemum Throne and this important flower is the symbol of Japan. It appears everywhere throughout society from the cover of the Japanese passport to motifs in textiles and
clothing. The detail above is from a Showa period Obi sash which depicts wild chrysanthemums over a woven base of stylised Chrysanthemum pattern (from a now sold out edition of our obi pillows). Find out more about symbols in Japanese textiles here!
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