On December 13th, 2021, the chief priest of Kyoto's famous Kiyomizudera temple wrote down the kanji character kin 金 which means "gold" or "money" as the kanji of the year for 2021. The kanji was chosen by national ballot by the Japanese Kanji Proficiency Society, as it has done since 1995.

The last time kin was chosen was in 2012, as seen in the photo above, when Japan won 38 gold medals at the London Olympics, the most in the country's history, and an annual solar eclipse, written in Japanese with the kanji 金環日食 (literally "gold ring solar eclipse"), was observed.

Once again in 2021, "gold" was chosen as the Kanji of the Year not only because of the 27 shining gold medals won by Japanese athletes in the Tokyo Olympics but for other accomplishments, or 金字塔 kinjitō in Japanese. The word means "pyramid" (literally, "金 kanji-shaped tower") but refers to monumental feats.

For example, in 2021, Los Angeles Angels two-way star Ohtani Shohei was chosen as the Most Valuable Player in the American League and shogi player Fujii Sota become the youngest player in history to win four major titles.

Finally, a new 500 yen coin was issued in Japan. Although it doesn't contain gold but a combination of nickel brass, cupronickel, and copper, the outer ring of its two-tone design has a "golden" hue.

The choice of 2021's Kanji of the Year was greeted by many on social media with comments such as "Aw, my prediction was wrong..." or "I knew it would be related to the Olympics!"

In 2020, the Kanji of the Year was 密 mitsu, meaning "density" or "proximity," things people were forced to avoid as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic. This year's kanji, however, has a more positive image.

Let's hope that 2022's kanji will also have a brighter meaning!