Kanji Day
Next: December 12, 2026
Learn one good character.
The story
Where it comes from
Kanji Day, Kanji no Hi, was created in 1995 by the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, the Kyoto-based body behind the Kanken kanji tests. The date is a pun: 12/12 can be read ii ji ichi ji, 'one good character', and the foundation hopes that everyone will learn at least one good character every year. It set the day aside to deepen interest in kanji, the characters of written Japanese, and through them an appreciation of Japanese culture.
How it's celebrated
Around Kanji Day the foundation announces the result of a nationwide public vote for the single character that best sums up the year. The winning kanji is brushed by the chief priest of Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto and offered at the temple, to purify the year's events and wish for a bright new year. Schools use the vote in lessons, and anyone can join in by choosing their own character for the year.
Did you know
- The foundation publishes the top 20 characters of each year's vote, not only the winner.
- Some characters have won more than once: 金, meaning 'gold' or 'money', has topped the vote five times, most recently in 2024.
- After its display at Kiyomizu-dera, the newly brushed character goes on show from late December at the foundation's Kanji Museum in Gion, Kyoto.
Coming up next
- Lucia Day · December 13, 2026
- Werner von Siemens's Birthday · December 13, 2026
- First to the South Pole · December 14, 2026
- Zamenhof Day · December 15, 2026
- World Turkic Language Family Day · December 15, 2026
- Beethoven and Jane Austen's Birthdays · December 16, 2026