一いっ世せい一いち元げん

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Meanings

1

noun

one era name per emperor

yojijukugo (four-character idiom)

Historical term referring to the system, adopted in Japan during the Meiji period, in which each emperor's reign is assigned a single era name (gengō).

明めい治じ以い降こう、一いっ世せい一いち元げんの制せいが定さだめられた。
After the Meiji period, the system of one era name per emperor was established.

一one, one radical (no.1)

世generation, world, society

元beginning, former time, origin

Similar words

元げん号ごう
元号 is the era name itself, while 一世一元 is the system of assigning one era name per emperor.
一いっ世せい
一世 means 'one generation' or 'a reign'; 一世一元 specifically refers to the one-era-per-reign system.

Etymology

Compound of 一世 (one reign) and 一元 (one era). The term describes the system formalized in the Meiji era, though the concept existed earlier in Chinese history.