future generations; posterity; the next world
Refers to people of the future, or to the world after death. The 'afterlife' sense is less common in modern secular contexts but appears in literary or religious writing.
I want to do work that will leave my name to posterity.
He left many records for future generations.
Standard kanji spelling for this compound.
Kana-mixed spelling sometimes used for clarity or stylistic reasons.
Compound of 後 (のち, 'after') + の (possessive particle) + 世 (よ, 'world' or 'age'). The reading のち is a native Japanese word, and よ is also native. The phrase literally means 'the world/age after'.