also: ふっけい
Dear Sir or Madam, in reply to your letter ...
Formal salutation used at the beginning of a reply letter, corresponding to 'Dear Sir or Madam, in reply to your letter ...' in English. Used in traditional Japanese correspondence.
Dear Sir, I hope your company is thriving in this spring weather. In reply to your kind letter the other day, thank you very much.
Standard kanji form for this formal letter salutation.
Alternate reading; ふくけい is more common.
From 復 (ふく, 'reply') + 啓 (けい, 'to open, to state'). A set phrase in traditional letter writing.