noun
glorious achievement; great undertaking
A formal, literary term for a magnificent accomplishment or grand enterprise. Rarely used in everyday conversation; found mainly in historical or elevated writing.
彼の生涯はまさに鴻業と呼ぶにふさわしい。
His life's work is truly worthy of being called a glorious achievement.
Also means 'great undertaking', but 鴻業 carries a stronger nuance of glory and grandeur.
Literary kanji spelling; 鴻 means 'large' or 'grand' and 業 means 'achievement' or 'work'. Rare in modern writing.
Variant kanji spelling using 洪 ('flood', 'vast') instead of 鴻. Even rarer than 鴻業.
Compound of 鴻 (large, grand) and 業 (achievement, work). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the spelling is conventionally associated with the meaning 'glorious achievement'.