海角大神

The staff of candy company Kintaro-Ame was fixated on the television April 1, awaiting news of the name of Japan鈥檚 new imperial era.

Finally, at midday, a serious, suited official appeared on the screen, bearing a white placard. 鈥淩eiwa鈥� (pronounced Ray-wah),听it proclaimed in bold black calligraphy. The Kintaro-Ame workers leaped into action. Within a half-hour, they were brewing molten rivers of colored sugar and coaxing them into cylindrical designs.

In another two hours, the first 鈥淩eiwa鈥�-branded candies were bagged in shiny plastic and placed on shelves, each piece displaying the tiny characters for 鈥渂eautiful harmony,鈥� as the Foreign Ministry translates the new era鈥檚 name.

鈥淔irst came an order for 10,000 pieces,鈥� says Kintaro-Ame president Akio Watanabe, a member of the sixth generation to run the family confectionery. Then came the local media, followed by corporate customers. 鈥淣ow we鈥檙e barely keeping up with demand. We鈥檝e sold 50 times what we expected.鈥�

On the eve of Emperor Akihito鈥檚 abdication and his son Naruhito鈥檚 ascension to the throne, companies have stumbled upon imperial naming gold. Unlike the last transition in 1989, when the long illness and death of wartime emperor Hirohito triggered national mourning, the departing Emperor听Akihito is healthy, and the Japanese are looking ahead to a new, more hopeful era.

A vast majority听of Japanese approve of Emperor听Akihito鈥檚 request to step down, the first time in roughly 200 years that an emperor in the world鈥檚 oldest continuous monarchy has done so. Emperor听Akihito and his wife are seen as much more accessible and human than his father, Emperor Hirohito, whose demigod status and political power came to an end with his country鈥檚 defeat in World War II. During Emperor听Akihito鈥檚 reign, known as Heisei, or 鈥渁chieving peace,鈥� Japan has worked to distance itself from its brutal wartime past and the pain of the early post-war era. But it has also watched its economic might slip from the seemingly boundless growth of the 1980s to stubborn stagnation and a national soul-searching about its future. Naruhito鈥檚 accession provides a welcome diversion.

鈥淧eople are using the era change as an excuse to be festive,鈥� says Chuo University sociologist Masahiro Yamada. 鈥淭he Japanese love to have fun 鈥� love a reason to celebrate.鈥�

The circumstances are just right for a spending spree. Imperial transition ceremonies will fall inside a 10-day holiday, the longest-ever Golden Week. Branding expert Ryuji Ando calls it 鈥済ood national policy. It鈥檚 an opportunity to boost our economy in Japan. The money will flow.鈥�

Also in the back of Japanese minds is a pending consumption tax hike of 2%, scheduled for October. In other words, buy now. Brands including Coca-Cola, Kit Kat, and instant noodle manufacturer Nissin Food Products have launched Reiwa-themed goods. Website domain registries are reporting a jump in Reiwa-related registrations.

Heisei: A time of challenges

For many, the three-decade Heisei era under听Emperor Akihito will be remembered as a time of struggle, a fall made more poignant because the era began at the country鈥檚 economic peak. After the devastation of WWII, Japan鈥檚 decades of economic recovery and growth were seen as almost a miracle. Indeed, the start of the Heisei was so flush that a businessman might jet to Seoul just to have dinner and land back in Tokyo for breakfast, says Stephen Nagy, professor of international relations at International 海角大神 University in Tokyo.

Yet that 鈥渂ubble economy鈥� soon burst, ushering in a recession. The country lost its economic footing and eventually slipped from the world鈥檚 second-largest economy to third, behind the United States and China. The population began a slow and ominous decline, prompting further economic anxieties as the workforce shrank.

The Heisei era also saw a series of natural disasters now cemented in the national consciousness, including the 1995 Kobe earthquake and the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack two months later听鈥� not to mention the magnitude 9 quake and tsunami in 2011 that killed around 16,000 people, with thousands still missing. The government is still cleaning up the resulting Fukushima nuclear disaster, the world鈥檚 worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

The solemnity that simmers beneath the national consciousness, in fact, has led to a groundswell of resistance to Tokyo鈥檚 hosting of the 2020 Olympics, which many听analysts say will leave a debt-ridden government even more cash-strapped.

It鈥檚 a great time for new beginnings.

Reiwa: Beautiful harmony

鈥淚 can feel society鈥檚 celebratory mood,鈥� says sales manager Hidetoshi Mio at Bunmeido, a cake company that dates back to 1900. Bunmeido did not sell a Heisei-named good during the 1989 imperial transition, but this time, Mr. Mio says, the 鈥渆mperor is still well.鈥�

Indeed,听Emperor听Akihito wielded great moral authority, using his symbolic role to subtly emphasize peace and remorse for Japan鈥檚 midcentury aggressions. He is more visible than his long line of predecessors, though the royal family鈥檚 remove from the public is still far greater than that of their European peers. And there鈥檚 a sense of national gratitude for the emperor鈥檚 handling of the post-bubble stagnation, says Jeff Kingston, a professor at Temple University in Tokyo.

Asahi, the nation鈥檚 largest beer company, is feting Emperor听Akihito鈥檚 retirement with a Reiwa beer that has already clocked orders of 570,000 cases, twice initial projections, according to a company spokesperson. Ozeki Sake is selling a Reiwa sake as a nod to the future as well as the past: Reiwa labels are being placed on a product first introduced around the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, an emblem of Japan鈥檚 post-war reconstruction and national reinvention.

Most Japanese are expected to watch the televised transition ceremonies, and after the hubbub dies down, the imperial name will be woven into the fabric of everyday life. In the Japanese calendar, used alongside the Western date on formal documents, coins, and government forms, Year 1 of the Reiwa era will begin May 1.

At the department store Tokyu Hands, shopper Yoko Inoue is browsing a Reiwa-themed display. 鈥淚 was looking for a gift for a friend,鈥� Ms. Inoue says. 鈥淗e鈥檚 moving to America, and I thought Reiwa would be good for someone starting a new life.鈥�

A family story mirrors Japan鈥檚 journey

Back at Kintaro-Ame, a week before the imperial transition, workers in hairnets begin hand-rolling melted sugar in an upstairs production room. In the downstairs office, Mr. Watanabe reminisces as he readies for the busy holiday period, pencil tucked into a slim pocket on his left shirtsleeve.

In its heyday, Kintaro-Ame boasted more than 30 candy stores. 鈥淣ow we鈥檙e down to three stores,鈥� Mr. Watanabe says of the family business that his ancestors began in the 1870s. 鈥淐andy consumption has been falling for years.鈥�

Mr. Watanabe鈥檚 journey down his family鈥檚 memory lane reflects the ebb and flow of a nation: the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923, which spared the main store in Tokyo; the U.S. air raids during WWII, which forced the family to evacuate Tokyo for their hometown in Saitama prefecture; the ensuing food shortages that lasted several years, including a time the family couldn鈥檛 buy sugar to make candy; the declining sales of chitose ame, 鈥渢housand-year candy鈥� given to children听reaching the milestones of ages听3, 5, and 7, as Japan鈥檚 birth rate slipped to its lowest levels in history.

The imperial transition is a welcome break from everyday business. Mr. Watanabe had devised Reiwa-branded candy 鈥渏ust for fun,鈥� he says, but now the company鈥檚 future is looking a little bit more colorful.

An imperial transition is 鈥渙nce in a lifetime,鈥� he says.