# 昭 — shining; Showa era

昭 means “shining; Showa era”. It is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 9 strokes. On'yomi: ショウ (shou). It has no common kun'yomi.

- Meaning: shining; Showa era
- On'yomi: ショウ (shou)
- Kun'yomi: —
- Strokes: 9
- Level: JLPT N1 · set Fire & light 1

## How to remember 昭

Sounds like 召: both read ショウ.

Parts: 日 sun; day · 召 summon

## Don't confuse it with

[唱](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/chant/) · [招](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/invite/) · [沼](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/swamp/) · [拐](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/abduct/)

## More in the “Fire & light 1” set

[影](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/shadow/) · [昭](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/shining/) · [焦](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/scorch/) · [透](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/transparent/) · [炎](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/flame/) · [輝](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/sparkle/)

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From Moji Ninja (https://moji.ninja/), a free app for learning hiragana, katakana and the JLPT kanji from N5 to N1 with spaced repetition. Page: https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/shining/. Last updated 2026-11-01.