Bunmei
/bɯn.meː/noun
A Japanese term meaning civilization or cultural development, also the name of a Japanese era from 1469 to 1487.
Did you know?Bunmei is also the name of Japan’s Bunmei era, a period remembered amid the turbulence of the late Muromachi period and the Ōnin War.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese
文明
“Cultural brightness, civilization, or enlightened refinement”
Ancient China
Chinese
wénmíng
“Civilization; literally, the state of being marked by cultural or intellectual brightness”
Early Japanese usage
Japanese
文明（ぶんめい）
“Civilization, culture, refinement; read in Sino-Japanese pronunciation as bunmei”
1469–1487
Japanese
文明
“The Bunmei era, an official Japanese nengō or era name”
Modern Japanese
Japanese
bunmei
“Civilization, especially in discussions of cultural, technological, or social development”