昭和 (しょうわ) is a japanese era name. the official name given to the period corresponding to the reign of emperor shouwa (hirohito), from 1926 to 1989. in japanese culture the era name functions like a historical label and a component of personal and institutional identity. literal meaning: 昭 (しょう) = "bright" or "luminous"; 和 (わ) = "peace" or "harmony." together they were intended to express an era of "enlightened peace" or "radiant harmony," though lived reality did not always match the ideal. in modern Japanese, calling something or someone "昭和" (昭和っぽい) describes a person holding old-fashioned ideas, or an object having a vintage, nostalgic, orretro aesthetic. example sentence: 昭和レトロ な 喫茶店 が 人気 だ kedai kopi bergaya retro (ala) shouwa sedang populer.