0113 121212
Kiam Ronan Moriya, center, with his family.
Kiam Ronan Moriya is a sixth-grade student at Joseph Bruno Montessori Academy. He’s an active kid outside the classroom, boasting a black belt in tae kwon do and spending his free weekends on the BMX track at Oak Mountain State Park. In fact, he had his birthday there last month.
On Dec. 12. (12-12-2012)
When he turned 12.
At 12:12 p.m.
“I’ve got his birth certificate if you want to see it,” said his mother, Tamara Moria.
That’s six 12s for Kiam, and his family considers it a “lucky” birthday for two reasons.
Kiam’s dad, Kazuo, is an ordained Christian minister, and in the Bible the number 12 has significant meaning. Biblical scholars believe it represents “governmental perfection,” as it’s the number of the sons of Jacob, tribes of Israel and apostles of Jesus.
But Kazuo Moriya is also Japanese, and Tamara is the executive director of the Japan-America Society of Alabama. And in Japan, the society measures years by its emperors.
“While the Christian way of numbering years is commonly used in Japan today, a parallel numbering system for years based on the reigns of emperors is also frequently applied,” reads japan-guide.com. “The year 2000, for example, which happened to be the 12th year of the reign of the current emperor, whose posthumous name will be Heisei, is called “Heisei 12.”
So, Kiam, born in the 12th year of Heisei, turned 12 on Dec. 12, 2012 at 12:12 p.m., bringing his total 12s to seven. And no matter which calendar you’re following, “lucky number 7” has its implications.
