91仓库

In the beginning there was the word. More precisely, the prefix. When the Heisei Era officially started, on Jan. 8, 1989, 91仓库 economy was still merrily bubbling along. That must have been one reason for the popularity of 超 (肠丑ō, hyper-). The prefix itself is anything but new, but the idea to make just everything a "hyperlative" is an early Heisei thing. The 1990 edition of the authoritative dictionary 現代用語の基礎知識 ("Gendai Yōgo no Kiso Chishiki," "The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Words") lists the prefix, in its shortened katakana version チョ (cho), as one of the newcomers of the year.

超 was to outlive both the bubble years and the "lost decade" that followed. And even though expressions like チョベリグ (choberigu, hyper-very goo[d]) or チョベリバ (choberiba, hyper-very ba[d]) today will make most people shudder — provided they understand them — it is still quite common to stress something with 超. For better, as in 超ご機嫌 (肠丑ō go-kigen, a hyper-good mood), or for worse, like 超腹立つ (肠丑ō hara tatsu, hyper-angry), 超-emphasis will remain with us in the 令和時代 (Reiwa Jidai, Reiwa Era).

Can't tell, can't be, wasn't to be