向後・嚮後|こうごkougo[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. noun, adverbhereafter

• Synonym今後こんごNeutralThe standard everyday word for 'from now on'. Neutral and far more common than the literary 「向後」, it can directly replace it in ordinary contexts.
• Synonym将来しょうらいNeutralPoints to the more distant future and one's prospects in it, as in 「将来の夢」; 「向後」 simply marks the time after now.
• Synonym以後いごWrittenWritten in tone: 'from that point on', as in 「以後気をつけます」. It anchors to a stated time, while 「向後」 is a literary 'hereafter'.
• Related未来みらいNeutralStresses the far-off future, which can be bright or dark — 「明るい未来」「暗い未来」; 「向後」 is just a literary 'hereafter'.
• Related先々さきざきCasualColloquial. Covers the distant future or, in another sense, everywhere one goes; 「向後」 is strictly literary and time-only.
• Related後々あとあとCasualColloquial 'later on', stressing consequences that linger, as in 「後々困る」; 「向後」 points forward from now instead.
• RelatedこれからCasualThe everyday spoken way to say 'from now on', starting at this very moment; far more colloquial than the literary 「向後」.
• Related先行きさきゆきNeutralFocuses on how things, often the economy, will develop from here — prospects; 「向後」 merely marks the time after now.
• RelatedフューチャーCasualA colloquial loanword for 'the future', seen mostly in names and titles; 「向後」 is a literary adverbial 'hereafter'.
• Related末々すえずえWrittenWritten and rare: the distant future, ages hence; unlike 「向後」, it can also mean one's descendants.
• Related自今じこんFormalFormal and rare, at home in official papers; like 「向後」 it means 'from now on' but with a bureaucratic ring.
• Relatedこの先このさきCasualColloquial. Means either the road ahead or the time ahead from now; 「向後」 is literary and refers to time only.
• Relatedこの後このあとCasualColloquial 'after this' — the moments right ahead or a longer stretch, as in 「この後の人生」; 「向後」 is literary 'hereafter'.
• Related後の世のちのよWrittenWritten. Means later ages or the world after death — posterity or the afterlife; 「向後」 has neither sense.
• Antonym既往きおうWrittenWritten word for the bygone past, standing at the opposite pole from 「向後」's 'hereafter'.
• Antonym過去かこNeutralThe time already gone — the direct opposite of 「向後」's 'from now on'.
• Antonym以前いぜんNeutralMeans 'before a given time', the mirror image of 「向後」's 'after this'.

「向後」 is a literary word for 'hereafter', kept to formal writing, as in 「向後よろしく」. In everyday speech say 「今後」 or 「これから」; in written prose 「以後」 works well. The opposite of looking forward is 「過去」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 今後こんご。