The Complete Guide to Japanese Kanji. Kenneth G. Henshall

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‘big’ but with a head – the latter sometimes round, sometimes just a horizontal line (or two) and close to the modern form. On occasion the head is also enlarged. It may be that originally the meaning was ‘head’ or ‘crown of the head’, then later by extension what is above the head, i.e. the sky, or – with a philosophical or religious connotation – ‘Heaven’, or ‘heavenly deity’ (Ch. Tian). Karlgren, however, interprets the old forms as being from the outset the drawing of ‘an anthropomorphic deity’. SS1984:627-8; KJ1970:724; AS2007:495; BK1957:104.

      Mnemonic: BIG MAN GETS HEAD FLATTENED IN HEAVENLY DESCENT

      63

      L4

      田

      DEN, ta

      rice-field, paddy

      5 strokes

      田園 DEN’EN rural area

      田植え taue rice planting

      田舎 inaka* countryside

      Generally seen as based on pictographs for a field or fields divided by paths, very similar to the modern form. Shirakawa believes the original sense was ‘hunt’, and the meaning ‘field’ was a later loan use, but historical sound values in Schuessler leave this open to question. KJ1970:915; BK1957:104; AS2007:496,184.

      Mnemonic: A FIELD DIVIDED INTO FOUR QUARTERS

      64

      L5

      土

      DO, TO, tsuchi

      earth, ground

      3 strokes

      土曜日 DOYŌbi Saturday

      土地 TOCHI land

      土臭い tsuchikusai unsophisticated

      OBI Interpretations quite diverse. One (Ogawa, Gu) is that early (OBI and bronze) forms show a clod/mound of earth raised to honor the earth god, or represent the earth god himself (Shirakawa). Another is a plant coming out of the soil (Katō, re bronze forms only). Yet another (Karlgren) sees the graph as ‘a drawing of the phallic-shaped sacred pole of the altar of the soil’. OT1968:208; GY2008:22; SS1984:639; KJ1970:956; BK1957:36-7.

      Mnemonic: A PLANT BREAKS THROUGH THE GROUND

      65

      L5

      二

      NI, futa-

      two

      2 strokes

      二月 NIGATSU February

      二十 NIJŪ twenty

      二人 NININ/futari* two people

      Two horizontal lines of equal length are found in OBI; later, sometimes with a shorter top stroke, as in the modern form. KJ1970:39; SS1984:668.

      Mnemonic: TWO LINES MEANS TWO, EVEN IF ONE IS SHORT

      66

      L5

      日

      NICHI, JITSU, hi, -ka

      sun, day

      4 strokes

      日曜日 NICHIYŌbi Sunday

      本日 HONJITSU today

      二日 futsuka* second day

      Based on pictograph of the sun spot/line probably added to distinguish it as real object and not a mere abstract shape. MR2007:352; SS1984:669; KJ1970:952-3.

      Mnemonic: IN LINE WITH THE SUN, A NEW DAY’S BEGUN

      67

      L5

      入

      NYŪ, hairu, ireru/ru

      enter, put in

      2 strokes

      輸入 YUNYŪ import

      入り口 iriguchi entrance

      入れ物 iremono container

      The OBI form and bronze forms depict the entrance to a dwelling Many see the modern stylized form as a person bending (see 41) to enter, which is incorrect but a useful mnemonic. SS1984:669-70; KJ1970:515; YK1976:401.

      Mnemonic: BEND TO ENTER THROUGH INVERTED V-SHAPED OPENING

      68

      L5

      年

      NEN, toshi

      year

      6 strokes

      来年 RAINEN next year

      五年生 GONENSEI fifth grader

      年寄 toshiyori elderly person

      Interpretations of the OBI forms such as are varied. The graphs may well depict a man carrying a load of grain plants on his back, indicating the annual harvest and by extension the annual cycle in general. Shirakawa is more specific, seeing a man dancing while carrying grain on the occasion of the rite asking for a good harvest. Qiu, however, takes one element in the OBI forms as depicting grain, but the other element as 千 49 ‘thousand’ as a phonetic indicator, this later being replaced by 人/ 41 ‘person’ instead. SS1984:673; QX2000:20; KJ1970:749. A mnemonically difficult character, but suggest taking top element as ‘person’ 人/ 41 and lower element as variant of 井 1575 ‘well’.

      Mnemonic: PERSON VISITS MISSHAPEN WELL EVERY YEAR

      69

      L5

      白

      HAKU, shiroi, shira-

      white

      5 strokes

      白書 HAKUSHO White Paper

      面白い omoshiroi interesting

      白髪 shiraga* greyed hair

      OBI

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