Late graph (Shuowen) . Has determinative 辶 85 ‘walk, go’, and 軍 490 (‘wheels’/‘army’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘round’. KJ1970:74; YK1976:63.
Mnemonic: ARMY NEEDS WHEELED TRANSPORT AND LUCK TO PROGRESS
252
L3
泳
EI, oyogu
swim
8 strokes
水泳 SUIEI swimming
背泳 HAIEI backstroke
平泳ぎ hiraoyogi breaststroke
A late graph (Shuowen) . Has 氵 42 ‘water’, and 永 644 (‘long’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘flutter; float’. KJ1970:79; YK1976:64-5.
Mnemonic: LONG SWIM IN THE WATER
253
L5
駅
EKI
station
14 strokes
駅長 EKICHŌ stationmaster
駅弁 EKIBEN station lunch-box
東京駅 TŌKYŌEKI Tokyo Stn
Traditional 驛. Late graph (Shuowen) . Has 馬 210 ‘horse’, and 睪 (CO ‘spy’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘change’, simplified to 尺 895. KJ1970:94; YK1976:68-9.
Mnemonic: MAN WITH BACKPACK MOUNTS HORSE AT RELAY STATION
254
L3
央
Ō
center
5 strokes
中央 CHŪŌ center
中央部 CHŪŌBU central part
中央口 CHŪŌguchi central exit
OBI ; bronze . Opinions differ. In broad terms, Mizukami, Katō and Yamada agree that this graph consists of variant for 大 56 ‘big’ for person standing upright with as phonetic element positioned centrally just above the shoulders with associated sense ‘straight, upright’. Graph meaning is ‘neck, back of neck’, and as the neck is positioned centrally, neither to left nor right, the extended sense ‘center’ evolved. Tōdō interprets differently, including 央 within a word-family ‘restrain’, taking the element across the top of the shoulders as a restraining device for criminals (see also 英 449); Ogawa also favors this analysis. With this view, ‘center’ may still be seen as extended usage. MS1995:v1:298-9; KJ1970:76-7; YK1976:72; TA1965:404-7; OT1968:244.
Mnemonic: BIG MAN WITH THICK NECK AT THE CENTER OF THINGS
255
L3
横
Ō, yoko
side, crossways
15 strokes
横断 ŌDAN crossing
横乗り yokonori riding sidesaddle
横顔 yokogao profile
A late graph (Shuowen) . Traditional: 横. Has 木 73 ‘tree, wood’, and 黄 133 (‘yellow’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘stop, obstruct’. Original meaning is horizontal door bolt, and by extension ‘crossways, side’. KJ1970:324-5; YK1976:74.
Mnemonic: YELLOW PIECE OF WOOD LAID ON ITS SIDE
256
L4
屋
OKU, ya (in compounds)
store, building, dealer
9 strokes
屋上 OKUJŌ roof
小屋 koya hut, shed
パン屋 PANya baker(y)
No OBI or bronze forms, but other forms – possibly pre-Shuowen – exist, e.g. , . Taken as 尸 (NJK graph) ‘person slumped or bent or lying down/corpse’, with either: a) 厔, an abbreviated version of 室 152 ‘room’, combining to give ‘a room to lie down in’, and by extension ‘house’, etc. (Ogawa, Katō, Yamada); or b) 至 886 ‘arrive/reach’ (Shirakawa), to give ‘(decide by ritual process) a place to lie down’. OT1968:296-7; KJ1970:324-5; YK1976:74; SS1984:67.
Mnemonic: ARRIVE AT STORE AND FIND DEALER’S CORPSE IN BUILDING
hakobu
