which at the bronze stage usually – but not always – has the element 貝 10 ‘shell, currency’ added beneath 商 . MS1995:v1:234-5, v2:1246-7; SS1984:441-2; MR2007:254; KJ1970:429-30; YK1976:273.
Mnemonic: USE YOUR IMAGINATION!!
334
L3
章
SHŌ
badge, chapter
11 strokes
記章 KISHŌ medal, badge
文章 BUNSHŌ writing, prose
章句 SHŌKU chapter, passage
Bronze ; seal . Depicts a needle for tattooing criminals and slaves, to identify them clearly. Significance of the swollen roundish part is debated: Shirakawa suggests it might represent accumulation of ink, while Mizukami suggests it is either eye of the needle or a part made wider to hold more easily. Tattooing needle came to signify ‘mark (made by tattooing), sign’, and originally the two-character compound 文章 meant ‘elaborate tattoo’ (Shirakawa); by extension such meanings as ‘writing; sections in a piece of writing’ evolved for 章. MS1995:v2:982-3; OT1968:745; SS1984:443; YK1976:274. We suggest taking the modern graph as ‘stand’ 立 77 and ‘early’ 早 52.
Mnemonic: EARLY CHAPTER ON BADGES STANDS OUT
335
L3
勝
SHŌ, katsu, masaru
win, surpass
12 strokes
勝利 SHŌRI victory
勝負 SHŌBU win or lose, match
勝気 kachiKI will to win
Seal . Late graph (Shuowen). Has 力 78 ‘strength’, and 朕 1731 (now royal ‘We’, but originally ‘join boat-planks’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘raise up’, giving ‘use strength and raise up; endure’. ‘Win’ is extended meaning. KJ1970:535; YK1976:274; OT1968:12. We suggest using 力 , 夫 601 ‘man’, 月 209 ‘flesh’, and the two strokes as horns.
Mnemonic: STRONG FLESHY MAN WITH HORNS WILL WIN
336
L4
乗
JŌ, noru/seru
ride, mount, load
9 strokes
乗船 JŌSEN embarkation
乗数 JŌSŪ multiplier
乗り物 norimono vehicle
Traditional 乘. OBI form shows a person astride top branches of a tree, i.e. climbing/mounting, later with extended meanings of ride and load. Some bronze forms have been taken historically as including the component for two feet pointing away from each other (modern 舛), and this has then been incorporated in later forms such as the traditional above; Katō, however, sees this as a misinterpretation, and treats it as simply a pictograph. MS1995:v1:22-3; MR2007:427; KJ1970:555. Take 二 65 ‘two’ and variant of ‘come’ 来 237.
Mnemonic: TWO COME RIDING
337
L3
植
SHOKU, ueru
plant
12 strokes
植物 SHOKUBUTSU flora
田植え taue rice planting
植民地 SHOKUMINCHI colony
A late graph (Shuowen) . Comprises 木 73 ‘tree’ and 直 192 (‘direct, upright’) as semantic and phonetic, meaning ‘upright, stand upright’. Ogawa regards ‘pillar’ as the original meaning. Katō and Yamada treat the meanings related to ‘plant, vegetation’ as a loan usage. KJ1970:557-8; YK1976:283; OT1968:511.
Mnemonic: TREE PLANTED UPRIGHT
338
L3
申
SHIN, mōsu
say, expound
5 strokes
申告 SHINKOKU report
申し込み mōshikomi application
申し訳 mōshiwake apology
OBI ; seal . The OBI form represents forked lightning, while the seal form, which depicts the human backbone and a few ribs, is the basis of the modern graph. That is, there are two distinct graph shapes involved. The meaning ‘say’ is a loan usage. MS1995:v2:872-3; MR2007:521; KJ1970:949-50; YK1976:285. We suggest using 日 66 ‘sun’ and a piercing element 丨 representing lightning.
Mnemonic: THE SUN IS PIERCED BY LIGHTNING! WHAT CAN ONE SAY?
339
L3
身
SHIN, mi
body
7 strokes
身体 SHINTAI body
自身 JISHIN oneself
身分 miBUN status
The OBI and some bronze forms depict a pregnant woman; other bronze forms have this with 千 49 (‘thousand’), regarded as phonetic with associated sense ‘be pregnant’. The modern reference to ‘body’ can be seen as an extended generalised meaning. MS1995:v2:1264-6; KJ1970:563; YK1976:285-6. We suggest taking the graph as a whole as a stylized pictograph.
which at the bronze stage usually – but not always – has the element 貝 10 ‘shell, currency’ added beneath 商 . MS1995:v1:234-5, v2:1246-7; SS1984:441-2; MR2007:254; KJ1970:429-30; YK1976:273.
