Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 言 118 ‘words’, and 川 50 (‘river’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘follow’, to give ‘make to follow using words, instruct’. Also has the specific meaning ‘native Japanese reading for a Chinese character’, or ‘kun reading’. The graph also retains its early meaning ‘instruct’, reflecting the fact that when Chinese script and language were brought to Japan, the Japanese were instructed in the meanings of Chinese characters. KJ1970:344; MS1995:v2:1186-7; YK1976:144; OT1968:921.
Mnemonic: DURING INSTRUCTION ABOUT KUN, WORDS FLOW LIKE RIVER
490
L3
軍
GUN
army, military
9 strokes
空軍 KŪGUN airforce
軍人 GUNJIN military (wo)man
米軍 BEIGUN US forces
Bronze ; seal . Has 車 33 ‘vehicle’ (here, ‘military chariot’), and an enclosing element (originally a pictograph of a snake in a curved shape, or in some cases an encircling arm) corresponding in outward form to 勹 (enclose) but considered here, based on historical pronunciation, to be an abbreviation of a CO 匀 ‘surround, enclose’ (the latter with both semantic and phonetic functions). The graph 軍 thus represents chariots drawn up in a circular protective encampment – an ancient military practice. MS1995:v2:1266-9; KJ1970:343; YK1976:145. We suggest taking 冖 as ‘cover’.
Mnemonic: COVERED MILITARY VEHICLES
491
L1
郡
GUN, kōri
county, district
10 strokes
郡部 GUNBU rural district
郡山 Kōriyama a place name
和気郡 WAKEGUN Wake County
Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 阝 376 (as abbreviated right-hand form of 邑 ‘settlement, village’), and 君 285 (‘lord’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘collect, accumulate’, to give ‘a collection of settlements’. This served as an administrative unit for such (of varying scale) from an early period in China, and then in Japan, where it is still used. KJ1970:343; YK1976:145; OT1968:1020.
Mnemonic: VILLAGE BELONGS TO LORD OF COUNTY DISTRICT
492
L1
径
KEI
path, direct
8 strokes
直径 CHOKKEI diameter
径路 KEIRO route
捷径 SHŌKEI short cut
Seal ; traditional 徑. Late graph (Shuowen). Has 彳 131 ‘road, go’, and 巠 287 (thread stretched on a loom) as phonetic with associated sense ‘straight’ (Tōdō, Shirakawa, Ogawa). Thus ‘direct path’. However, Katō and Yamada take 巠 as ‘small’. This is just one of many examples of divergence in assessing the associated sense of a phonetic in the same graph – in this case, it seems to result from two different interpretations of the same explanation for 巠 in Zilin, a Chinese dictionary compiled ca. 300AD which has survived only in fragments. TA1965:498-9; SS1984:227-8; OT1968:347; KJ1970:345-6; YK1976:147. Take modern right-hand elements as 又 2003 ‘hand’ and 土 64 ‘ground’.
Mnemonic: DIRECT PATH ENTAILS MOVING WITH HANDS ON GROUND
493
L3
型
KEI, kata
type, model, mold
9 strokes
原型 GENKEI prototype
大型 ōgata large size
典型的 TENKEITEKI typical
Bronze ; seal . The etymology of this seemingly straightforward graph presents some difficulties. It has 土 64 ‘earth’ (here: probably ‘clay’), and an element the shape of which in the block script equivalent is taken to be a) (‘start to make’) (Katō, Yamada), or b) 刑 (1256 ‘punish’) (Mizukami, Tōdō). In the case of b), the left-hand side of the older forms (井 in OBI, bronze, and seal) has been carried over into block script in a modified way (as 开) which is a potential pitfall when it comes to the etymology. This sort of modification in shape happened in some cases, as the script evolved through the different stages (see Introduction). Having described the above variations, it should be noted that Kangxi zidian lists both as independent graphs, but treats a) as being the same as b). The disputed top part of this graph may represent the outer frame of a mold, together with a knife 刂 198 ‘knife’ (Mizukami). Gu takes it as an enclosure with a person, standing for cage and prisoner, but the OBI and bronze forms tend to be of a shape better interpreted as 刀/刂 198 rather than 人 41 ‘person’. Some bronze equivalents of 型 have 田 63 ‘field’ instead of 土 ‘earth’. Despite the above divergences in analysis, commentators typically take shapes a) and b) as both having the associated sense ‘make’, and assess the overall meaning of 型 as ‘mold for casting (metal artefacts)’ (Katō, Yamada, Mizukami). ‘Model’ is an extended sense. MS1995:v1:268-9, 122-5, 40-41; KJ1970:359; YK1976:148; GX2008:217; ZY2009:v1:65. We suggest remembering this graph by taking it as 刑 1256 ‘punishment’ and 土 64 ‘soil/clay/earth(y)’.
KUNyomi kun reading
