a mixed plate of Japanese American news and culture
龍 (ryu or tatsu) means “dragon,” which consists of three parts. The top left side represents a person standing, and below that represents the moon. The right side represents the form of a dragon. 神 (jin or Kami) means “God,” which consists of two parts. The left side represents a divine altar and the right [...]
Happy New Year, everyone! Thank you for reading my “Heart of Kanji” column this past year. Please continue to read any future columns in 2012. 内 (nai or uchi) means “inside,” which represents an entrance door to a house with a short curtain hanging on the inside. 観 (kan or miru) means “look or observe [...]
借 (Shak) means “debt,” and consists of two parts. The left side is a person standing. The bottom right side is the sun, which represents the date. Above it is continuity. Together it means many people have been helping someone for many days, so the person is in debt to many people. 金 (Kin) means [...]
永 (Ei) means “eternity,” and consists of two parts. The top dot is shaped like a single drop of rain. The bottom is a stream from a great river that continues to the sea or ocean. 遠 (En, Tooii) means “far distance,” and consists of two parts. The right side is a person who wears [...]
真 (Makoto or Shin) means “true or truth,” and forms a person’s head and face facing down, to indicate a person’s death. When a person dies, he or she doesn’t change; he is unchangeable and becomes egoless. And 復 (Fuku) means “revival,” which consists of three parts. The left side of the character represents half [...]
大 (Oo, Dai or Ookii) means “big,” which is a form of a big person who is standing. 津 (Tsu) means “harbor or port, come in and come out,” which consists of two parts. The left represents water and the right is a person whose hand is holding a stick. Water in the harbor comes [...]
夢 (Yume) means “dream or future vision.” This character consists of three parts. The top part of this character represents an eyelash and eye. The middle part represents a blanket to cover a person’s face. The bottom part represents the moon at evening. Most of us think of the word “dream” as what we see [...]
水 (mizu) means “water.” This character comes from the splashing of water. 空 (kuu or sora) means “empty” or “sky.” This character comes from a big empty room or cave. 気 (ki) means “spirit” or “breath.” This character consists of two parts. The top part represents a person’s profile including the face, mouth and nose; [...]
永 (ei or nagai) means “eternal or long.” This character consists of two parts. The top forms a single drop of rain; the bottom represents water in a river. A single drop of rain flows into the waters of a river and continues on its path forever. 遠 (en or tooii) means “far.” This character [...]
THE HEART OF KANJI: Healthy Future
健康 (Kenko) means “health,” which I explained in my Oct. 20-26, 2011 column. 未来 (Mirai) means “future.” 未 (mi) means “not ripe yet,” and consists of two parts. The top horizontal line represents fruit that is not yet ripe and the bottom line represents a tree. 来 (rai or kuru) means “come,” and consists of [...]