無 (mu) means “nothingness.” The bottom four strokes indicate fire flames, the character in the middle indicates a house, and the top lines represent a new life emerging from the burning home. When the house burns down and becomes ashes, new life can grow from that. The kanji (mu) teaches us that although we may lose everything, […]
THE HEART OF KANJI: Love of heaven and earth
April 13, 2017 by 1 Comment
天 (Ten) means “heaven.” The top line indicates the sky or universe and the bottom lines indicate a big person who is standing with open hands. 地 (Chi) means “earth or soil.” The left side represents the ground and the right side symbolizes a snake. This is to show that the earth is not flat, […]
THE HEART OF KANJI: First shrine or temple visit of the Japanese New Year
January 1, 2017 by Leave a Comment
初 (Hatsu) means “first” or “beginning.” The left side of this character represents clothes or kimono. The right side indicates a knife. To make a kimono, one must first cut the cloth. 詣 (Mode or mairu) means “to visit a shrine.” The left side of the character indicates talking. The top of the right side indicates people and the bottom of the right […]
THE HEART OF KANJI: Haku to kanau: Putting out positive thoughts to fulfill wishes
June 9, 2016 by Leave a Comment
吐く (haku) means to “throw out or speak out.” The left side of the kanji character represents a mouth. The characters on the right represent a plus or minus sign. So haku means to throw out both good or bad things or to speak good or bad words. If you simply change the second character […]
THE HEART OF KANJI: Truth
March 31, 2016 by 1 Comment
真 (makoto, shin, ma) means truth. This kanji character is in the form of a person who is upside down, which indicates that the person is dead. The truth is that all of us will die someday. Like the saying goes, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” […]
Zen living in Oakland
August 20, 2015 by Leave a Comment
OAKLAND, Calif. — Aside from running the renown jazz club and Japanese restaurant Yoshi’s in Oakland, Calif., the club’s owners and former married couple Yoshie Akiba and Kaz Kajimura share a uniquely Japanese home in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland. The home, built in the early 1960s next to a great brick Catholic priory, features […]
Japanese cultural arts classes
April 3, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Editor’s Note: Don’t see your cultural group listed? Contact us at cbfguide@nichibeiweekly.org to add your group to our cultural arts class listings. Daion Taiko Location: Orange County Buddhist Church, 909 S. Dale Ave., Anaheim, Calif. Contact: (714) 827-9590, daion78@gmail.com, ocbuddhist.org Drum Revolution Location: Belmont, Calif.; Orinda, Calif. and El Cerrito, Calif. Contact: (510) 926-9780, info@drumrevolution.com, […]
THE HEART OF KANJI: Beautiful heart
January 1, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Happy new year! I would like to talk about a “beautiful heart.” 美しい (utsukushii) means “beautiful or attractive,” which consists of two parts. The top part represents the form of a beautiful ram and the bottom part is a person who is standing. Together, utsukushii is a beautiful or attractive person. 心 (kokoro) means “heart,” […]
THE HEART OF KANJI: Thank you, for both good and bad times or situations
October 2, 2014 by Leave a Comment
良し (yoshi or yoi) means “good,” and represents to put something in or to take it out of a major box and adjust it to keep a good or correct amount in the box. 悪し (ashi or aku) means “bad,” and consist of two parts. The top part represents a bad shape and the part […]
More info visit: Digital.Nichibei.org
THE BEAUTY OF BRUSHSTROKES: Akie Karahashi and the art of shodo
Akie Karahashi, a Bay Area Japanese language and shodo teacher, organizes a display of select works of calligraphy at the festival. Karahashi talks about her passion for the art and the beauty that she sees in the characters. Nichi Bei Weekly: What do you find beautiful about calligraphy? Akie Karahashi: We write on white paper […]