japanwords

[japanwords]

栄 "prosperity"

This original artwork is available from my Etsy site

[japanwords]

寿 “congratulations”

This kanji is often found on Japanese greetings cards, and also on those fancy paper envelopes you put money in when you go to a wedding. It means “congratulations”. It can also mean “long life”.

It is also the first kanji in the most common way to write sushi -（寿司）. This kanji is used for “sushi” not because it has anything connected to raw fish on rice, but because another way to read it is “su”, and because it has a positive meaning. It’s appropriate because sushi is often served at special occasions.

This artwork is available from my Etsy shop:

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霜月 (shimotsuki) "November" (archaic) (literally "the month of frost")

Like many countries, Japan uses a 12-month calendar. The names are very simple. January is literally "Month one", February is "Month two", etc:

一月 = January

二月 = February

However, before the Meiji Restoration (mid-1800s) it was common to use an older 12-month system. These months’ names referenced the weather and the seasons (similar to the French Revolutionary calendar).

“霜” refers to frost, which seems a little early for November. This is because this old calendar system is based on a lunar calendar with exactly 28 days in each month. The months don’t fit into a year exactly, and so the months get earlier and earlier each year. Every so often the calendar had to be adjusted a little.

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花火（hanabi) “fireworks”

Like many celebrations across the world, fireworks often play a part in Japanese festivities. In Japan, they are most commonly associated with the summer festival. I chose to write this word because in my home country of the UK it will soon be Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes’ Night) , a time for making fires and letting off fireworks.

There's also a rhyme that goes with it:

Remember, remember, the 5th of November

Gunpowder, treason and plot

I see no reason why gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot.

Have a fun November 5th :)

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愛は勝つ (ai wa katsu) "love wins"

I created this as a commission for a friend who wanted to give it as part of a gift.

Before writing, I double checked the Japanese with my Japanese teacher to make sure it sounded natural (I *always* do this - it saves embarrassing mistakes!).

She said that as well as sounding natural, it is also:

a well-known pop song

the name of a charity campaign to raise money for survivors of the Fukushima earthquake/tsunami disaster.

My friend also wanted some parts of the characters in red.

Can you see the significance of the red parts?

The 心 in 愛 (love) on its own means "heart".

The 力 in 勝つ (win) on its own means "power".

Japanese kanji are pretty awesome that way :)

If you're interested in surprising a friend with a unique gift, why not consider commissioning a calligraphy work?

[japanwords]

龍 (ryuu) "dragon"

If you visit a shrine or temple in Japan, look up at the ceiling in the main room. Often it will be painted with the image of a dragon. One reason for this is that dragons represent the virtue of courage. However there is also a more superstitious reason: dragons are associated with the element of Water, and their image is believed to serve as protection against fire. This is very important in a country like Japan where wood is the main building material.

If you look closely, you will notice that the dragon is clutching a ball in one of its feet. Much like their European counterparts, Japanese dragons also like to collect precious objects. These balls are the “Dragon Ball” of the eponymous comic book - the ball-shaped jewels that grant the owner wishes.

In Buddhism, one of the most important concepts is the “jewel within the lotus”, cryptically described as “the jewel that grants all desires”, and represented pictorially as a precious jewel - the Dragon Ball.

This original artwork is available from my Etsy site here

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恩 (on) “favour, gratitude, obligation”

“On” is the concept of having received a great favour, feeling grateful, and knowing that you owe somebody a lot.

The way it is used in Japanese makes it seem like less of a subjective feeling, and more of a tangible object, like a thing that you now possess because somebody helped you greatly. In Japanese, 'I am very indebted' is literally 'I have a lot of “on” '.

The Ghibli movie "The Cat Returns" is titled "猫の恩返し" (Neko no Ongaeshi) in the original Japanese.

"返し" means to give something back, so "恩返し" means "returning the favour". The Japanese title makes it clear that the cat isn't just returning for no reason; he's returning because he's an honourable cat and he wants to pay back his "on".

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無心 (mu-shin) “no-mind” or “nothingness mind”

An important concept in meditation and martial arts.

If you have mu-shin, your mind is free from thoughts, desires and assumptions.

The Buddhist nun Reverend Jiyu-Kennett once said: “It’s nothing... but it’s the fullest kind of nothing there ever was!”

When your mind is clear, and you are free from ego and can act naturally and spontaneously.

The artwork in the photo is an original one-off, available from my Etsy store here.

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無常 (mu-jō) “impermanence”

"Western aesthetics is sometimes familiar with simplicity, asymmetry and suggestion, but the idea that beauty lies in its own vanishing is an idea much less common. Perishability remains, however, what [Donald] Keene has called the 'the most distinctively Japanese aesthetic ideal'. It is certainly among the earliest, being based on the Buddhist concept of "mujō"... nothing is stable, and our only refuge lies in accepting, even celebrating this."

-Donald Richie, A Tractate on Japanese Aesthetics, 2007

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言霊 (kotodama) "word-spirit"

Kotodama refers to the traditional belief that mystical powers dwell in words and names. Just like martial arts practitioners giving out a shout when they make a strike (“ki-ai” - literally “meeting of spirit”) it is believed that sounds can affect our body, mind and souls.

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悟 (Satori) "enlightenment"

Satori is the Japanese word for the buddhist concept of enlightenment.

It is said that once one has experienced satori, one's perspective on life is forever changed.

The artwork in the above photo is one of my original one-offs. You can own it by purchasing it from my Etsy store here.

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秋 (aki) "autumn"

The nights are getting cooler and autumn has arrived in Japan.

Japanese people seem to really like acknowledging the changing of the seasons. Restaurant menus (even cheap places) will have autumn-themed menus with pumpkin, chestnuts and mushrooms, and many people enjoy going to parks to admire the autumn leaves. It’s also common for schools to have sports day in autumn, probably because it’s impossibly hot in summer.

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LOL, I was so careful not to make that mistake again.

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately...) times have changed, the the smoking section of the Shinkansen is no more.

Happy 60th birthday to a legend! The Tōkaidō Shinkansen began service on 1 October 1964, using the 0 Series pictured above. I took the photo in the National Railway Museum in York, England. It's the only shinkansen outside Japan.

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60 years old today. The Shinkansen is indeed a legend.

I have so many happy memories of riding the Shinkansen. The best/worst is when I got into the smoking section by mistake. It was around 6pm and the whole car was packed with chain smoking salarymen drinking cheap beer. Some had even taken their shoes off. The place smelt SO BAD.

Happy Birthday Shinkansen!

Happy 60th birthday to a legend! The Tōkaidō Shinkansen began service on 1 October 1964, using the 0 Series pictured above. I took the photo in the National Railway Museum in York, England. It's the only shinkansen outside Japan.

[japanwords]

It's the Month of No Gods again!

Unless you live in Shimane, in which case you get ALL THE GODS.

神無月 (kan-na-zuki) "October" (archaic)

神 = god 無 = not 月 = month

The modern Japanese word for October is 十月 (literally "10th Month), however in the old-fashioned calendar is was known as 神無月, or "the month with no gods". 

In October, all the gods in Japan (there are believed to be 8 million of them) go to Izumo Shrine in Shimane Prefecture for a meeting, thus leaving most of Japan with no gods.

The huge shimenawa (sacred rope) at Izumo Shrine.

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月見 (Tsukimi) "moon-viewing"

This Sunday will be Moon Viewing Day in Japan. The first full moon in September is considered particularly clear and beautiful, much like the idea of a "harvest moon". 🎑 🌕

In Japan, Moon Viewing Day is celebrated by eating white dumplings.

In China it is celebrated by eating mooncakes - pastries filled with lotus paste and a duck egg yolk. They are one of my favourite foods and in my area they are only available at this time of year, so I always look forward to moon-viewing festival time 😁🥮

[japanwords]

月 (tsuki) "moon"

This Sunday will be Moon Viewing Day in Japan. The first full moon in September is considered particularly clear and beautiful, much like the idea of a "harvest moon". 🎑 🌕