The Joy o' Kanji Essays

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illusion
JOK: 1226
This kanji enables us to talk about what isn’t really there: illusory countries on old maps, phantom limbs, an alcoholic’s hallucinations, sorcery, and mythical creatures. Learn about phantom rice and phantom railroad lines, and see what “pursuing phantoms” really means. Find out about magic mushrooms in Japan, as well as mushroom statues created long ago and very far from Japan.
mystery
JOK: 1227
Find out about the shape that figures prominently in the name of a green tea and the word for "brown rice." It's also the "blackness" radical. What a colorful character! Or should I say "What a mysterious character"? It primarily means "mysterious," and it unexpectedly lends that meaning to such common words as 玄関 (げんかん: entranceway).
bowstring
JOK: 1228
Discover the imaginative leaps the Japanese have made by associating 弦 with objects whose shapes suggest curved archery bows and their taut strings. Learn terms for “guitar string” and two categories of stringed instruments, as well as “string quartet” and “orchestra.” Also find out how to speak of stringed, wind, and percussion instruments collectively with a tidy acronym.
alone
JOK: 1229
The 孤 kanji runs the gamut from lonely isolation to enjoyable solitude. This character pops up in terms for orphans, solitary islands, villages cut off by floods, someone fighting alone for a lost cause, and countries that are isolated economically and politically. Learn to say, "She led a solitary life," "To tell the truth, I felt lonely," and "We shouldn’t confuse solitude with isolation."
arc
JOK: 1230
See what the Arc of Freedom and Prosperity represents. Learn to speak of balls that arc through the sky and curved island chains (e.g., the Ryukyu archipelago). Discover terms for parentheses (which are little arcs!), Japanese quotation marks, and various brackets in Japanese text. Find out how to say, “Abbreviate the parenthesized words” and “Put a word in each pair of parentheses.”
boast
JOK: 1233
Learn about the positive kind of pride that even dogs (and flowers!) can feel, and see what Japan is proud to show the world. Discover five ways of saying "to take pride in." Also learn to say "I'm proud of you" and "He proudly made an announcement." Read about terms for "ostentation" and "exaggeration," finding out how one of them relates to political propaganda.
hand drum
JOK: 1234
Learn about a wide range of Japanese drums, including the small, ropy type played on the shoulder. See what "taiko" means in Japan versus abroad, and learn how ensemble drumming was created quite recently. Also discover traditional drumming contexts, from the battlefield to the shrine to the theater. Find out which "drums" you can consume and where drums lie in the human body!
give
JOK: 1237
This kanji has no popular meaning! Nevertheless, 呉 pops up in a word about rivalry, the name of a famous theater, the name of a significant city, terms for stores selling kimono fabric, and more. Learn about 呉音, a word on page 1 of every essay. See how the ancient Chinese Kingdom of Wu still influences modern Japan. And find out just how 呉 became connected with くれる (to give).
pleasure
JOK: 1238
Amusement is timeless, but 娯 has strong ties to past eras. Discover why, read about entertainment districts as different as day and night, and see which term for “hobby” has a negative nuance. Learn to say, “What's your favorite pastime?” “There are no forms of amusement in the village,” “This kind of amusement has no interest for me,” and “Playing Go is my only form of recreation.”
enlightenment
JOK: 1239
Do you know how to talk about preparing for the worst outcome or selling items at a loss? Can you translate the following: "At last he realized that he was mistaken," "I noticed some kind of glint in her eyes," "They were ready to run the risk of being shot by the enemy," and "How can one become enlightened?" Find out about all this and much more, including baseball players' wisdom.
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