11

Bundle 11: Flower Power

In this bouquet of essays, flowers represent far more than beauty. Those showcased here (including the Chinese bellflower of the 梗 essay and the tree peony of the 丹 essay) symbolize everything from the emperor, nobility, and wealth to honor, love, and feminine beauty. The Japanese also associate some of these flowers with hardiness or with grief. People celebrate them in family crests, at festivals, with dolls, and in a range of artistic creations. Supposedly, the flowers even confer health benefits—curing headaches, cooling and invigorating the blood, and removing phlegm.
To view Joy o' Kanji essays, you must be logged in to Kanshudo. Please LOG IN (or REGISTER).
菊
chrysanthemum
JOK: 1141
Chrysanthemums are all-important in Japan. The imperial chrysanthemum seal pops up on coins, passports, and battleships. People eat these flowers, drink them, and dress dolls with them. There are mum festivals and a chrysanthemum month. We find 菊 in the names of movies, animals, and a stone. It has worked its way into folklore and is even in slang for a body part!
丹
rust; vermilion
JOK: 1563
Find out which hues 丹 represents. (It’s complicated!) Learn to use 丹 to discuss great effort and careful work. See how a mineral gave rise to the shape and meaning of our kanji, and find out why the ancient Chinese fatally consumed this mineral in the pursuit of immortality. Also see why the Japanese revere the peony, and read about its connection to mochi, windfalls, and shrimp.
梗
blockage
JOK: 2006
After learning multiple Japanese terms for "stroke," and two more for "heart attack," you'll impress yourself with your new ability to read medical text in Japanese. You'll also be able to understand the warnings on cigarettes. Then you'll take a major leap to the botanical world, contemplating the role of a particular flower in poetry, pop culture, and above all in family crests.
藤
wisteria
JOK: 2078
From wisteria-viewing parties to hair ornaments to a type of doll and dance, wisteria has left its mark on Japanese culture. The 藤 kanji appears in the names of colors, plants, and animals, some with no connection to this vine. Above all, one finds 藤 in people's names. Thus, we have the Fujiwara period of art history, the Fujiwara effect, and the Fujita scale of tornado intensity.
Kanshudo is your AI Japanese tutor, and your constant companion on the road to mastery of the Japanese language. To get started learning Japanese, just follow the study recommendations on your Dashboard. You can use Quick search (accessible using the icon at the top of every page) to look up any Japanese word, kanji or grammar point, as well as to find anything on Kanshudo quickly. For an overview, take the tour.
×