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Bundle 18: Intricate Systems

These essays detail complex, interdependent systems, both natural and economic. Sericulture was once so essential to Japan's economy that mulberry (桑) fields are marked on maps, as silkworms eat only mulberry leaves. These animals laboriously spin cocoons (繭), producing filaments that become silk kimonos after many financial transactions. Similarly, Japanese apiarists oversee busy bees (蜂) that make not only hives and honeycomb but also honey to be sold and consumed in multiple ways. Animals build intricate nests and webs (both 巣) that inspire terrific Japanese figurative language. People even eat some nests!
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繭
cocoon
JOK: 1223
The Japanese associate 繭 with silkworms, even though other animals make cocoons. Find out how silkworms develop, producing a mile-long silky thread, and how people turn that filament into usable silk. See why the Japanese have been passionate about silk for millennia, and learn how that enthusiasm ties in with religion, architecture, literature, video games, and cosmetics.
桑
mulberry
JOK: 1518
The Japanese have found uses for every part of the mulberry - the fruit, leaves, wood, bark, and roots. In Japan, mulberries have been so important that some maps mark mulberry fields. Aside from its mulberry connections, 桑 factors into the names of several significant places, including San Francisco and Japan itself! Our kanji also pops up in surprising sayings and a famous bit of wordplay.
巣
nest
JOK: 1521
Nests—they’re not just for the birds. Spiders, bees, and even dragons live in homes symbolized by 巣. Humans, too, inhabit “nests” until they leave their parents’ home (a move expressed with 巣). Find out about nest-building agreements between crows and people. Learn to discuss feelings strongly rooted in the heart. And see why 巣 is embroiled in a radical controversy.
蜂
bee
JOK: 2109
Find out why some Japanese eat bee larvae and "royal jelly," what traditional Japanese beekeeping involves, how Japanese and Western honeybees differ, and where bees thrive in Japan. Learn to count bees and to say that they're buzzing or that a swarm has attacked! Read about "buzzing" in the ears and bee uprisings, and see why a figurative queen bee seems sexy and marketable in Japan.
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