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Bundle 57: The Shape of Water

Land encircles water in various ways, and each essay in this collection spotlights a different shape of that sort: (1) an elongated body of water that's parallel to the coast and set off by islands or reefs, (2) a narrow place where the sea comes a long way into the land, (3) a circular atoll that is the rim of an extinct underwater volcano, and (4) a portion of ocean partly enclosed by land. These essays focus on famous places (e.g., Niigata, Edo, and Taiwan), explaining how those names connect to certain bodies of water.
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潟
lagoon
JOK: 1084
Find out about an annual event with the unstated goal of coating all participants in mud! See why Japan's lagoons are vanishing while its tidelands are increasing. Learn about how the most famous Japanese "lagoon" is not a lagoon. Read about lagoon-based obsessions, famous writings about lagoons, and hidden aspects of Niigata Prefecture (e.g., that it is snowier than Hokkaido!).
江
stream
JOK: 1244
This essay immerses you in Edo (the old name for Tokyo) and its cultural, linguistic, and botanical legacies. Read about Edo-style sushi (which you likely love!), see what characterizes a true Edoite/Tokyoite, and find out what "Little Edo" and "Big Edo" mean now. Learn to read 江 in several names, some famous. Also meet the alligators and dolphins associated with the Yangtze River!
礁
reef
JOK: 1413
Reefs lurk underwater, just waiting to cause shipwrecks, and the very components of 礁 may point to sailors’ anxiety about this. Read about fish that change gender, the connection between coral and fences, the reason some coral reefs are circular, and what a reef in outer space represents. Learn a kanji for “off the coast of.” And best of all, see what it means figuratively to run aground.
湾
gulf; inlet
JOK: 1944
Find out which Japanese bays are famous for mirages, a devastating typhoon, and pearls. Learn about 湾 versus 江 (bay). Discover how to say, “Our house overlooks the bay” and “We were granted the special privilege of fishing in this bay.” See why たられば conveys “what if” (as in, what if Pearl Harbor hadn’t happened). And learn how ginger, vegetarianism, and Portugal connect to Taiwan.
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