In addition to the four seasons familiar to Westerners, Japan and other East Asian countries observe 24 “solar terms” that mark off segments of the lunisolar calendar. In some ways, these shorter periods and their names are a closer reflection of the actual changes nature and the weather go through during the year.
The solar terms can be divided even more finely, into three 5-day periods each, called the 七十二候 (the “72 seasons”). This system of subdividing the year according to the motions of the sun and moon originated in ancient China but was revised by the Japanese court astronomer 渋川春海 (Shibukawa Shunkai). Possibly as a result of this, some of the 72 seasons differ from their Chinese counterparts.
We are currently enjoying the solar term 清明 (せいめい), “clear and bright season”, until April 20th, which will usher in 穀雨 (こくう), “season of grain rain”. We are in the middle period of 清明, which is called 鴻雁北 (こうがん きたす), the season in which geese (雁) fly north.
3 years agoAs pointed out in a post at Nihongo Jouzu, 10 kanji are being added to the Joyo general use kanji list for school. They’re all used to write the names of Japanese prefectures.
This one caught my eye, since it’s used in the name of the prefecture next door, and I see it all the time:
阜
This kanji is usually pronounced with its on-reading ふ and is the second character in 岐阜 (Gifu), the name of both a large regional city and a prefecture. It can also be pronounced おか (hill) as a kun reading.
Its meaning seems to be primarily “mound” or “hill”, although it can also mean “abundant”. It performs as a radical (#170) and appears on the left side of characters like the 阪 in 大阪.
The city of Gifu, originally called Inokuchi (井口), was given its present name by the powerful daimyo Oda Nobunaga in 1567, combining the names of 岐山 (Qishan or きざん, a legendary Chinese mountain) and 曲阜 (Qufu or きょくふ, the birthplace of Confucius). [Source: Wikipedia].
阜 does not have many other uses in modern Japanese, but it is used to write the names of a few Chinese cities, including Fuyang (阜陽市, ふようし), population 9 million (!), and Fuxin (阜新, ふしん), population 800,000. Used as a given name, it is sometimes pronounced ゆたか. It is also used in the rare word 丘阜 (きゅうふ, “hill”) and the anatomical term 陰阜 (いんぷ).
(The source of those last two words is Yahoo Answers, where someone posted a question about this very kanji.)
3 years agoHere’s a useful kanji you don’t see in the classroom character lists:
麺 （めん）
Meaning: noodles, particularly those made from wheat flour, including udon, soba, and spaghetti.
Where Seen: Find it on menus at restaurants and cafés everywhere across Japan.
Details: The character is one of the few that uses the mugi (麦) radical, which acts as an enclosure. Inside the enclosure, we have 面 for its phonetic value.
Compounds: Its most useful compound might be 麺棒, “rolling pin”. You can also write ラーメン with three different kanji for the ラー part: 拉麺 (拉 is used for its pronunciation), 老麺, or 柳麺. The first is the most common, but I like 柳麺 (“willow noodle”) myself.
3 years agoToday’s interesting kanji:
琥珀 （こはく）
Meaning: “amber”
Recently spotted: It’s in the title of 琥珀の望遠鏡, the Japanese edition of The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman. There is also a Kuji Amber Museum (久慈琥珀博物館) in Iwate Prefecture, and kohaku beer by Yebisu.
Details: The こ character consists of the jade radical plus “tiger”. The はく character consists of jade plus “white”. That juxtaposition of interesting components should provide plenty of opportunity for good mnemonics.
3 years agoThis Japanese-language blog introduces a new word with difficult-to-read kanji daily. Check it out if you’d like to test your kanji power.
