Hello from Joy o' Kanji! 

A friend in Japan just told me that his son is learning Japanese, English, French, and Chinese in his PRESCHOOL and can already read and write English and hiragana. In preschool! If that makes you feel a bit behind, as it does me, not to worry. With today's newsletter you can bone up not only on Japanese (which gives you insight into Chinese) but also on Spanish, French, and German!

We'll mainly focus on kanji, though. I've certainly been doing that. After writing just one essay in January because of my determination to make a dent in my revisions list, I produced an essay every week in February (and sadly just two revisions!). I have now posted 364 essays and written 365, one for you to read every day of the year ... except that this is a Leap Year (and today is Leap Day), so there goes that! Everything seems to be a moving target lately!

Speaking of which, just as soon as I vented to you last month about how hard it is to deal with links to sites that vanish, Quizlet stopped making it possible to export vocabulary for games. Quizlet is where I've been storing all the keywords that show in up in the game Term Find, enabling you to test yourself on essay material. At the moment, you can't do that for many essays (though we do have you covered for the newest ones). The good news is that our partner Kanshudo will store the vocabulary instead. And then more bad news—there's no efficient way to export all that vocabulary from Quizlet. The Virgo in me actually loves tedium—I find it oddly soothing—so sooner rather than later I'm going to work myself into a trance by exporting 360 or so sets of vocabulary and making Term Find available to you again for all essays. I'll let you know when that's the case. In the meantime, Kanshudo offers several other games to keep your kanji skills primed!

One more bit of news before we plunge into kanji matters. Last month I posted here about Tilak's health struggles, and I metaphorically passed around the hat. Thanks to the great generosity of one reader, as well as dozens of good Samaritans in Tilak's life, he has met his sizable fundraising goal and can now afford to seek treatment in South Korea. Just as he was about to fly there, the Korean coronavirus situation worsened, making him have to postpone the trip. But he will go when he can. As I wrote in the new essay 1229 on 孤 (solitary), the upside of this fast-spreading disease is realizing how connected we all are. Tilak's fundraising efforts certainly make me feel the same way.

Here's what you'll find in the rest of this newsletter:

• New Essays
• Women, Men, and Children
• Lovely Ladies of the Ukiyo-e World
• Radical Note 184 on 食, the "Food" Radical
• Previous Contest
• Ulrike's Mnemonics
• The Way to the Sun
• New Contest
• Special Deal for March
• Wearable Joy o' Kanji
• Revised Essays
• JOK Notebook
• Ways to Play

New Essays

Women, Men, and Children

I certainly didn't plan this, but it just so happens that all four new essays throw the spotlight on women, men, and children. Of course, most of us fall into one of those categories, so perhaps the pattern isn't all that I'm making it out to be!

The title 孤舟 (こしゅう: lone boat) has a quiet yomi, but this novel was published in 2009 to considerable fanfare.

The protagonist used to be executive director of a large ad company, and he dreamed of all that he would be able to do after retiring: pursuing hobbies, spending time with his family, and studying whatever he wanted. It would be a second life for him. But as soon as he retired, his plan fell apart. He discovered that he had nothing to do but repeat unbearably long, idle days again and again. Furthermore, his wife found it stressful that he was always home, and they clashed about the smallest things.

The portrayal of this man’s fate struck a nerve in Japan, where many aging people feel anxious about how their impending retirements will turn them into “unmoored boats,” drifting without any purpose or connection to the rest of society.

See much more about 孤 (solitary) in essay 1229. 

Now for the children's hour:

Lovely Ladies of the Ukiyo-e World

With our heightened awareness of gender, it's a great time to look at three new shirts from Strand Clothing, all of images drawn with astounding detail by famous ukiyo-e (woodblock print) artists and then presented with loving detail in descriptions by Strand.

1. "Looking Away In Pain" (痛そう, いたそう) by Yoshitoshi Tsukioka, ca. 1888, from the series Thirty-Two Aspects of Women (風俗三十二相, ふうぞくさんじゅうにそう):

Biting on a handkerchief, the courtesan turns away while having her arm tattooed! The woman's disheveled hair, slightly undone kimono, and overall sultry expression hint that perhaps the tattoo decision was made after a moment of passion. The lover may be tattooing his name on her arm in a declaration of the couple's love!

Wear this unusual image on the Geisha Maiko Tattoo Printed Tee by Strand Clothing!

2. "A Young Woman with a Dog" by Kiyonaga Torii, ca. 1790–1791, from the series Pictures of Ten Styles (十體画風俗, じったいがふうぞく): 

A beautiful woman wrapped in sumptuous robes, with layer upon layer of silks: a red outer garment covered in chrysanthemum roundels, a peach furisode (振り袖: long-sleeved kimono) with orchid designs showing underneath, and a cream underrobe and red undergarment, which eventually lead your gaze to the tiny white foot peeking out. Anchoring her cascading robes to the floor is another creature of breeding and elegance, a Japanese spaniel, a distinctive toy breed favored by nobility and royalty. She gazes down at the little dog with a slight smile.

Strand Clothing has made the Princess Kimono Chin Dog Printed Tee available so that you can wear this artwork!

3. "Yui: The Sisters (Shimai) Miyagino and Shinobu" by Kunisada Utagawa (Toyokuni III) and Hiroshige Utagawa, 1854, from the series The Fifty-Three Stations by Two Brushes (双筆五十三次, そうひつごじゅうさんつぎ):

In these prints the upper part consists of a Tokaido view by Hiroshige, and the lower part contains large figures by Kunisada that illustrate legends.

Miyagino and Shinobu were sisters. After a samurai murdered their father, the sisters swore to avenge his death, became proficient in martial arts, and then killed the samurai in a duel. Their courage and filial loyalty have made them popular characters in plays and art.

You can honor these sheroes by sporting the Onna Bugeisha Musha Samurai Printed Tee.

Radical Note 184 on 食, the "Food" Radical

Radical Note 184 on 食, the “food” radical, has posted and includes this fun photo, sent to me by a globe-trotting friend who wants to be identified as 縞馬さん:

Where do you think the photographer found a sign in German and Japanese? Germany? Switzerland? Japan? Nope! Southern Italy! 

The image provides a great test for those who know both languages but not fluently. Which sentence can you puzzle out first? To learn what this sign is saying, check the Radical Note, which is free!

Previous Contest

Here's what I said last time: One four-kanji compound breaks down as follows:

[natural element] + comment + damage (last 2 kanji) 

The first kanji is for one of these natural elements:

a. fire

b. water

c. earth 

d. wind

e. wood

Which element could team up with "comment" and "damage" to form a meaningful term? 

Bonus question: Which compound am I talking about, and what does it mean?

The answer is (d) wind. I was referring to this term:

風評被害 (ふうひょうひがい: financial damage caused by harmful rumors or misinformation)

rumor (1st 2 kanji) + damage (last 2 kanji)

The first word breaks down as wind + comment, criticism.

One native speaker told me that the breakdown of 風評 implies that rumors are unkind words that blow around in the wind. I like that!

Unfortunately, it may not be any truer than most rumors. Kanjigen says that 風 can mean "movement in society," as in 風潮 (ふうちょう: tendency; trend), and my proofreader feels that that sense of 風 applies in 風評.

Ulrike's Mnemonics

Ulrike published another 20 lively mnemonics:

These three will help you conquer some of the Shin-Joyo set (the kanji added to the Joyo list in 2010, which was—unbelievably—a decade ago!):

The Way to the Sun

Over at Kanji Kaimono, our auxiliary merchandise store, we have two wonderful new items from the esteemed husband-wife artist team Gerry Traucht and Ellie Fidler. Both works feature animals that could wing their way toward the sun if they felt so inclined, and both pieces appropriately enough include 道 (the way).

Gerry has produced an incredible collection of egret photographs. This hypnotically powerful work is titled "Wing Trancers": 

And Ellie has created a charming image of a ladybug or 天道虫 (てんとうむし):

The word 天道虫 breaks down as "sun" (天道) + "bug" (虫). In other words, a 天道虫 is a bug that flies toward the sun!

This piece of art is for sale on Kanji Kaimono.

New Contest

The following sentence from essay 1127 on 飢 (hunger; craving) features 飢え (うえ: hunger):

戦中の日本では、多くの人が飢えとの戦いに明け暮れていた。
During the war, many people in Japan constantly battled hunger.

戦中 (せんちゅう: during the war); 日本 (にほん: Japan);
多く (おおく: many); 人 (ひと: person); 戦い (たたかい: battle);
明け暮れる (あけくれる: to do nothing but)

Be that as it may, I'm more intrigued by the blue term, 明け暮れる (あけくれる: to do nothing but). Why would it mean what it does?

Winners will receive credit toward two essays, and I'll provide their names in next month's newsletter, along with the answers. Good luck!

Special Deal for March

With the newest deal on Kanji Kaimono, you can improve either your grasp of kanji or your wardrobe! It's up to you! See the next section ("Wearable Joy o' Kanji") for one Joy o' Kanji shirt and a link to the others. 

Fine print: though the shirt is free, you'll need to spring for shipping! (I did mention springing into action, after all!)

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