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crazy
for

a nj i
k
A Student’s Guide to the Wonderful
World of Japanese Characters
Eve Kushner
Crazy
for

a n j i
K
Crazy
ji
for

Ka n
A Student’s Guide to the Wonderful
World of Japanese Characters

Eve Kushner

Stone Bridge Press • Berkeley, California

PUBLISHED BY
Stone Bridge Press
P.O. Box 8208
Berkeley, CA 94707
www.stonebridge.com • [email protected]

PHOTOGRAPH AND ILLUSTRATION CREDITS The author and publisher would like to thank the many artists and photographers
who contributed to this book. Image credits are presented in the forms stipulated by the rightsholders and are referenced
by text page number. All other images were provided by the author. P. 18: Mikako Shindo; p. 23: Toru Uyama; p. 27: Sammy
Engramer, private collection; p. 30: Masaaki Miyara (argyle street tea room); p. 34: Tsuji Keiko; p. 47: Mike Oliveri, www.
mikeoliveri.com; p. 56: Michael Rowley, www.papernapkin.com; p. 58: Jenni Sophia Fuchs; p. 73: Steven Elliott James; p. 83: Jenni
Sophia Fuchs; p. 85: Jenni Sophia Fuchs; p. 91: photograph by Sakamoto, Takeshi, a.k.a takeratta(tm)*; p. 102: Pierangelo Rosati;
p. 105: Matthew Tyndale-Tozer; p. 106: Timothy Takemoto; p. 113: ©Walnut Creek CDROM, photograph by David Leong;
p. 115: Paul Osborne, www.flickr.com/photos/paopix; p. 126: Edward Poet; p. 129: Ciro Cattuto; p. 132: Jenni Sophia Fuchs;
p. 137: Neil Gray; p. 138: calligraphic scripts by H. E. Davey, from The Japanese Way of the Artist, www.senninfoundation.com;
p. 139: Ed Jacob, www.quirkyjapan.or.tv; p. 143: Kanko*, www.flickr.com/photos/kankan; p. 146: Eden Politte; p. 147: Kanko*,
www.flickr.com/photos/kankan; p. 154: George Bourdaniotis; p. 161: Sergio Quinonez / Custom Tattoo & Multi-Medium Artist;
p. 167: ©iStockphoto.com / Andrew Cribb; p. 169: ©iStockphoto.com / Dan Brandenburg; p. 172: Kensuke Tsuruma; p. 174:
©iStockphoto.com / Frank Leung; p. 184: Matt Smith; p. 195: Ayumi Matsuzaki; p. 199: Forestry Commission of Wales; p. 211:
Sébastien Bertrand.

Cover design by Linda Ronan.

Text © 2009 Eve Kushner.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America.

2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Kushner, Eve.
Crazy for kanji : a student’s guide to the wonderful world of Japanese characters / Eve Kushner.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-933330-20-4 (pbk.)
1. Japanese language—Study and teaching (Secondary)—English speakers. 2. Chinese characters—
Study and teaching. I. Title.

PL519.K793 2007
495.6’11—dc22
2007032429
 contents
Preface: Falling in Love with Kanji 9
#1 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Words You’ve Heard 14
#2 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Place Names of Note 15
#3 • SPECTACULAR SHAPES: Busy Bodies / Real Lookers 15
#4 • GAME: What Do You Get? 16
#5 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Words of Import / Tongue Twister /
Warning! Kanji Essential to Health! 17
# 6 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: What’s in That Udon?! 18
# 7 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Bloopers 19
# 8 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Atari and Other Brand Names 20

Introduction: What Are All Those Squiggles? 21

#9 • JUST THE FACTS: Drawing 101 24
# 10 • JUST THE FACTS: Stroke Order 25
# 11 • JUST THE FACTS: Kanji As One of Several Scripts 26
# 12 • JUST THE FACTS: What Else “Kanji” Can Be 27
# 13 • JUST THE FACTS: How Many Kanji Does It Take? 28
# 14 • JUST THE FACTS: Pictograms and Ideograms 29
# 15 • JUST THE FACTS: One Kanji or Two? 30
# 16 • JUST THE FACTS: The Japanese Syllables 31
# 17 • JUST THE FACTS: How to Pronounce Japanese Words 34

Chapter 1: Kanji in All Their Glorious Variability 35

# 18 • JUST THE FACTS: Okurigana 39
# 19 • GAME: Kun or On? 42
# 20 • JUST THE FACTS: The Empty Sky and Other Variable Meanings /
GAME: One Kanji, So Many Yomi 43
# 21 • JUST THE FACTS: Shape Shifters 46
# 22 • JUST THE FACTS: Kana from Kanji 48
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 contents
Chapter 2: The Architecture of a Character 51
# 23 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Kanji of a Feather Flock Together 53
# 24 • JUST THE FACTS: A Radical Concept / GAME: Radicals 54
# 25 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: The Hill and the Village 56
# 26 • JUST THE FACTS: The On-Echo 57
# 27 • JUST THE FACTS: Easily Confused Kanji 61
# 28 • GAME: Which Is Which? 64
# 29 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Strategies for Conquering Look-Alikes 65
# 30 • JUST THE FACTS: Classification of Characters 68
# 31 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Elegant Etymology 70
# 32 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Charmingly Illogical Characters 72
# 33 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Just Add Water 74
# 34 • GAME: The Missing Link 75
# 35 • GAME: Create a Kanji 76

Chapter 3: Compounding the Pleasure 77

# 36 • JUST THE FACTS: Doesn’t Sound the Way It’s Spelled 80
# 37 • COMPOUND INTEREST: Cool Compounds 84
# 38 • COMPOUND INTEREST: Crazy Compounds 85
# 39 • JUST THE FACTS: Combinational Exceptions 86
# 40 • JUST THE FACTS: Wago, Kango, and Kokugo 88
# 41 • JUST THE FACTS: Multiple Readings of Certain Compounds 90
# 42 • JUST THE FACTS: Helping Hands 92
# 43 • JUST THE FACTS: How Kanji Modify Each Other in Compounds 96
# 44 • GAME: Will the Real Compound Please Stand Up? 98
# 45 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Homonyms and Near Homonyms / GAME: Homonym
Match-Up 100
# 46 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Syllabic Similarity 103
# 47 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Look-Alikes in Compounds 106
# 48 • COMPOUND INTEREST: Wonderful Words 107
 contents
Chapter 4: What Kanji Say About Japan 109
# 49 • SPECTACULAR SHAPES: Gates, Birds, and Thread 111
# 50 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Metals 114
# 51 • GAME: What’s the Meaning of This?! 116
# 52 • JUST THE FACTS: Country Kanji / GAME: International Intrigue 117
# 53 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: You Can Say That Again! 120
# 54 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Double Meanings 122
# 55 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Hyperbolic Humility 127
# 56 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Shades of Meaning 130

Chapter 5: Japanese Feelings About Kanji 133

# 57 • JUST THE FACTS: Typefaces 138
# 58 • JUST THE FACTS: Kanji Ablaze 140
# 59 • GAME: Weekday Sûdoku 141
# 60 • JUST THE FACTS: Kanji Meditation 142
# 61 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Calligraphy and Clarity of Mind 143
# 62 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: The Way of Culture and the Arts 144
# 63 • JUST THE FACTS: Kanji Sound Effects in Manga 147
# 64 • SPECTACULAR SHAPES: Kanji Sandwiches 148
# 65 • GAME: Kanji Word Find 149
# 66 • JUST THE FACTS: Genkôyôshi 150
# 67 • JUST THE FACTS: Don’t Use These Kanji! 152
# 68 • JUST THE FACTS: Typing Kanji 153

Chapter 6: Double Happiness 155

# 69 • JUST THE FACTS: Mind the Gap 161
# 70 • JUST THE FACTS: A Crash Course in Chinese Terminology 162
# 71 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Chinese Words You’ve Heard 164
# 72 • JUST THE FACTS: The Tones of Hanzi 166
# 73 • GAME: On-Yomi Tongue Twister 168
# 74 • JUST THE FACTS: Phonetic Markers Used in Taiwan 169
# 75 • JUST THE FACTS: Hanja in Korea 170
 contents
# 76 • JUST THE FACTS: Kanji Compounds That China Imported from Japan 173
# 77 • JUST THE FACTS: Representing Grammar with Hanzi 174
# 78 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Animal Signs in the Zodiac 175
# 79 • JUST THE FACTS: Signs for the Traveler 176
# 80 • SPECTACULAR SHAPES: Double Happiness 178

Chapter 7: Ten Tips for Studying Kanji 179

# 81 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Inadvertently Appropriate Kanji 185
# 82 • JUST THE FACTS: Flash Card Layout 186
# 83 • JUST THE FACTS: Sample Landmark Cards 188
# 84 • JUST THE FACTS: Landmark Categories 190
# 85 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Parallel Features 193
# 86 • SPECTACULAR SHAPES: Swooping and Cradling Characters 194
# 87 • THEMATIC EXPLORATIONS: Take Care 195
# 88 • JUST THE FACTS: Kanji Dictionaries 196
# 89 • JUST THE FACTS: Kanji Wood 199
# 90 • GAME: Kanji Crossword 200

Answer Key 203

Glossary 208
Works Cited 210
 Falling in
love with
kanji
As my husband and I walked through Berkeley
preface one summer day, I stopped to examine a tattered
box of sesame seaweed crackers. I spotted Chinese
writing and some English translations, and though
Chinese characters can differ from Japanese ones, I
felt drawn to the multilingual label, eager to see if
I could work out any meanings. Mostly I couldn’t,
but I relished the momentary challenge.
My husband smiled, saying, “It’s a sign of ob-
session if you stop to read trash in the road.” I
laughed, realizing how absurd I must have seemed.
But then I’m so obsessed with kanji that these lit-
tle moments of self-awareness don’t shift my focus
in the slightest.
For six years I’ve been hung up on kanji, one of
three scripts used in Japanese writing. This inter-
est makes virtually no sense in my life, as I don’t
intend to live in Japan and have few fantasies of
even traveling there again. I don’t read manga or
play Japanese video games, so I rarely profit in a
practical way from my kanji knowledge (though
it helps me determine how long to boil soba noo-
dles). I’m far from fluent by any measure. And yet
I’ve allowed kanji to consume hours and hours of
my life, my addiction even interfering with work
at times.
I’ve had dreams about kanji, about the forma-
tion of certain characters. Once when I awoke,
I realized I’d been wrong, but close! And being
close afforded the strangest joy.
I know I’m in the minority on this, but Jap-
anese conversation feels far removed from what
I love about studying the language. Instead, my

• 9
passion has everything to do with cracking the code , which means “to meet.” So maybe we would keep
of kanji. At times I become so immersed in it that I encountering the same characters, which would allow
feel it’s my own private code, and I’m surprised when us to build on our knowledge, rather than continually
I remember that millions of other people think along starting from scratch. Perhaps patterns would emerge
similar lines. from the randomness, all the dots turning into a lovely
pointillist painting. That didn’t happen right away. But
when I took a kanji-centric course that used a terrific
Creating Order out of Chaos textbook (Basic Kanji Book by Chieko Kano, Yuri Shi-
But not everyone has discovered the joy of kanji. As a mizu, Hiroko Takenaka, and Eriko Ishii), I began to
Japanese-language teacher told me, “Kanji is one of the gain a sense of an underlying order.
hardest things to interest students in. I’ve seen a lot of By the time I took two more kanji courses, the ob-
students stop learning Japanese because of kanji, and session took over my life, motivating me to spend hours
every time, I feel sorry that I can’t interest them in it.” upon hours with the characters. I scored well on tests,
I think many students feel shut out, as if they can’t find and I could recognize and reproduce hundreds of kanji.
the proper map to orient them in the vast and often When I moved back into grammar and conversation
chaotic world of kanji. classes, my classmates seemed to think I knew a great
I certainly know that feeling. I haven’t always ex- deal about kanji. I thought I did, too.
perienced bliss and rapture at the mere sight of these Only when I researched the information in this book
complicated characters. When we began learning them did I realize how much I’d been working in the dark.
in my third Japanese class, I felt as if I were flailing I’d had no idea what goes on inside a character, giv-
around in the ocean without a life preserver or any ing it sound and meaning. I’d known that when kanji
view of terra firma. As many grammar and conversa- look alike, they often have similar pronunciations, but
tion books do, our textbook introduced a few kanji I didn’t know why. I couldn’t make sense of why certain
per chapter, drawing them from dialogues that incor- kanji become irregular at times, dropping their usual
porated useful phrases. The kanji bore no relation to readings or meanings in favor of unrelated ones. I knew
each other, which made for a scattershot approach, as if only a handful of prefixes and suffixes, nowhere near
we were memorizing the phone book a few names at a the range available.
time in no particular order. Now I know so much more, including the role
The teacher may have briefly explained why charac- kanji can play in Japanese arts, in religious rituals, in
ters tend to have two readings, but I probably felt over- advertising, and even in historic fireworks displays!
loaded and blocked out this information. After that, Much to my surprise, I investigated Japanese metal-
I never heard more about it. We focused on drawing lurgy and Chinese sericulture (breeding silkworms
strokes in the right order, in the proper proportions, to produce silk) because, believe it or not, these have
and knowing what the characters said. shaped kanji! I also learned how these characters func-
But it came to bother me more and more—why tion in modern-day China and Korea (and in one tiny
were there two radically different pronunciations for part of Wales!). With all this new information (which
each character? Why do the Japanese interweave three you’ll find in the pages to come), I’m all the more en-
scripts? They have two serviceable phonetic scripts and amored of kanji.
could write every word with these. Why, then, do they I bring to this book a passion not only for kanji
use kanji? but also for organizing things. With this book, I aim to
In my confusion, I turned to Michael Rowley’s Kanji create order out of apparent kanji chaos by providing
Pict-o-Graphix, which breaks kanji down to meaning- background information and context. I believe that the
ful, smaller components, revealing the ingredients in key to kanji success is being able to think clearly when
each kanji concoction. Working with Rowley’s fun, you confront nearly identical characters and a plethora
light-hearted book, I began to compile information of possible readings. I hope the information in this
about characters. That gave me some sense of control book provides you with a map to the world of kanji,
and ownership, though still not nearly enough. helping you keep things straight so you can relax, look
Things took a turn for the better when I started around, and enjoy the sights.
making connections between words. Ah— (shakai:
society) and (kaiwa: conversation) share a kanji,

10 • Preface: Falling in Love with Kanji

How Kanji Benefits Language Learners the impact of “solar” versus “sun” or of “filial” versus
Kanji reveals the deeper meaning of words, the ingredi- “son.” Knowing kanji gives you access to a set of vo-
ents in an object. Consider, for example, the word for cabulary that will similarly wow people. It will also
“volcano” ( , kazan), which is “fire” ( ) + “moun- help you understand formal speech, such as that on TV
tain” ( ). This kind of equation is simple, poetic, and news reports.
fun, but it's also informative. Only when I encountered Including more kanji in your writing will definitely
the kanji for “iceberg” and “glacier” did I even ponder impress the Japanese. However, that’s only true if you
the difference between the two concepts: use the right kanji for homonyms! Exhibit 7, “The-
matic Explorations: Bloopers,” alerts you to the sorts
iceberg (hyōzan) = ice + mountain
of funny mistakes you might make if you’re not careful
glacier (hyōga) = ice + river
with your kanji.
“Iceberg” refers to a floating, icy mass. Meanwhile, a
glacier, as I’ve learned, is a body of ice moving down a
slope or valley, possibly spreading outward on land in Oh, What a Feeling!
a riverlike way. So the characters nail it perfectly! See Clearly, kanji is practical to know. More surprisingly, it
Exhibit 5, “Thematic Explorations: Words of Import,” can also touch you emotionally. Consider the following
for more ways in which kanji illuminates English. spiritual benefits.
Often, until you’ve understood the kanji for a word, Understanding kanji affords a wonderful feeling of
you don’t truly know that word. Take the word genkan, being in the know, as when you can decipher kanji on
the entrance hall in a Japanese house. If you asked me restaurant signs, tattoos, and T-shirts. The child in us
several years ago whether I knew the word, I would longs to decode. That’s why kids spend hours solving
have shrugged and said yes. Then I learned the kanji puzzles. And that’s why you’ll enjoy unlocking the door
, which breaks down as “occult” + “barrier” or to a hitherto sealed-off area.
“connection.” What’s occult about an entrance hall? Teasing out the tangles in kanji provides endless en-
Well, if you think about it, a genkan is hidden behind tertainment, as well as thrilling epiphanies. For instance,
the front door, revealed only to the select few who en- (hanabi: fireworks) breaks down as “flower” +
ter. But how can the second character, , mean both “fire”—a perfect way of describing fireworks! Kanji af-
“barrier” and “connection”? Aren’t those opposites? Yes, fords one “aha!” after another, putting a bounce in your
but an entrance hall (and by extension a front door) step and drawing you back for more.
both locks people out and allows them to enter. The When I’m feeling low, kanji is my antidepressant.
kanji captures this paradox! And yet people think these It’s hard to know why this “drug” works so effectively,
characters get in the way of understanding Japanese! but I think it gives my overactive mind something to
Quite the contrary. Kanji lends clarity to a language chew on, so it won’t devour itself. Kanji presents a com-
so riddled with homonyms that kami means “god,” pelling challenge: I need to figure out what a charac-
“hair,” and “paper” (all with different characters). “In- ter means and why. Kanji requires me to concentrate
sect” and “selflessness” are both mushi. And the word for fully and has, in fact, become a form of meditation for
“awarding a prize” sounds exactly like that for “receiv- me. By “meditation,” I don’t mean sitting with closed
ing a prize,” both jushō. Kanji makes clear what the ear eyes, chasing away thoughts. Rather, I mean that kanji
misses. If you’ve ever wished a Japanese speaker would brings on a focused, accepting state in which I’m happy
slow down so you could sort through homonyms, kanji to be doing what I’m doing and there’s nowhere else I’d
provides a nice change of pace. rather be.
If you go to Japan, you’ll definitely want to know I should note that kanji can also bring one close to
kanji. Many students figure they’ll only need to speak insanity! After studying kanji for four hours one Sun-
Japanese there, not read or write. They’re shocked when day, I told my husband, “I feel like I’ve been in some
they arrive in Japan and feel defeated by the signs. other world.” “Japan?” he said. “No,” I replied, “it was
It was my turn to be shocked when I learned that more like that windowless room in A Beautiful Mind
knowing kanji can add prestige to your spoken Japa- where numbers fly by Russell Crowe’s head while he
nese! When English speakers use words derived from tries to find patterns.” As unstable as this “insanity”
Latin or Greek versus from Old English, we may not feels, it’s also as invigorating as a caffeine high.
consciously register it, but that impresses us. Consider Studying kanji brings you into contact with Old

Oh, What a Feeling! • 11

Japan—with a pure form of the culture and the Jap- gate cultural themes, from kanji-shaped bonfires to
anese mind. Dating back about fifteen hundred years animal signs in the Chinese zodiac. In those chapters,
in Japan (and much longer in China), kanji provides the information doesn’t build on itself, and you won’t
a time capsule, giving us insight into the way people miss a thing if you read at random.
once made sense of the world. As timeless human sym- Chapter 7 presents tips on studying kanji. The main
bols, kanji characters can evoke the deepest feelings, text should speak to students. But even casual kanji-
above all joy. tourists might enjoy some of the exhibits, including
one on kanji in a Welsh national park.
The Answer Key comes next, providing solutions to
Preview of Coming Attractions the games scattered throughout the book. These puz-
This book is about a complicated topic, so there’s a zles and brain teasers vary in difficulty, and you’ll find
lot going on in these pages. But it shouldn’t be hard the level of difficulty rated on a scale from 1 (easiest)
to find just what you need. Here’s how the chapters to 3 (most challenging). Making an easy game takes
break down: considerable skill and experience, and I probably came
up short in that arena. I apologize for any frustration
• The Preface will ideally whet your appetite for this may cause.
kanji.
Some of the games require no prior knowledge of
• The Introduction and Chapters 1 and 2 look at kanji or even of Japanese. In those cases, I’ve noted
how single kanji behave.
“Kanji Level: 0.” Many games favor those who know a
• Chapter 3 examines their behavior in groups of two
lot about kanji. The most extreme cases will say “Kanji
or more. Level: 3.”
• Chapter 4 explores what kanji say about Japan.
For certain games you’ll need to know hiragana and
• Chapter 5 conversely looks at what the Japanese say
katakana (two phonetic scripts that are collectively
about kanji. known as kana). Those will be marked with “Kana
• Chapter 6 compares Chinese and Japanese kanji,
Needed: Y.” The others will say “Kana Needed: N.”
with a section on the use of these characters in
At the very end, just before Works Cited, you’ll
Korean. find a Glossary. If you forget the meaning of a term
• Chapter 7 provides tips on studying kanji in enjoy-
you saw earlier in the book, the Glossary should prove
able, effective ways. helpful.
Each chapter starts with “main text” that gives an Some kanji books present characters in a prede-
overview of a topic. As one thinks about kanji, one’s termined order, matching the simple-to-complex se-
thoughts tend to shoot off in several directions. The quence in which Japanese kids learn them. This book is
structure of this book accommodates those trains of nothing like that. You’ll find rare and complicated char-
thought; a host of exhibits follow the main text. Cross- acters in the Preface, and you’ll find an exploration of
references within the main text let you know when it the simple gate ( ) shape halfway through the book.
might be a good time to visit an exhibit. The Table Students who are hellbent on memorizing kanji
of Contents (which you’ve already passed) provides a will want to know how many characters they’ll ac-
comprehensive list of exhibits. quire by reading this book. Not an easy question to
If you want to read main text and exhibits in the answer! Exhibit 13, “Just the Facts: How Many Kanji
order presented, you should have a smooth ride. And Does It Take?” addresses the difficulty of counting
if you zigzag between the main text and exhibits, that’ll the kanji in one’s repertoire. Same goes for counting
work, too. the kanji presented in this book. I hope this book in-
The book has something to offer all levels of learn- vites you to stop counting the trees and instead to lose
ers, from those who don’t know a word of Japanese yourself happily in the vast forest of kanji. Intuition
(or who think they don’t!) to experts in the language tells me that that has to be more rewarding in the end.
and in kanji. Those who want a solid explanation
of the workings of kanji would do well to read the
first half in order, from the Introduction through Acknowledgments
Chapter 3. Spending a year scrutinizing characters as complex as
In the second half, Chapters 4 through 6 investi- , , , and , one could easily go off the deep

12 • Preface: Falling in Love with Kanji

end. To the extent that I didn’t, I have several people extremely complicated language to you. Ask me any-
to thank: thing.” For this I owe a huge amount to several people
who speak Chinese: Tian Tang, Yaling Zhu, George
• My husband, Haroon Chaudhri, who seems to be-
Fang, Bei Li, Eva Shu, and Shawn Wang. I’m also
lieve I can do anything except drive a stick shift.
quite grateful to a brigade of native Japanese speakers,
(We’re both clear about that.)
all of whom cheerfully hunted down answers for me:
• Laura Peticolas, who expressed boundless excite-
Mayumi Sumiyoshi, Hitomi Iida, Yūta Yamada, Kenji
ment about every stage of this project. She under-
Nagafuchi, Satoshi Watanabe, Kensuke Tsuruma, and
stands how I think, what I need, and all the ways in
Tomohiro Matsuzaki.
which kanji and writing feed me.
Additional thanks go to Rodney Tyson, an expert
• Tom Immel, for his indispensable technical sup-
in Korean, and Tim Harland, who shared his knowl-
port. After my computer went belly-up in the mid-
edge of Afan Forest Park in Wales. I’m also grateful
dle of the project, he brought me a spare entirely of
to Kanji Haitani for allowing me to quote from his
his own initiative, loaded it with software, helped
website.
me through rough patches with that machine, and
The editing process brought me many more reasons
later set up my new computer.
to be appreciative. Editors Laurence Wiig and Hiroshi
• Karen North Wells, who gave me the idea to write
Mori impressed me to no end with their insightful ob-
about kanji. With her trademark positive thinking,
servations and sharp eyes for mistakes. I’m incredibly
she cheered me on every step of the way.
lucky that they brought enthusiasm, intelligence, and
• Saori Shiraishi, the first person to encourage my
vast knowledge to the job.
love of kanji. Oh, how patient she was, never act-
I’m indebted most of all to a Japanese man so mod-
ing as though I were a hopeless case!
est that he would prefer not to be named here. Back
• Peter Goodman, the Stone Bridge Press publisher
when he was my teacher, he made me feel that Japa-
who saw potential in my original, amorphous ideas
nese needn’t be an impenetrable mystery. And as we
and steered me in a more effective direction. When
worked on this book, he conveyed that all the more.
he asked me to write about Chinese, Korean, and
It was quite a privilege to have access to his mind with
several other topics well beyond my reach, I was
its overarching, organized view of the language and
stunned and more than a little nervous. But as an-
everything that has shaped it. His generosity of spirit
swers began to come my way, I marveled at his keen
also amazed me. Though strapped for time, he worked
editorial intuition. How lucky for me that he could
with me week after week, patiently answering ques-
see where to take this project. Thanks to the rest of
tions, searching for information that I couldn’t find,
the Stone Bridge staff, as well.
offering the gentlest of corrections, and treating my
I’m also grateful for the Internet (especially Wiki- ideas as if they were of utmost importance. He gave
pedia, which supplied loads of useful information). As me all the room I needed to present material in quirky,
I exchanged emails with Chinese people in the States, personal ways. Reading English isn’t his favorite activ-
an American expert in Korean based in the United ity, but he pored over hundreds of pages. And with
Arab Emirates, and a Japanese woman in Italy, I mar- Libra flexibility, he considered the text from multiple
veled at how the Internet has shrunk distances and na- points of view: as a native speaker, as a teacher, and as
tional differences. a hypothetical non-native reader. Above all, he con-
But technology is only part of the story. I wouldn’t tinually shared my excitement about kanji and about
have made progress without the extraordinary good- this project. For this and so much more, I am deeply
will of strangers who said, “Sure, I’d love to explain my grateful to him.

Acknowledgments • 13
 #1 thematic explorations
Words You’ve Heard
Even if you’ve never studied Japanese, you know more Karate
words than you might realize. Here’s how they look in (karate) = empty + hand
kanji, which tells you what they really mean. The hand is “empty” of weapons. According to Wikipe-
dia, “The name can be interpreted literally or as a phil-
Kimono osophical reference to the concept of the Void (Tao).”
(kimono) = to wear + thing
That’s simple enough—a kimono is a thing to wear. Geisha
But kimono is no longer a generic word for “clothes” in (geisha) = art + person, or “person of the arts”
Japanese. Now it refers specifically to traditional Japa- As geisha perform dance, music, and poetry, these
nese garments. kanji suit them perfectly.

Sushi Zen
(sushi) = congratulations + to preside over (zen)
Japanese has had many writings for sushi. This odd This character originally meant “clearing land in or-
combination is one of the most recent, the kanji cho- der to build an altar.” Now some see the character as
sen for their sound rather than their meaning. An standing for “simple religion.”
alternate writing is , a single character that breaks
down as “fish” + “delicious.”
Kamikaze
(kamikaze) = divine + wind
Tofu Though you may be tempted to fit this word into Jap-
(tôfu) = bean + rotten anese conversation, don’t try, because native speakers
Rotten beans?! Surely something’s wrong! No, probably won’t hear it as a reference to suicide at-
breaks down as “meat rotting in a storehouse.” Be- tacks. Instead, they associate the word with a typhoon
sides TÔ, the first kanji, , can be read as mame, from that supposedly saved Japan from a Mongol invasion
which we get edamame. in 1281 (hence, a divine wind). Rather than referring
directly to that typhoon, though, the Japanese tend to
Origami use kamikaze to speak metaphorically of something
(origami) = to fold + paper good that has miraculously happened. Also note that
The character (paper) is normally read as kami. whereas we pronounce the word as “comma-kahzee,”
But it seems that origami flows off the tongue more in Japanese it’s “kah-mee-kah-zay.”
smoothly than orikami, so the k changed to a g in a
process known as “voicing.” We’ll learn more about Harakiri
this later. (harakiri) = abdomen + to cut
Committing harakiri means fatally plunging a sword
Akita into one’s abdomen (hara), so this kanji combination
(akita) = autumn + rice field makes perfect sense. As with our word “guts,” hara in-
How does this add up to a big, furry dog? Akita is also dicates courage or resolve. By the way, the word hara-
the capital of Akita Prefecture in northern Honshu, kiri tends to make Japanese people gasp. Many people
Japan’s main island. This fighting dog comes from that instead refer to this form of suicide as seppuku.
beautiful region. Also of note: There is or was a Jap-
anese boxer called Kanji Akita. A light-middleweight
boxer, that is—not the dog breed!

14 • Preface: Falling in Love with Kanji

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