Category Archives: kanji

夢 (yumé) “dream”

Do you remember your dreams? According to Japanese tradition, the things you dream about in your first dream of the new year can foretell what’s going to happen in the coming year. It is believed that the 3 most auspicious things to dream of are: Mount Fuji 🗻 A hawk 🦅 An eggplant / aubergineContinueContinue reading “夢 (yumé) “dream””

積読 (tsun-doku) “The habit of acquiring books but letting them pile up unread” 📚

積読 (tsun-doku) is a recent Japanese phrase meaning something like “buying loads of books and letting them pile up without reading them”. The kanji: 積 (tsun) Comes from 積んでおく(tsundéoku), meaning “to let something pile up”. 読 (doku) Comes from 読書 (dokusho), meaning “reading”. The above artwork was a commission for a book-lover 📚

心技体 (shin-gi-tai) “mind, body, spirit”

This was a calligraphy commission for a martial arts practitioner to use as a wall decoration and also as a tattoo design. Students of Japanese will notice that it doesn’t exactly say “mind, body, spirit”. This is because although this phrase is common in English, it’s a little different in Japanese. Happily there is aContinueContinue reading “心技体 (shin-gi-tai) “mind, body, spirit””

梅雨 (tsu-yu) “the rainy season” (literally “plum rain”)

The Japanese rainy season usually lasts from early June to mid-July, just before it starts to become unbearably hot and humid in summer. It often rains non-stop all day. The kanji in this word are:梅 = plum雨 = rainAccording to Wikipedia, this name comes from China. When plums begin to fall during this period, theContinueContinue reading “梅雨 (tsu-yu) “the rainy season” (literally “plum rain”)”

Three Japanese place names

This was a commission for client who spent a wonderful year living in Japan and wanted to remember the place where she lived. She lived in the small town of 波方 Namikata, which is in the municipality of 今治 Imabari, which is in the prefecture of 愛媛 Ehime. Japanese addresses are written with the largestContinueContinue reading “Three Japanese place names”

芒種 (bō-shu) “Grain beards and seeds”

As well as having 4 seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter), in Japan the year can also be divided into 24 節気 (sekki), or solar terms. The solar terms include terms that are familiar to English-speakers, such as the solstices and equinoxes. They also include references to the weather, the temperature, and the beginning of theContinueContinue reading “芒種 (bō-shu) “Grain beards and seeds””