Like many countries, Japan has 4 seasons. It also has 72 micro-seasons! Traditionally the Japanese year was divided into 72 seasons of roughly 5 days each. Each of these micro-seasons was named after the changes in the natural world that could be observed at the time, or the current agricultural activities. Next week (from MayContinueContinue reading “紅花栄 (Benibana sakau) “Safflowers bloom””
Tag Archives: Japanese words
皐月 (sa-tsu-ki) “May” (archaic)
Like many countries, Japan uses a 12-month calendar. The names are very simple. January is 一月 (ichi-gatsu, literally “Month one”), February is 二月 (ni-gatsu, “Month two”), etc. However, before the Meiji Restoration (mid-1800s) it was common to use an older 12-month system. These months’ names referenced the weather and the seasons (similar to the FrenchContinueContinue reading “皐月 (sa-tsu-ki) “May” (archaic)”
ウサギちゃん (usagi-chan) “bunny” 🐰(actually “bnuy”…. or maybe “bnuny”…???)
This was a commission for the client to give as a gift to a friend who likes the word “bunny”… but often intentionally misspells it “bnuy” or “bnuny”. I had to think how to interpret an English misspelling in Japanese. Eventually I came up with the following solution: “rabbit” = 「ウサギ」 (“usagi”) 2. Putting 「ちゃん」ContinueContinue reading “ウサギちゃん (usagi-chan) “bunny” 🐰(actually “bnuy”…. or maybe “bnuny”…???)”
和気藹々 (wa-ki-ai-ai) “happy friendly atmosphere”
My housemate wanted some calligraphy for our house. He asked for a phrase which relates to people coming together and having a good time. I asked my Japanese teacher for such a phrase and she recommended this 4-character idiom. Loosely translated, it means “full of a happy friendly atmosphere when people gather together”. 和 =ContinueContinue reading “和気藹々 (wa-ki-ai-ai) “happy friendly atmosphere””
咲 (saku) “to bloom”
Springtime is the season for beautiful blooming flowers in Japan. The most well-known are cherry blossoms. Plum and peach blossoms are popular too. They look similar, but there are some key differences:
卯月(uzuki) “April” (archaic)
Like many countries, Japan uses a 12-month calendar. The names are very simple. January is literally “Month One”, February is “Month Two”, etc: 一月 = January 二月 = February However, before the Meiji Restoration (mid-1800s) it was common to use an older 12-month system. These months’ names referenced the weather and the seasons (similar toContinueContinue reading “卯月(uzuki) “April” (archaic)”
🌸 桜 (sakura) “cherry blossoms” 🌸
It’s cherry blossom season in (parts of) Japan! Cherry blossoms are arguably the most beloved of Japanese flowers, and even feature on the 100 coin. In springtime many Japanese people like to do 花見 (Hanami) “viewing cherry blossoms”, sometimes taking the excuse to have a party and drink under the trees.
陰陽 (in-yō) “yin-yang”
Yin is dark, cold, receptive, magnetic. Yang is light, hot, giving, active. Both are present in everything. Rather than being opposites, they are two sides of the same coin. A cup is Yang, but the empty space inside is Yin. Daoists believe that everything contains the seed of its opposite; in this way Yin andContinueContinue reading “陰陽 (in-yō) “yin-yang””
春分 (shun-bun) “Spring Equinox”
In Japan, 春分 (shun-bun) spring equinox is a national holiday. The week which contains spring equinox is called “o-higan”. This has connections with Buddhism, and on this day many people visit spend time with their families and visit their family grave. “Bota-mochi” (rice cake covered in sweet bean paste) is traditionally eaten on this day.
珈琲 (kōhī) “coffee”
Japanese language students will know that “coffee” is usually written in katakana: コーヒー However it does have a kanji! (Or rather, it’s made of 2 kanji): 珈琲 These kanji are what is known as ateji – kanji which are used to phonetically represent foreign loan words. In many cases, the ateji are chosen primarily forContinueContinue reading “珈琲 (kōhī) “coffee””
Calligraphy by Vicky 