1. Meaning: rain 2. Readings: Kunyomi (訓読み): あま-、あめ、 -さめ Onyomi (音読み): ウ Japanese names: あめ, うらら, うるる, ふる Chinese reading: yǔ, yù 3. Etymology 雨 belongs to the 象形文字 (しょうけいもじ, shōkeimoji, i.e. set of characters of pictographic origin). Kanji 雨 consist of three compounds that all add to its pictographic nature. The top part 一 represents the heavens (天,てん, ten), the 冂 (けい, kei) represents clouds (雲,くも, kumo), and the four dots represent the rain falling from among … [Read more...]
Archives for June 2011
Kanji: 右
1. Meaning: right (the opposite of "left"). 2. Readings: Kunyomi (訓読み): みぎ Onyomi (音読み): ウ、ユウ Japanese names: あき, すけ Chinese reading: yòu 3. Etymology 右 belongs to the 会意文字 (かいいもじ, kaii moji, i.e. characters that are a combination of two or more pictographs, or characters which meaning was based on an abstract concept). 右 is a combination of two pictographs, though there are two major theories in regards to its etymology. First theory says that the top … [Read more...]
Far Eastern Calligraphy – is it written or drawn?
Chinese and Japanese calligraphy is created with a brush, on a white sheet of paper that could be seen as a canvas. In opposition to the Western calligraphy, Far Eastern calligraphy is not a craft, but an art. In fact, it is often referred to as art within art, as it utilises both visual and linguistic media to move the viewer emotionally (poetry of the words combined with the imagery of the lines, beauty of the composition, its energy, and sensible passion of the artist). Calligraphy is also … [Read more...]