Unique Japan

The masterful art of Japanese calligraphy turns stiff letters into swift brush strokes, creating powerful movement and revealing an elusive energy. Unfortunately for those of you who use the English alphabet, the Japanese writing system can be rather complicated. That’s why I’d like to share a few secrets about Japanese writing.

First of all, there are three different types of writing; Hiragana (basic letter), and Katakana (simplified letter), and Kanji (Chinese characters). Hiragana and Katakana are relatively easy to learn since there are only 42 symbols in each category. Kanji, however, is always the Japanese language student’s nemesis. The Ministry of Education considers 1,945 Kanji essential for everyday use. In reality, there are about 50,000 Kanji. Sounds like a lot, but once you know the system, you can learn and decipher Kanji.

Here is how it works. Except for the basic Kanji, there are several elements.
The elements can be categorized as follows.

So let’s dissect the Kanji for Samurai.
侍
There is 人 (person) on the left side and 寺 (temple) on the right side. Thus, Samurai (侍) is a person (人) who protects the temple (寺).

Here is a little quiz for you. Can you guess the meaning of these Kanji?
1. 仙
There is 人 (person) on the left side and 山 (mountain) on the right side. So it’s describing a person who lived on a mountain for a very long time. Who would that be?
2. 休
There again is 人 (person) on the left side and 木 (tree) on the right side. What is the person doing beside or underneath a tree?

Once you get the hang of it, it’s quite fun to decipher Kanji. (I guess it’s no longer a secret that I’m a big nerd!)

By the way, here is the answer to the quiz.
1. 仙 means Buddhist deva, hermit.
2. 休 means to rest