用具 YŌGU appliance
道具 DŌGU tool
OBI is taken as i] 鼎 ‘three-legged vessel, cauldron’, or ii] 貝 10 ‘shellfish’ as an abbreviation for 鼎, with two hands as both semantic and phonetic, to give ‘offer, provide’. ‘Wherewithal/equipment’ and ‘means’ are extended meanings. MS1995:v1:104-5; OT1968:98; YK1976:143. We suggest taking the modern simplified upper element as 目 76 ‘eye’, and the lower element as a table.
Mnemonic: KEEP AN EYE ON THAT TABLE – IT’S USEFUL EQUIPMENT
285
L3
君
KUN, kimi
lord, you, Mr
7 strokes
暴君 BŌKUN tyrant
細君 SAIKUN wife
山田君 YamadaKUN Mr Yamada
OBI has ‘words’ (represented by 口 22 ‘mouth, say’), and 尹 (CO graph meaning ‘govern’ by holding a stick) as both semantic and phonetic, to give ‘lead people by words’, and hence ‘lead, leader’. MS1995:v1:216-7; YK1976:144; OT1968:170.
Mnemonic: MY LORD, I SEE YOU RULE BY STICK IN HAND AND BY WORD
286
L3
係
KEI, kakari
involvement
9 strokes
関係 KANKEI connection
係争 KEISŌ contention
係員 kakariIN clerk in charge
A late graph (Shuowen) . Has ‘person’ 亻 41 and 系 855 (‘joined threads’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘link up’. KJ1970:359; YK1976: 147-8; OT1968:63.
Mnemonic: PERSON INVOLVED WITH JOINING THREADS
287
L4
軽
KEI, karui
light, flippant
12 strokes
軽食 KEISHOKU light meal
軽薄 KEIHAKU flippancy
軽石 karuishi pumice
Late graph (Shuowen): . Traditional form 輕 has 車 33 ‘vehicle’, and 巠 (CO, threads stretched on loom) as phonetic with associated sense ‘empty’ (Katō, Yamada); Ogawa says ‘at full speed’. ‘Light’ is extended meaning from ‘empty’. KJ1970:346; YK1976:150; OT1968:983. Suggest take the modern right hand parts as 又 2003 ‘hand’ and 土 64 ‘ground’.
Mnemonic: LIGHT VEHICLE PUSHED ALONG GROUND BY HAND
288
L3
血
KETSU, chi
blood
6 strokes
血液 KETSUEKI blood
血統 KETTŌ lineage
鼻血 hanaji nose-bleed
OBI shows 皿 300 ‘bowl’ with blood in it (short stroke), in pledge. The meaning later became restricted to just ‘blood’. MS1995:v2: 1156-8; MR2007:318; KJ1970:365.
Mnemonic: LIQUID SPILLING FROM BOWL IS BLOOD
289
L3
決
KETSU, kimeru/maru
decide, settle, collapse
7 strokes
解決 KAIKETSU solution
決裂 KETSURETSU breakdown
決心 KESSHIN determination
Late graph (Shuowen) . Has 氵 42 ‘water’, and 夬 (CO, meaning disputed, a hand pulling bowstring etc.) as phonetic with associated sense ‘earth collapses’ as in a dyke, and possibly also ‘pull apart’. In Tōdō’s word-family ‘gouge out’ (cf the NJK 抉 meaning ‘gouge’). ‘Decide’ is a loan usage. Note ‘collapse’ is still a minor meaning for this graph. KJ1970:367; YK1976:154; TA1965:631-6; KJ1985:351. We suggest taking 夬 as a man with a backpack (see also 駅 253).
Mnemonic: MAN DECIDES TO CARRY WATER IN BACKPACK
290
L4
研
KEN, togu
hone, refine
9 strokes
研修 KENSHŪ training
研ぎ革 togikawa strop
研究者 KENKYŪSHA researcher
A late graph (Shuowen) . Has 石 47 ‘stone’, and 幵/幵 (a CO representing two level stakes with a meaning of ‘level’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘(make) flat, level’; in Tōdō’s word-family ‘divide in two; gap’ (here, eliminate gaps or undulations). ‘Refine’ is an extension of basic meaning ‘smoothe out’. KJ1970:375; YK1976:157-8; TA1965:601-06.
Mnemonic: HONE STONE WITH TWO FUNNY STICKS
291
L4
県
KEN
prefecture
9 strokes
三重県 MieKEN Mie Prefecture
県令 KENREI prefectural bylaw
県庁 KENCHŌ Prefectural Office
Bronze depicts a severed head suspended upside down in a tree, as a punishment. Traditional form 縣 (which distorts the ‘tree’ component in bronze), has 系 855 (‘joined threads’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘hang’. Came to be used in Chinese for a similar-sounding word meaning ‘district, county’, and then in Japanese for ‘prefecture’. MS1995:v2:1020-22; KJ1970:379; YK1976:158; OT1968:787. For the modern form we suggest taking the top element as 目 76 ‘eye’ and the remaining strokes as a stand.
Mnemonic: KEEP AN EYE ON THE STAND AT THE PREFECTURAL SHOW
292
L3
庫
KO
storehouse
10 strokes
車庫 SHAKO garage, depot
倉庫 SŌKO warehouse
冷蔵庫 REIZŌKO refrigerator
Bronze
