.

      SHO, atsui

      hot (weather)

      12 strokes

      酷暑 KOKUSHO intense heat

      避暑地 HISHOCHI cool resort

      暑さ atsusa heat

      Late graph (Shuowen) ; traditional form 暑 (note dot). Has 日 66 ‘sun’, and 者 314 (‘person’) as phonetic meaning ‘burn’. (The latter element may be taken – as Ogawa does – as semantic also, based on its original meaning relating to firewood). KJ1970:492; YK1976:265; OT1968:471.

      Mnemonic: PERSON UNDER HOT SUN

      330

      L3

      助

      JO, tasukeru/karu

      assist, help

      7 strokes

      助手 JOSHU assistant

      助力 JORYOKU help, support

      助け合い tasukeai mutual aid

      Bronze . Has 力 78 ‘strength’, and 且 1135 (modern meaning ‘besides’, ‘further’, originally ‘cairn/piled stones’), here used as a phonetic with associated sense of ‘help’ or ‘aid’, to give ‘help with strength’ or ‘add strength’. MS1995:v1:138-9; KJ1970:1673; YK1976:266-7.

      Mnemonic: HELP FURTHER BY ADDING STRENGTH

      331

      L1

      昭

      SHŌ

      bright, light

      9 strokes

      昭和 SHŌWA Showa Period

      昭代 SHŌDAI enlightened era

      昭々 SHŌSHŌ brightness

      Seal . Has 日 66 ‘sun’, and 召 1486 (‘summon’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘bright, clear; shine’. MS1995:v1:616-7; KJ1970:607; OT1968:466.

      Mnemonic: SUMMON SUN, AND LET THERE BE BRIGHT LIGHT

      332

      L3

      消

      SHŌ, kieru, kesu

      extinguish, vanish, consume

      10 strokes

      消費 SHŌHI consumption

      消しゴム keshiGOMU eraser

      消火器 SHŌKAKI fire extinguisher

      Late graph (Shuowen) ; traditional form 消. Has 氵 42 ‘water’, and 肯 (modern 肖 1490, now meaning ‘look alike’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘few, scant, small’. ‘Water becomes scarce’ was original meaning, but became more general in relation to using up. KJ1970:606; SS1984:440; YK1976:271-2. We suggest taking the right hand element as 小 38 ‘little’ and 月 18 ‘moon’.

      Mnemonic: WATER HAS VANISHED FROM OUR LITTLE MOON

      333

      L3

      商

      SHŌ, akinau

      trade, deal, sell

      11 strokes

      商業 SHŌGYŌ commerce

      商人 SHŌNIN merchant

      商い akinai trade, business

      OBI ; bronze . Interpretations vary. Some scholars take these early forms to show firewood on a platform/stand, with ritual significance (Shirakawa, Ma). More convincing is the view that the lower part represents the hindquarters of an animal such as a cow, or the buttocks/thighs of a woman, with the ‘opening’ element 口 22 being the vagina; the upper part, which seems to show a large tattooing needle with a handle, is then taken as phonetic with associated sense such as ‘go out, emerge’, giving overall meaning of ‘vagina’ (from which children emerge) (Mizukami, Katō, Yamada). Another associated sense is ‘pierce’, and so vaginal penetration could be another interpretation. ‘Trade, sell’ is a loan usage, and possibly may be felt to suggest prostitution (supposedly the earliest profession). Some scholars suggest 商 may be a shortened form of a complex graph for a word of similar pronunciation in early Chinese meaning ‘peddle’, which at the bronze stage usually – but not always – has the element 貝 10 ‘shell, currency’ added beneath 商 . MS1995:v1:234-5, v2:1246-7; SS1984:441-2; MR2007:254; KJ1970:429-30; YK1976:273.

      Mnemonic: USE YOUR IMAGINATION!!

      334

      L3

      章

      SHŌ

      badge, chapter

      11 strokes

      記章 KISHŌ medal, badge

      文章 BUNSHŌ writing, prose

      章句 SHŌKU chapter, passage

      Bronze ; seal . Depicts a needle for tattooing criminals and slaves, to identify them clearly. Significance of the swollen roundish part is debated: Shirakawa suggests it might represent accumulation of ink, while Mizukami suggests it is either eye of the needle or a part made wider to hold more easily. Tattooing needle came to signify ‘mark (made by tattooing), sign’, and originally the two-character compound 文章 meant ‘elaborate tattoo’ (Shirakawa); by extension such meanings as ‘writing; sections in a piece of writing’ evolved for 章. MS1995:v2:982-3; OT1968:745; SS1984:443; YK1976:274. We suggest taking the modern graph as ‘stand’ 立 77 and ‘early’ 早 52.

      Mnemonic: EARLY CHAPTER ON BADGES STANDS OUT

      335

      L3

      勝

      SHŌ, katsu, masaru

      win, surpass

      12 strokes

      勝利 SHŌRI victory

      勝負 SHŌBU win or lose, match

      勝気 kachiKI will to win

      Seal . Late graph (Shuowen). Has 力 78 ‘strength’, and 朕 1731 (now royal ‘We’, but originally ‘join boat-planks’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘raise up’, giving ‘use strength and raise up; endure’. ‘Win’ is extended meaning. KJ1970:535; YK1976:274; OT1968:12. We suggest using 力 , 夫 601 ‘man’, 月 209 ‘flesh’, and the two strokes as horns.

      Mnemonic: STRONG FLESHY MAN WITH HORNS WILL WIN

      336

      L4

      乗

      JŌ, noru/seru

      ride, mount, load

      9 strokes

      乗船 JŌSEN embarkation