24.Jul.2010 Junboku
純朴 [じゅんぼく] – unsophisticated; naïve; simple
- 純 – genuine; pure; innocent
- 朴 – crude; plain; simple
19.Jul.2010 Mousho
猛暑 – heat wave
- 猛 – fierce
- 暑 – hot
As much of the US is going through a heat wave, I figured this one might be appropriate. Stay cool!
15.Jul.2010 Deru kui ha utareru
出る杭は打たれる – the peg that sticks up will be hammered flat
This proverb really explains a lot about Japanese society. Namely, that it’s best to keep your head down, toe the line, and not make waves, lest you be hammered back into your “place” by society.
The phrase is sometimes rendered with the character 釘 (nail/peg) instead of 杭 (peg/post). From what I’ve been able to tell in my research, the use of 釘 is incorrect, but that doesn’t stop people from using it.
12.Jul.2010 Nengemishou
拈華微笑 [ねんげみしょう] – heart-to-heart communication
If you’ve known me, or have been reading this website, for any length of time, you probably know that I love 四字熟語, or four-character idiomatic compounds. Sometimes, they poetically express meaning that may not be obvious on the surface. Sometimes, they make references to history or spirituality. Today’s phrase covers all the aforementioned bases.
The story goes that 釈迦 Gautama Siddartha (Shakyamuni), the founder of Buddhism, was explaining Buddhism to his disciples by silently twirling a lotus blossom. Only one of his students, having grasped the inner meaning of Gautama’s teaching, smiled. Thus, the phrase 拈華微笑 means “twirling a flower and subtly smiling.”
There are a number of other four-character compounds that also have similar meanings:
- 以心伝心 – direct communication from one heart to another
- 維摩一黙 – there is more value in silence than in eloquence
- 拈華瞬目 – twirling a flower and winking
- 笑拈梅花 – smiling while twirling a plum blossom
- 不立文字 – enlightenment cannot be reached through words
- 黙契秘旨 – a secret principle, taught silently
A Duke Ellington quote comes to mind: “The artist must say it without saying it.”
08.Jul.2010 Kubi wo kashigeru
首を傾げる [くびをかしげる] – to lean one’s head to the side (often when someone is confused or puzzled). Literally, “to tilt the neck.”
07.Jul.2010 Tanabata
七夕 [たなばた] – Tanabata Festival
- 七 [シチ・なな] – seven
- 夕 [セキ・ゆう] – evening
Tanabata is a seasonal festival celebrated in Japan and other Asian countries on 7/7, and was always one of my favorites. Summer had come, people were frolicking in the streets, and there was great Japanese festival food to be had everywhere! But what is Tanabata?
According to legend, 七夕 represents the story of the literally star-crossed lovers 織姫 [おりひめ], the “weaving princess” (the star Vega), and 彦星 [ひこぼし], the “cow herder star” (the star Altair). 織姫 spent her days weaving beautiful fabric for her father 天帝 [てんてい], the King of Heaven, along the banks of 天の川 [あまのがわ], the Milky Way (lit: “river of heaven”). Because she did nothing but weave, she feared she would never fall in love.
To remedy this, her father arranged for her to meet 彦星, the cow herder who worked on the other side of the Milky Way. They fell in love instantly and married, and 織姫 stopped weaving. This angered her father, and he forbade them to cross the Milky Way. Moved by her sadness, the King of Heaven gave them permission to meet once a year, on the 7th evening of the 7th month.
You’ll notice that 七 is not pronounced たな, nor is 夕 pronounced ばた. The pronunciation たなばた comes from the 棚機 [たなばた], or loom, used by 織姫 to weave the beautiful fabric her father loved. Another pronunciation for 七夕 is しちせき. Anecdotally, I don’t recall having heard anyone refer to the festival as such, but that is likely only a reflection of my own limited experience.
06.Jul.2010 Kudamono
果物 [くだもの] – fruit
- 果 [カ・はたす] – fruit
- 物 [ブツ・もの] – thing
Take note that when used in this combination, 果 is read くだ rather than how it is normally read.
04.Jul.2010 Dokuritsu
独立 [どくりつ] – independence
- 独 [ドク・ひとり] – single; alone
- 立 [リツ・たつ] – to stand
独立記念日 [どくりつきねんび] – Independence Day
Independence means standing on your own. Happy Birthday, America.
02.Jul.2010 Kaiki
怪奇 [かいき] – bizarre; strange; weird
- 怪 [カイ・あやしい] – suspicious; mysterious
- 奇 [キ・あやしい] – strange; curious
Here again, as often happens in Japanese, we have a case of two different characters, both of which have similar meanings, being placed together in a compound word. Here are some examples of the word in use:
- 怪奇現象 [かいきげんしょう] – an unnatural phenomenon
- 複雑怪奇な機械 [ふくざつかいきなきかい] – a Rube Goldberg machine
- 怪奇映画 [かいきえいが] – a horror movie