Hills or Heights

oka, kyū

Wuthering Heights, written by Emily Brontë, is known as “Arashi ga oka” in Japan. Arashi means a storm. Oka means hills or heights. The particle “ga” connects a noun and oka. The phrase, “… ga oka” and “… no oka” are the same but the former is more classical than the latter.

There are so many places called “… ga oka” in Japan.

Not all the hills and heights are called “oka.” “Bibarī hiruzu, which is written in katakana, is Beverley Hills as you might guess. Also, “hiruzu” and “haitsu” in katakana are the names of some places in Japan. Living in places that have these words has been a status symbol. Especially, Roppongi Hills (roppongi hiruzu) in Tokyo is a high-rent district, where only the rich can dwell.  Some apartment buildings have names with “… hiruzu” or “… haitsu.” English and French loan words are very popular. Words in Japanese are out of the question. This trend is not a fault of landlords. Realtors suggest that they should name like that, otherwise, the property would attract few prospective tenants.

1. Draw the sweeping stroke on the top.
2. Draw the vertical stroke touching the previous stroke.
3. Draw the upper horizontal stroke.
4. Draw the shorter horizontal stroke.
5. Draw the horizontal stroke at the bottom.