mon Mon means either a crest or a pattern. To avoid confusion, we use kamon for a crest and mon’yō for a pattern. Moyō is more commonly used than mon’yō to mean a pattern. Family crests are rarely seen these days. You might see them on formal kimono or tombstones. We know the crest of [...]

chitsu The character (秩) means order. Chitsujo is supposed to be right or to be obeyed so that a social group can keep things in order.

kaiko, san Kaiko is a silkworm. The silk industry modernized Japan. In the late 19th century, poor farmers produced cocoons. Their young daughters worked at factories where silk thread was reeled from cocoons. There must have been some useful words including this character in those days. Even yōsan, which means ‘silk raising,’ sounds obsolete.

shō I sometimes see this character in people’s names, such as Sachiko, Shōko, Yoshitomo, etc. This character has many special readings for names. Other readings are akira, tada, hiro, yasu, yuki and so on. Kichijō is equivalent to kic chō, which means an omen of happiness.

tumu-gu, bō The verb tsumugu means ‘to make yarn’ or ‘to spin.’ The main object of the verb tsumugu is thread. Metaphorically it can be “koto ba” (words) or oto (sound). ito wo tsumugu … to make yarn kotoba wo tsumugu … to write something creative oto wo tsumugu … to compose music

arawa-reru, arawa-su, gen The verb arawareru means ‘to come out.’ The verb arawasu means ‘to reveal something,’ ‘to express something.’ Hyōgen means expression. Two characters  in the word are alike. Another reading of hyō is arawasu, which also means ‘to express something.’ The past, present and future are “ka ko,” “genzai,” and “mi rai” in [...]

so The character 租 implies tax paid by rice. The left part of the character depicts harvested rice; the right part, an offering. In ancient times, taxes were imposed on land. Sozei is a formal word meaning tax. It is used by professionals such as bureaucrats and accountants. In ordinary talks ordinary people have, use [...]

ka-riru, syaku Kariru (to borrow) is the corresponding verb of kasu (to lend). Taishaku means debits and credits. Rented housed are called shakuya. Syakkin means a debt or a loan