The short story of Kanji pictures
Imagine watching a swallow heading up into the sky, gracefully folding and beating its wings from above. Since ancient times in China, the swallow has been a symbol of good fortune and happiness. Because of this auspicious meaning, this character is frequently used in town names and other celebratory places.
On the left side of this character, you can find a symbol for money or metal, while the right part combines elements signifying a weapon and a king. It reveals a historical truth: in ancient times, the tribe that mastered the art of making steel gained the power to become kings, growing incredibly strong and rich. In world history, steelmaking was first invented in ancient Turkey, and in local lore, a legendary indigenous tribe was famous for holding this advanced knowledge.
This character describes a hand spread wide to measure something. Specifically, the span from a person’s thumb to their index finger was used as a standard baseline, representing a size of about 30 centimeters.
This character describes the rising sun emerging just above the horizon. Because it captures the very beginning of a new day, it is traditionally used to represent the first day of the new year.
The character for the sun is remarkably simple. As you can see, it is represented by nothing more than a basic round mark.
This character depicts a cloud with a thunderbolt striking one of the clay pods devoted to God. Ancient people prayed and sought to hear divine messages through sacred ceremonies like this, which is why it now carries the meaning of ‘spiritual’.
The word for this drink has already become part of the English language. In this figure, you can see a traditional sake cask on the right, and the symbol for water on the left. Therefore, this character means exactly that.
To receive messages from the divine, ancient people prayed over a clay pot covered with a stone and listened for the vibrations within it. This is why this character means ‘sound.’ When combined with another character that means ‘enjoy,’ it creates the word for ‘music’!
