Page 71 - Japanese Character Writing for Dummies
P. 71
road, way, path
This kanji occupies a central place in the collective imagination of the people of Northeast
Asia. It is the Chinese dao, the way, the path that must be followed to attain wisdom. As a
DŌ/michi result, this kanji is associated with many sports or artistic practices such as shodō (cal-
ligraphy), sadō (the way of tea), kendō (the way of the sword), bushidō
(the way of the samurai), and so on. michi is a general term for “road,” and
michi ni mayou means losing your way, or “getting lost” in colloquial English.
Radical: ⻌ Number of strokes: twelve
sky, emptiness
sora (the sky) brings us whimsical charms: blue sky, dark cloudy sky, sky with fluffy
KŪ/kara, clouds, and other variations. aozora (a blue sky) may make you feel happy, but
amazora (a rainy sky) looks gloomy. Japanese people admire the beauty of Mt. Fuji, Fujisan,
sora with its snowy summit under the blue sky. If being contemplative or romantic is not your cup
of tea, you might like something more active, like karate (literally empty hand)!
Radical: 穴 Number of strokes: eight
CHAPTER 3 105 Characters 65
