At the OBI stage, written simply with a graph to represent a mound of earth or the earth deity (modern 土 64 ‘ground’). Eventually in bronze inscriptions written with the determinative 示 723 ‘show’ in original sense ‘altar’ added in its short form 礻. Some bronze forms also have 木 73 ‘tree’ as an additional component, and this is taken as reflecting the frequent custom of planting trees on these sacred sites. Mizukami defines the original meaning of this graph as ‘a place to revere where the earth deity is, who has the wondrous power to emit various things from within the earth’, and hence ‘shrine’. MS1995:v2:938-40; SS1984:391; OT1968:718.
Mnemonic: GROUND IS A SHRINE
154
L4
弱
JAKU, yowai/meru
weak
10 strokes
弱点 JAKUTEN weak point
弱み yowami weakness
弱虫 yowamushi weakling
Late occurrence (Shuowen). The early form (seal script) is made up of two bows each with the three-stroke ‘embellishment’ 彡 115, and this leads Shirakawa to interpret the graph as depicting two ceremonial bows, i.e. ones not for use in warfare and therefore not robust, giving the sense of ‘weak’. Ogawa takes the early graph as representing a bow being bent on a frame so it could flex, then embellished, and by extension ‘weak’. SS1984:398; OT1968:340. We suggest taking as double ‘ice determinative’ 冫 401.
Mnemonic: ICED-UP BOWS ARE WEAK, DOUBLY SO
155
L4
首
SHU, kubi
head, neck, chief
9 strokes
首領 SHURYŌ leader
首輪 kubiwa necklace
首切り kubikiri decapitation
OBI , ; bronze . OBI forms clearly depict the head of an animal, some with horns (Karlgren). Some scholars (e.g. Mizukami, Shirakawa, Qiu) tend to see some bronze forms as showing hair attached to a person’s head or eye. ‘Chief’ is an extended meaning. MS1995:v2:1462-4; SS1984:401; QX2000:178; MR2007:401; BK1957:283-4. We suggest taking modern form as 自 150 ‘self/nose’ with brow and horns.
Mnemonic: A NOSE, BROW AND HORNS SIGNIFY A HEAD
156
L4
秋
SHŪ, aki
autumn
9 strokes
晩秋 BANSHŪ late autumn
秋分 SHŪBUN autumn equinox
秋空 akizora autumn sky
Much variation in elements of OBI forms such as , , and also varied interpretations. Complex OBI forms seem to show fire under some sort of creature, which Qiu interprets as a hornless dragon, but Ma takes as a cricket: quite possibly this element served as a phonetic. Shirakawa and Ogawa list a complex graph made up of 禾 87 ‘grain plant’ on the left and 龜 ‘turtle’ over 灬 8 ‘fire’ on the right, taking the right-hand part as a phonetic for ‘burn’ or ‘gather’, though Qiu considers this to be a corrupt variant. Mizukami and Katō also list several simpler OBI forms that appear to depict a bundle of grain plants , and this can be more readily seen as referring to harvesting cereals, and by extension the season, autumn. MS1995:v2:962-4; QX2000:234; MR2007:424; SS1984:407; OT1968:730-1.
Mnemonic: RICE PLANTS (OR INSECTS!) CAN GET BURNED IN AUTUMN
157
L5
週
SHŪ
week
11 strokes
週間 SHŪKAN week
先週 SENSHŪ last week
二週目 NISHŪme second week
A late graph (post-Shuowen). Has 辶 85 ‘walk, go’, and 周 532 ‘around’ as phonetic with associated sense ‘go round’. The extended usage for ‘week’ based on going round one cycle, in this case a seven-day period, evolved through Western influence, as traditionally in China and Japan a ten-day cycle had been the norm (see 旬 1472). KJ1970:1514-5; YK1976:253; SS1984:409; DJ2009:v3:1069.
Mnemonic: ANOTHER WEEK GOES ROUND
158
L4
春
SHUN, haru
spring(-time)
9 strokes
青春 SEISHUN youth
売春 BAISHUN prostitution
春着 harugi spring clothes
OBI forms such as have ‘(a type of) tree’ and 日 66 ‘sun, day’, often with a third element 屯 1806 (modern meaning ‘camp’). Some scholars (Mizukami, Katō) take the tree to be specifically a mulberry, though Ma points to OBI forms supporting his view of a more general sense of ‘forest’. 屯 seems to serve as phonetic, but Schuessler sees a semantic role too: he notes the original meaning as ‘begin to grow’ (of plants in spring). As for the modern form of 158, Qiu sees top part (top five strokes) of 春 as a fused version of the ‘plant’ determinative 艸 53 with 屯. MS1995:v1:616-7; KJ1970:118; MR2007:224; AS2007:197; QX2000:20. Suggest taking modern form as 三 25 ‘three’, 人 41 ‘person’ and 日 66 ‘sun’.
Mnemonic: THREE PEOPLE OUT IN THE SUN – MUST BE SPRING
