Traditional 驛. Late graph (Shuowen) . Has 馬 210 ‘horse’, and 睪 (CO ‘spy’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘change’, simplified to 尺 895. KJ1970:94; YK1976:68-9.
Mnemonic: MAN WITH BACKPACK MOUNTS HORSE AT RELAY STATION
254
L3
央
Ō
center
5 strokes
中央 CHŪŌ center
中央部 CHŪŌBU central part
中央口 CHŪŌguchi central exit
OBI ; bronze . Opinions differ. In broad terms, Mizukami, Katō and Yamada agree that this graph consists of variant for 大 56 ‘big’ for person standing upright with as phonetic element positioned centrally just above the shoulders with associated sense ‘straight, upright’. Graph meaning is ‘neck, back of neck’, and as the neck is positioned centrally, neither to left nor right, the extended sense ‘center’ evolved. Tōdō interprets differently, including 央 within a word-family ‘restrain’, taking the element across the top of the shoulders as a restraining device for criminals (see also 英 449); Ogawa also favors this analysis. With this view, ‘center’ may still be seen as extended usage. MS1995:v1:298-9; KJ1970:76-7; YK1976:72; TA1965:404-7; OT1968:244.
Mnemonic: BIG MAN WITH THICK NECK AT THE CENTER OF THINGS
255
L3
横
Ō, yoko
side, crossways
15 strokes
横断 ŌDAN crossing
横乗り yokonori riding sidesaddle
横顔 yokogao profile
A late graph (Shuowen) . Traditional: 横. Has 木 73 ‘tree, wood’, and 黄 133 (‘yellow’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘stop, obstruct’. Original meaning is horizontal door bolt, and by extension ‘crossways, side’. KJ1970:324-5; YK1976:74.
Mnemonic: YELLOW PIECE OF WOOD LAID ON ITS SIDE
256
L4
屋
OKU, ya (in compounds)
store, building, dealer
9 strokes
屋上 OKUJŌ roof
小屋 koya hut, shed
パン屋 PANya baker(y)
No OBI or bronze forms, but other forms – possibly pre-Shuowen – exist, e.g. , . Taken as 尸 (NJK graph) ‘person slumped or bent or lying down/corpse’, with either: a) 厔, an abbreviated version of 室 152 ‘room’, combining to give ‘a room to lie down in’, and by extension ‘house’, etc. (Ogawa, Katō, Yamada); or b) 至 886 ‘arrive/reach’ (Shirakawa), to give ‘(decide by ritual process) a place to lie down’. OT1968:296-7; KJ1970:324-5; YK1976:74; SS1984:67.
Mnemonic: ARRIVE AT STORE AND FIND DEALER’S CORPSE IN BUILDING
257
L3
温
ON, atatakai/meru
warm
12 strokes
温泉 ONSEN hot springs
温情 ONJŌ kindness
温室 ONSHITSU hothouse
OBI forms , . Traditional 溫. Typically ed as quite late in origin. Seal form onwards consists of 氵 42 ‘water’, with as phonetic; generally, taken as associated sense unclear and the whole graph originally representing a specific river name, then loaned for ‘warm’. Mizukami, however, lists the above OBI forms as showing someone with water in a bath-like container, regards associated sense of the phonetic as ‘warm’, and takes the meaning as ‘river with warm current’ or ‘steamy warm water’. He also treats the same OBI form as the earliest form of 浴 625 ‘bathe’, listing different shapes for 温 and 浴 only at the seal stage. MS1995:V2,772-3; KJ1970:114; YK1976:76. We suggest taking the modern graph as 氵 42 ‘water’, 日 66 ‘sun’, and 皿 300 ‘bowl’.
Mnemonic: SUN WARMS WATER IN A BOWL
258
L3
化
KA, KE, bakeru/kasu
change, bewitch
4 strokes
変化 HENKA change
化粧 KESHŌ make-up
化け物 bakemono ‘spook’
Traditional 化. OBI form depicts ‘person’ 亻 41 (‘standing’), with element ( in Japanese) for person fallen down – indicating change of state – acting as phonetic with associated sense range ‘become different, imitate, false’. The graph is in Tōdō’s word-family meaning ‘change shape’. MS1995:v1:54-5; KJ1970:305-06; YK1976:77; TA1965:607-09.
Mnemonic: STANDING MAN IS BEWITCHED AND FALLS DOWN CHANGED
259
L4
荷
KA, ni
load, burden
10 strokes
出荷 SHUKKA consignment
船荷 funani ship’s cargo
荷物 niMOTSU luggage
A late graph (Shuowen) . Has 艹 53 ‘plant, vegetation’, and 何 86 (‘what?’) as phonetic, original meaning ‘lotus plant’. Early Chinese word for ‘carry on shoulder/back’ was originally written 何, but when 何 came to be used for a near-homophone meaning ‘who?’, ‘what?’, 荷 was borrowed for ‘carry’. AS2007:273,275; YK1976:83; TA1965:583-6.
