480531170

1282
L2
剣
KEN, tsurugi
sword, bayonet
10 strokes
KENDŌkendo
KENBUsword dance
TANKENdagger, dirk
Bronze (); seal ; traditional forms , ,
. This graph occurs in a variety of shapes,
reflecting a range of constituent elements. The
bronze form given here consists of 16 ‘metal’,
with 僉 (see 1280) as phonetic with associated
sense ‘pointed, sharp’, giving ‘sharp pointed
weapon for stabbing’, a definition which might
suggest ‘dagger’, but also encompasses ‘sword’,
which became the predominant meaning. The
seal form also has 僉 , but substitutes /
198 ‘knife, sword, blade’ for . In turn, the
alternative traditional forms and have
variants of 1549 ‘blade’ in place of . Variant
shapes are a very common characteristic of
the Chinese script as used over the centuries
in both China and Japan (see Introduction),
though not so prominent today on account of
script reforms that have taken place in modern
times. The range of earlier forms for is probably
a reflection of the importance of the sword
as a weapon in pre-modern China and Japan.
MS1995:v1:136-7; OT1968:118,110; TA1965:847-
8; SS1984:257. As with 1280, we suggest taking
㑒 as 亼 cover, and as 254 ‘center’.
Mnemonic: TAKE COVER OFF SWORD-LIKE
BAYONET AND AIM FOR CENTER
1283
L1
拳
KEN, GEN, kobushi
fist
10 strokes
KENJŪhand gun, pistol
TEKKENclenched fist
KENTŌboxing
Bronze ; seal ; traditional . Has 34
‘hand’, and (originally, depiction of two
people raising their hands together to lift up
an object; traditional form of 2047 ‘give’),
generally treated here as phonetic (though
1284
軒
KEN, noki
eaves, house-counter
L2
10 strokes
IKKENone house
KENTŌporch light
nokisakifrontage
Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 33
‘vehicle’, and 840 (originally, type of forked
weapon; now ‘dry’) as phonetic with associated
sense taken in one analysis as ‘stick out,
project’, giving ‘cart/carriage with projecting
shafts’, with the semantic range being ex-
could instead be regarded as semantic and
phonetic) with associated sense ‘lift up’, giving
‘lift up high, raise’. Meanings such as ‘perform’
and ‘together’ are extended senses. The modern
form has , which is just an abbreviation
in shape and not to be taken as meaning
‘handle rice’ such as in 688. KJ1970:268;
OT1968:411,835; MS1995:v1:562-3,v2:1359-61.
As with 688 we suggest taking as ‘two’
65 and ‘fires’ 8.
Mnemonic: MAN CLENCHES HANDS INTO
FISTS AS TWO FIRES RAGE
tended to other things which project, such
as eaves (Ogawa). Another analysis treats
as phonetic with associated sense ‘put/rise
high up’, giving carriage shafts which curve up
high (Tōdō); Tōdō notes that from Han times
onwards was used mainly to mean ‘eaves’.
Alternatively, this graph is taken to refer
originally to a covered carriage used by those
of higher status (Gu); presumably the cover
projected over. OT1968:981; TA1965:583-8;
GY2008:413.
Mnemonic: VEHICLE KEPT DRY UNDER EAVES
The Remaining 1130 Characters 381