480531170

47 ‘rock’. The graph comprises ‘rock,
stone’, and 1490 (‘resemble’) as phonetic
with associated sense taken in one analysis
as ‘absorb, digest’, giving ‘rock mineral to aid
digestion’, and by extension – based on the
later use of saltpeter (Song Dynasty onwards)
– ‘gunpowder’ (Katō). Ogawa, alternatively,
takes the associated sense of here as
‘pointed, sharp’, giving ‘type of mineral with
crystals’, reflecting the naturally-occurrent
state of saltpeter. On a historical note, China
is credited with the first use of gunpowder.
Moreover, by the 10th century it had the most
sophisticated weaponry in the world, including
explosive rockets, land mines, and flamethrowers.
Despite this, they were beaten by
the Mongols in the 13th century. When the
Mongols went on to attempt to invade Japan
in 1274 and 1281 – thwarted on both occasions
by typhoons (kamikaze, ‘divine wind’)
– they took gunpowder-based weaponry,
such as cannon and grenades. It is a profound
mystery in Japanese history as to why the
Japanese did not try to develop their own
gunpowder-based weaponry, for they could
easily have retrieved cannons from sunken
Mongol ships (or, earlier, simply by visiting
China). Instead, they waited until the arrival
of Portuguese in 1543, with cumbersome
arquebuses, which were promptly improved
by the Japanese. KJ1970:608-9; OT1968:712;
SS1984:445; GY2008:1397-8.
Mnemonic: SALTPETER RESEMBLES A STONE
1505
L1
粧
SHŌ
adorn, make-up
12 strokes
KESHŌmake-up
KESHŌHINcosmetics
KESHŌSHITSUpowder room
A post-Shuowen graph, very late. For many
centuries, the underlying word was written
as (CO; see Note below). In the entry
for , the early 17th century Zhengzitong
refers briefly to , but only to dismiss it as
an erroneous popular form. consists of
220 ‘rice’, with (NJK meaning ‘countryside,’
‘level’) as phonetic with associated sense
‘build up, give shape to’, thus ‘rice powder for
1506
詔
SHŌ, mikotonori
imperial edict
L1
12 strokes
SHŌSHOimperial edict
SHŌREIimperial edict
TAISHŌimperial edict
Seal . Has 118 ‘words; speak’, and
1486 (‘summon’) taken in one view as semantic
and phonetic (or just phonetic), meaning
‘call out facing upwards’, and taken to signify
giving shape’, i.e. ‘cosmetic powder’. Traditionally
referred to in Japanese as o-shiroi ‘white
(substance)’. It was not until the 1940s that
gained official status in Japan, being at
that time included for the first time in several
official character lists, including the Tōyō
kanji List of 1946. Note: consists of 37
‘woman’, plus 1488 as phonetic with associated
sense which Tōdō takes as ‘dress to
look slender’, to give overall meaning ‘adorn’.
TA1965:378-80SK1996:1343; SS1984:445;
ZZ1671:v1:306; OT1968:762. We suggest taking
the right hand part as 127 ‘building’
and 64 ‘ground’.
Mnemonic: ADORN EARTHEN FLOOR OF
BUILDING WITH RICE
i] ‘call out and summon others, announce to
inferiors’ (Mizukami), or ii] ‘inform the deities’
(Shirakawa). Ogawa, who takes here as
semantic and phonetic, meaning ‘call out,
call’, giving ‘call over and inform’, notes that
from the Qin Dynasty onwards this graph was
used to refer to edicts issued by the emperor.
Mizukami lists a proposed bronze equivalent.
MS1995:v2:1192-3; SS1984:446; OT1968:925.
Mnemonic: SUMMONED TO HEAR WORDS OF
IMPERIAL EDICT
446 The Remaining 1130 Characters