From: stueber@VAX.MPIZ-KOELN.MPG.DBP.DE
Newsgroups: sci.lang.japan
Subject: kanji of the day ?47
Date: 29 Sep 92 13:43:50 GMT
Article-I.D.: bloom-be.9209291146.AA26697
Reply-To: NIHONGO@mitvma.mit.edu
Organization: The Internet

KANJI OF THE DAY # 47

            1*          4*****    5*
            ******      ****      ****
          ******        ****        **  ****
        ******            ********************
    ********    3*************
****    2***                ****
        ****                  ******        **
        ****                    ********    **
        ****                        ************
                                        ********
          6***7***********************
          ****                    ****
          ****                    ****
          ****8***********************
          ****                    ****
          ****                    ****
          ****9***********************
          ****                    ****
          ****                    ****
          ****10**********************
              11**
            ********          12********
        ********                    ********
  ******                                ****

(Numbers indicate order and beginning of strokes)

JIS      = 3165 (serial number)
shiftJIS = 91DD (hexcode)
NELSON   = 4503
MIYAMOTO = 12-412
KUNZE    =

   OnYomi: TAI
  Kunyomi: ka(shi)  -  lending
           ka(su)   -  to lend

Mnemonics:  "Substituting money"

Derivation:

   Human figure        stake
            V            V
            **          ******    **
            ******      ****      ****
          ******        ****        **  ****
        ******            ********************
    ********    **************             <---- "human sacrifice" =
****    ****                ****                  exchange or substitute
        ****                  ******        **
        ****                    ********    **
        ****                        ************
                                        ********
          ****************************
          ****                    ****
          ****                    **** <--- sea shell (= money)
          ****************************
          ****                    ****
          ****                    ****
          ****************************
          ****                    ****
          ****                    ****
          ****************************
              ****
            ********          **********
        ********                    ********
  ******                                ****

Compounds:

TAIshaku   -  debt, credit, lend and borrow
KASHIkata  -  creditor; how to lend
KA(shi)basha -  carriage for hire

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I finally got hold of a copy of the book from James W. Heisig
"Remembering the Kanji I, a complete course on how not to forget
the meaning and writing of Japanese characters"
First edition 1977, Second edition 1985, 3rd edition 1986.
ISBN 0-87040-739-2
Japan Publications Trading Co. Ltd.
1-2-1, Sarugaku-cho, Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 101, Japan
Price: 78,- DM

Unfortunately so far I only managed to get a copy of part I.

Part I only contains kanji with their English counterparts
NO onyomi NOR kunyomi are given which makes the stuff pretty
useless. Part II is said to contain hints for the readings.

HEISIG tried to find some mnemonics to memorize the kanjis.
His derivations maybe helpful in some cases but differ in many
cases from the more traditional derivations given by MIYAMOTO.
Therefore I greatly prefer MIYAMOTOs work.

Someone told me the derivations in HEISIG were *wrong*.
This may be true if you insist on accepting only derivations
that coincide with the true etymology of the signs. On the other
hand every idea which might help you to memorize the kanjis better
should be welcomed. Our goal is not to learn classic kanji readings
but to manage modern written (and spoken) Japanese. And in many
cases the *true* derivation is not known and probably never will.

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Kurt Stueber
e-mail: stueber@vax.mpiz-koeln.mpg.dbp.de
Tel:  +49-221-5062537
Fax:  +49-221-5062513

This is Nr. 0047
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