From: stueber@VAX.MPIZ-KOELN.MPG.DBP.DE
Subject: kanji of the day #34
Reply-To: NIHONGO@mitvma.mit.edu
Organization: The Internet
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 12:23:00 GMT

KANJI OF THE DAY # 34

                          7*****
                          ****    8*
                  ****    ****      ****
      1*****************  ****        ****
                          ****        ****
                          ****
                          ****            ****
2***********************************************
                          ****
              3*****      ****
              ****        ****
      5*****  ****        ****
      ****    ****    **    ****
      ****    ****4*******  ****
      ****    ****          ****
      ****    ****            ****
      ****    ****            ****
      ****    ****              ****        **
      ****    ****    ****      ******      **
      ****    ********            ******    **
      ************                  ******  **
6*************                        **********
  ********                              ********
  **                                      ****

(Numbers indicate order and beginning of strokes)

JIS      = 3840 (serial number)
shiftJIS = 9590 (hexcode)
NELSON   = 51
MIYAMOTO = 8-6
KUNZE    =

   OnYomi: MU,BU
  Kunyomi: take(shi)   -   brave

Mnemonics:  "Military marching"

Derivation:

                          ******
                          ****    **
                  ****    ****      ****
      ******************  ****        ****
                          ****        ****
                          ****
                          ****            ****
************************************************   <-- weapon
                          ****
              ******      ****
              ****        ****
      ******  ****        ****
      ****    ****    **    ****
      ****    ************  ****
      ****    ****          ****
      ****    ****            ****
      ****    ****            ****
      ****    ****              ****        **
      ****    ****    ****      ******      **
      ****    ********            ******    **
      ************                  ******  **
**************                        **********
  ********                              ********
  **                                      ****
          ^
         footprint (also signifies "to stop")

Compounds:

BUryoku    -  armed might, military power, the sword, force
BUshi      -  samurai, warrior
MUsha      -  warrior
kageMUsha  -  the "shadow warrior", a famous film from Kurozawa
BUke       -  samurai, warrior
BUsou      -  arms, weapons
BUki       -  weapon

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

From this sign the hiragana MU has been derived.

The following citation from a patriotic book by Yamada Nakaba
entitled "Ghenkou - The Mongol Invasion of Japan" (1916!) further
describes the obove kanji:

"The Japanese word "Bu" (soldiery) means really "peace"; for it is made
up of two letters, "stop" and "sword." Though the word was invented in time
immemorial by a great Chinese sage, the Japanese early borrowed it from
China with profound respect, and have made it their own. The Japanese
"Bu" or Chinese "Wu" should seek peace through war so long as reason
justifies war, and it should halt when peace is obtainable."

I'm a bit relutant but I will also give you the two sentences following
the above citation:

"But will the Japanese sword be used for ever, or do they think, as
some observers fear, like the Germans? No! The ideal of the Japanese
is much grander than that of the Germans, who consider might is
everything."

Consider the time these sentences were written during WWI (1916).
Well, I think it is good that history makes many such statements obsolete.

Kurt

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

This is Nr. 0034
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Newsgroups: sci.lang.japan