What comes next ...

This is a record of my journey as I explore the space between reality, the manner in which the ancient Chinese perceived it, and how that perception condensed into the snowflakes we call the Kanji. And further into Kanji compounds. Also perhaps, some interesting patterns that emerged as the kanji were adapted by the Japanese to fit their language. And then some oddities, questions and interesting kanji tidbits.

I use as my sources -
a.) works by Shirakawa Shizuka - a famous scholar who devoted his life to Kanji etymology
b.) Kenneth Henshall - A guide to remembering the Kanji
c.) The Kanjigen dictionary that comes with my Casio EX-Word 6900.
d.) 'The Green Goddess' The big Kenkyusha Wa-Ei
e.) Jack Halpern's beautiful Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary.
f.) Jack Halpern's NJECD
g.) Nihon Kokugo Dai-jiten
h.) intuition - mostly for spotting interesting connections, and asking good questions.
i.) observation - for spotting ways in which the Kanji are intertwined with Japanese culture.

The posts will not be ordered but perhaps the 'label' system can help bring some order later.

slowly the kanji ...

slowly the kanji,
sink into this mind-ripple,
like snowflakes drifting down to the ground.
each one different, but similar
silent moments of frozen beauty, a clue ...
for this world, that there is another....