Length

by Nao

jō, take

Let me start telling you about ichijō (one jō). It is a unit of length equal to about 3.03 meters, but the unit is obsolete.

This character, jō, is part of the name of an island, Hachijojima, in Tokyo. It’s a tourist resort in the Pacific. Fine silk fabrics called hachijō is a local product.

When attached to other characters, it has other meanings. In Japanese, we sometimes ask “daijōbu?” and reply “daijōbu”. They mean, “Are you ok?” and “I’m ok” respectively. The word daijōbu consists of three parts, dai, jō, and bu.  Jō in the middle is this character. Dai means greatly.  Jōbu is healthy.

Here is how to draw this character:

1. Draw the horizontal stroke from left to right. It can go up a bit.
2. Draw the longer curve from top to lower left and end it with harai (a sweeping stroke).
3. Gently start the last stroke from below where you start the first stroke. When you almost end it, pause and change the direction of the brush, and then make a triangle harai.  (The second and third strokes cross in the form of X.)