A Standing Tree

A Standing Tree

ki, ju

Trees are called ki. This “ki” is not as common as another “ki.”

Jumoku also means trees. The former character “ju” is today’s character; the latter is the simpler one.

Some people prefer this character in names.

Roadside trees are gairoju. Tree planting is shokuju, of which the shoku means to plant.

If you want to see these words in Japanese, visit >>> here.

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1. Draw the horizontal stroke from the left.
2. Draw the vertical stroke from the top to the bottom.
3. Draw the sweeping stroke from the previous strokes intersect.
4. Draw the small dot like a hanging branch of the vertical stroke.
5. Begin to draw the middle part. Draw the horizontal stroke on the top.
6. Draw the vertical stroke from the top.
7. Draw the horizontal stroke touching the previous stroke.
8. Draw the left side of the rectangle.
9. Draw the upper and right sides of the rectangle.
10. Draw the lower side of the rectangle.
11. Draw the left dot below the rectangle.
12. Draw the sweeping dot.
13. Draw the quasi-horizontal sweeping stroke at the bottom.
14. Begin to draw the right-hand side of the character. Draw the horizontal stroke.
15. Draw the horizontal stroke with an upward turn.
16. Draw the dot.

Roots

Roots

ne, kon

We call roots ne or nekko. However, they are not equivalent. For example, ne does not mean origins as roots do.

“Ne wo orosu” means to put down roots. The verb “nezuku” means to root. The verb “nezasu” means to root, to take root, or to be based on.

The square root of a number is “hei hō kon.”

The verb “konzetsu suru” means to eradicate.

If you make strenuous efforts to do something and never give up, you have “konjō.” It’s admirable to have such attitude. Konjō also means one’s personality. When somebody says another person’s “konjō” is distorted (konjō ga magatteiru),  his or her personality is criticized as bad.

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1. Draw the horizontal stroke from the left.
2. Draw the vertical stroke from the top to the bottom.
3. Draw the sweeping stroke from the previous strokes intersect.
4. Draw the small dot like a hanging branch of the vertical stroke.
5. Draw the hook on the top.
6. Draw the horizontal stroke under the horizontal part of the previous stroke.
7. Draw the horizontal stroke below it. Make these horizontal strokes parallel.
8. Draw the vertical stroke.
9. Draw the sweeping stroke from the bottom to the upper right.
10. Draw the dot from below the lower right corner of the small rectangle. It looks like a short sweeping stroke.
11. From the center, draw the sweeping stroke lower rightward.

When you write this with a pen, the ninth stroke is the upward turn of the eighth stroke. This is originally a ten-stroke character.

Cherry

Please click -> here to find information on this character and visit http://www.japanesecalligrapher.com
for more characters.

Pine

by Nao

matsu, shō

Matsu is pine. It is an evergreen tree.

Pine, bamboo, and Japanese apricot can withstand harsh coldness. Because of their strength, they are regarded as good luck trees, the so-called “shō chiku bai.” Japanese families display them on happy occasions such as New Year’s Day.

Hideki Matsui and Daisuke Matsuzaka are major league baseball players. Their last names begin with today’s character.

The founder of Panasonic is Kōnosuke Matsushita. His family name also begins with today’s character.

Some names of cities have this character. Matsumoto city is the capital of Nagano. Matsuyama city is the capital of Ehime.

Draw the left-hand side of the character first.

1. Draw the horizontal stroke from the left.
2. Draw the vertical line from the top to the bottom.
3. Draw the sweeping stroke from the previous strokes intersect.
4. Draw the small dot like a hanging brunch of the vertical stroke.
5. Draw the sweeping stroke from the top to the center.
6. Draw the dot from the top to the lower right.
7. Draw the sweeping stroke below the fifth stroke.
8. Draw the semi-horizontal stroke from where you finish the last stroke to the right.
9. Draw the dot, which hides the end of the previous stroke.

When you draw this character with a pen, the seventh and eighth strokes are supposed to be one stroke.

Willow

by Nao

yanagi, ryū

A tree called yanagi is a willow. A pussy willow is nekoyanagi. Neko means a cat. The buds of nekoyanagi are furry like a cat.

Some names include this character. Yanagase in Gifu and Yanagawa in Fukuoka are examples. The former is a shopping district; the latter is famous for a boating trip down the river. This character is used for surnames, too.

Draw the left-hand side of the character first.

1. Draw the horizontal stroke from the left.
2. Draw the vertical line from the top to the bottom.
3. Draw the sweeping stroke from the previous strokes intersect.
4. Draw the dot where the previous stroke begins.
5. Begin to draw the right-hand side of the character. Draw the sweeping stroke from the top.
6. From where you end the previous stroke, draw the vertical stroke.
7. Draw the stroke sweeping up.
8. Draw the sweeping stroke from below the fifth stroke.
9. Draw the hook on the right. Don’t forget the upward turn.
10. Draw the vertical line.

The sixth and the seventh strokes are supposed to joint together when you draw it with a pen.

Japanese Apricot or Plum called Ume

Please click -> here to find information on this character and visit http://www.japanesecalligrapher.com
for more characters.

Peach

by Nao

momo, tō

Momo is a peach. The color pink is momoiro.

Tōgen or tōgenkyō is a utopia. The origin of the word is in China. And it sounds a little bit classical.

Momotarō is a Japanese folklore hero. He was born from a big peach found by an old couple. They brought him up. He was smart and brave enough to defeat ogres eventually.

Draw the left-hand side of the character first.

1. Draw the horizontal stroke from the left.
2. Draw the vertical line from the top to the bottom.
3. Draw the sweeping stroke from the previous strokes intersect.
4. Draw the dot where the previous stroke begins.
5. Draw the sweeping stroke from the center top to the center bottom.
6. Draw the small dot near the center.
7. Draw the dot below the previous stroke. Make it head toward the upper right. The sixth and seventh strokes are between the left-hand side and the sweeping stroke, that is, the fifth stroke.
8. Draw the long curve from the top.
9. Draw the sweeping dot from the upper right to the middle of the curve.
10. Draw the elongated curve from the middle of the curve to the lower right.

Orange

by Nao

daidai, tō

The color orange is daidai or orenji in Japanese. Daidai is also a citrus fruit.

Draw the left-hand side of the character first.

1. Draw the horizontal stroke from the left.
2. Draw the vertical line from the top to the bottom.
3. Draw the sweeping stroke from the previous strokes intersect.
4. Draw the dot where the previous stroke begins.
5. Begin to draw the right-hand side. Draw the hook on the top.
6. Draw the dot on the previous hook.
7. Draw the upper dot on the right.
8. Draw the sweeping stroke.
9. Draw the other dot on the sweeping stroke.
10. Draw the horizontal stroke just under the umbrella you’ve just drawn.
11. Draw the left side of the rectangle.
12. Draw the upper and right side of the rectangle.
13. Draw the lower side of the rectangle.
14. Draw the dot under the left side of the rectangle.
15. Draw the dot under the right side of the rectangle.
16. Draw the horizontal line at the bottom.