The Pursuit of Knowledge

As mentioned previously, now I can read and write katakana and hiragana, the time has come for the study of kanji. But this is no mean feat. Learning 46 symbols and their modifiers (x2) was not that tough. At a basic level, saying 'ho' is the same as 'ホ' which is the same as 'ほ' is really not that different from saying that O=O is diatomic oxygen, ― is ethane, or WOCl₄ is tungsten(vi) oxytetrachloride. It's just symbols, meanings and their modifiers.

Kanji is something else though. Only the Japanese academics could claim to know all the kanji and even then, surely there must be some that slip through. There are literally thousands of them. They all have multiple meanings, multiple readings and are modified by what's in front of and behind them.

But there is usually a story behind each one and they are often poetic and quite beautiful. A simple example would be one I explained to lovely Tamsy, about the name of this country - Nihon (日本).

日means 'sun' (it also can mean day, sunshine, sunlight) and is pronounced 'ni' (or 'hi', 'nichi', 'jitsu')... 本 means 'origin' (as well as book, present, main, true, real) and is pronounced 'hon' (or indeed 'moto') ... Put them together and you have 'origin of the sun' - or Land of the Rising Sun - Japan.

One more (just because I can :) has got to be 化学 or 'kagaku'. This is basically 'change study' (amongst other things) - or put another way - 'the study of change' - chemistry. Poetic and logical... What a language !
Just for completion, 'yuukikagaku' (有機化学) 'exist mechanism change study' - mix that up a bit and you have the 'mechanism existing within the study of change' - organic chemistry. Fucking beautiful.

The logic, beauty and poetry have made what I've learnt so far a joy. It is tough, but I'm barely noticing it because I just want to know more and more and more. My sister reckons I'll be having full conversations within about five months. COOOOOOL.


So one of the owners of the bar I drink in - Atlantika - my favourite place in Japan so far (as well as the temple in Nagoya), Miyuki-san, helps with my learning of Japanese.
And in an amazing gesture of almost unparalleled kindness one evening presented me with a book !!!  I fucking love books. It is an elementary school child's book for learning kanji. And it is fucking beautiful. Properly Japanese, not an English word in sight, it reads right-to-left as one would expect, and it is simply incredible.
It gives instructions on how to write it (ie stroke order), displays a small picture of its meaning, a diagrammatical representation of the pictographic derivation, gives the on and kun readings in katakana and hiragana respectively so I can read how to pronounce it (meaning if the pic is unclear I can cross-reference it with a translating device - such as the app. Kotoba - if you're trying to learn Japanese, I cannot recommend it enough. And it's free).

Basically, if I can work my way through the 350 or so pages, I will be at the same level as an elementary school child. Awesome. The kids here are fucking smart as fuck.

So all that I've learnt thus far has come from books, the odd app. or two and the general teachings of people I encounter. I love learning stuff. I think I'd forgotten just how much. Plus there is no maths, so it's not like fucking physical fucking chemistry which I HATE.

My hat goes off to all those who have helped me progress this far this fast... and to them I say (as I do to all of you):

どもうありがとうございます。

お疲れ様です。

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