Rebbecca Hill
Above is a page of my kana dictionary that shows a variety of るwhich is close to the pronunciation of lu, ll, or ru. In Japanese, lu, ll, and ru sound the same. In this post, I want to show you different る from the documents from the Heian period. In kana shodo, we can pick and choose a style according to our needs. In Rebbecca's, I tried to imitate a small るfrom the dictionary. It is my most favorite る. It isn't that I succeeded. I can write better later on, I hope. But I wanted to show you this part of fun in kana shodo.
Below is Luciana Lhullier. On this one, I simply wrote a standard hiragana る. But as you can see comparing with above photo, it comes from the Heian period. Right? So, if you learn modern Japanese hiragana, you can read 1000 years old kana documents with help. Yes, you can read at least bits and pieces of an ancient text like Genji Monogatari! I hope to show you that later on since many of my readers are very interested in kana shodo. The other day, my blog rating shot up to 500 at Red Room! That was unprecedented. People are especially curious about kana shodo plus all the Japanese pop culture.
I realized that I probably need to write Lu's once more. I wrote るうり, but I think るうりあis better.
Lu, if you can, please let me know how to pronounce your last name. I'll make it as close to your name as possible.
Vincent, if you let me know your full name, I'll rewrite it. Please let me know.
Jitu, I'm unsure how to pronounce your last name. Please let me know so that I can improve this later on.
13 comments:
Keiko, Beautiful and artistic! I commented also on Red Room. Wow, that is a great increase of 500 hits on your RR.
That is your signature in the bottom left corner?
Thank you for the wonderful treats!
THIS IS SIMPLY GREAT.
Rajgor pronounce like,'ra'as in rascal, 'j' as in just, 'go' as in gospel and 'r' as in run.
Rebb,
500 was only one day though, but still I was shocked. Yes, that's my name, Keiko. I wrote the below comment on RR, but I'll post it here, too.
I’m glad your last name is Hill (ひる). I think the ancient small slanted る is effective in effacing way right after a large ひ. I also like large and clearる. It shows strong presence as in Luciana Lhullier. The only problem is that Lu’s name shows two るs. Ordinarily, the Japanese aesthetic tends to avoid the same sound in names and poems. Maybe, I can write her maiden name if Lu chooses. It’s up to her.
When I was born, my mother wanted to name me Atsuko, but Amano Atsuko sounds funny like a caricature. So, she named me Keiko to give contrast to Amano. But of course, there is always some exception. I noticed such names sometimes, and Asano Atsuko is the name of a famous writer. It isn’t bad name. Actually, her name stands out because of two あs. Maybe, double あyields a marketing advantage. It’s loud because of repeated first vowel.
Our culture prefers contrasts in sounds or odd numbers over even, and rhyming isn’t as praised as in western poems. Often, we wrinkle our nose when we hear puns or rhyming. The Japanese language naturally contains many such things in our daily speeches if we analyze them. I used to drive my Japanese friends crazy pointing out puns, rhyming, and other interesting phenomena in our language. I guess those techniques tend to get dull in our ear.
Jitu,
Thank you. I think らじゃごあ is probably close. I'll write it again in my next kana shodo class at the end of the month. Then I'll update it.
Keiko, The manga you created in response is great! Rabbit. Love it!
Thank you for sharing about your name. Even in English sometimes if I hear someone’s name, I think to myself, how could there parents named them that because now their first name plus last name sounds odd and maybe even embarrassing. I can’t think of an example, but I can see why your mother made your name Keiko.
I like some poems that rhyme, but I prefer when they do not. I can just see sitting on a bench with you, Keiko, and having fun noticing many things. :)
I’m going to try and add a snapshot from the web that shows twelve planet glyps used in astrology to represent these planets. You will see Jupiter and Saturn. I don't think I noticed this before, but Jupiter looks like 21 and a fancy 4.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Planets_in_astrology_glyphs.jpg
(posted response on RR too)
Re: 21 and 4
Rebb,
Thank you. Yes, Jupiter looks like 21. I remember the symbols of venus and mars. Long ago, I learned them as male and female relating something medical. I didn't know they came from astrology.
I feel there are much more to delve into about kana shodo, symbols, languages and so on. I just started my Arabic language instruction. I'm excited. It is sooooo interesting! Languages never fail in my excitement. I hope to show you my Arabic shodo soon.
Keiko, That’s right, Venus and Mars for female and male. I had forgotten.
You are right. There is so much to delve into on languages and symbols. How exciting that you started your Arabic language instruction! I can’t wait to hear about how it is going, the new language connections you discover and your Arabic Shodo.
What a beautiful Kana shodo Keiko. Thanks for such a beautiful rendering of my name.
Rebb,
About Arabic, I always wanted to take an introduction class because the language and writing system are so different from Japanese or English. For the same reason, I want to take Korean also. Meanwhile, this is my excuse for not learning Chinese. But I have opportunities to speak Chinese with my friend's husband over phone. I ask him if his wife is at home or out. Of course, I say hello and goodbye and thank you in Chinese.
After just one class, I already made a few very interesting discoveries. I hope to write about them later on.
Ashok,
Thank you. I have no idea how it looks to the people of other culture. I hope to take a Hindi and Urdu introduction class when they are available in Japan. But so far, I haven't seen them.
Your interest in languages is commendable Keiko. I know a bit of Arabic and their is some fascinating calliagraphy in that language too.
Urdu script is derived from the Arabic one nad that too has some nice alliagraphy. The Hindi scipt is however very stiff and geometrical. It is based on the Sanskrit script. It is very accurate mathematically but does not lead to much artistic rendering.
Ashok,
Now, you made me curious about Hindi, especially because you wrote "Hindi scipt is however very stiff and geometrical. It is based on the Sanskrit script. It is very accurate mathematically." Japanese vowels, a i u e o are based on Sanskrit, and it is very logical because of the location of one's tongue. I hope I have a chance to take at least an introduction class in Hindi.
I already looove Arabic writing system. It is great. Alif is very feminine. I love it. I love zeem and beem also. I can't wait to write some phrases and greet Arabian persons. Atsalam Alykun. Wa Alykun tSalam.
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