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If you have learned the kanji 茶 (tea) and 道 (road, way), you already know both halves of one of the most famous words in Japanese culture: 茶道 (さどう, sadou) — the tea ceremony. This article is not a tour of tea history. It is a close look at how these two kanji, and the … Read more

Few kanji work as hard as 月. It is one of the very first characters you learn, yet it shows up in three quite different roles: the moon in the sky, a month on the calendar, and Monday in your weekly schedule. The good news is that this is not random. Each role tends to … Read more