480531170

1372
砕
SAI, kudaku/keru
break, smash
L1
9 strokes
SAIHYŌSENice-breaker
SAIHENfragment
kudaketainformal
Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen); traditional
. Has 47 ‘stone’, and 564 (‘soldier; end’) as
phonetic with associated sense ‘break up small,
small’, giving ‘stones get broken up small’; sense
then generalized to ‘break, smash’. KJ1970:420;
OT1968:710; TA1965:695; FC1974:v2:1578. is
an early calligraphic variant of , so we suggest
‘nine’ 13, and ‘ten’ 35.
Mnemonic: SMASH ROCK INTO NINETEEN
FRAGMENTS
1373
宰
SAI
administer
L1
10 strokes
SHUSAISHAleader
SAIRYŌmanagement
SAISHŌprime minister
OBI ; seal . Scholars agree is ‘building’
30, but differ on role of 1535 (‘sharp, bitter’).
Associated meanings of include ‘crime/
criminal/slave’, once denoting a large tattooing
needle with handle, used to tattoo foreheads
of slaves/criminals as mark of ownership. Thus
is understood as ‘criminal/slave working in
building’ (Katō); Gu feels criminals/slaves were
charged with slaughtering livestock, in line with
Shuowen. Shirakawa, though, feels it unlikely
that slaves/criminals were used in positions,
such as those of officials who were of high status,
even minister to the emperor ( SAIHO).
Instead, he sees as a tool with a curved blade
for cutting sacrificial meat. Most OBI and bronze
occurrences of do suggest a straight needle/
blade, but there are some with a curve, and Shirakawa
takes the overall original sense of as
probably ‘person in charge (of banquets/food)’.
Tōdō also questions the projected connection
between this graph and criminals. Ogawa takes
as having a phonetic role, with associated
sense ‘take charge of, administer’, thus overall
meaning ‘person in charge of Imperial Court
banquets’ and by extension ‘head official’ for .
Despite the substantial differences of interpretation,
‘take charge of, administer’ is typically taken
as the extended generalized meaning of this
graph. KJ1970:558-9; GY2008:1146; SS1984:336-
7; TA1965:110; OT1968:279.
Mnemonic: A BUILDING THAT HOUSES A
NEEDLE-SHARP ADMINISTRATION
1374
L1
栽
SAI
planting
10 strokes
BONSAIbonsai
SAIBAIcultivation
SENZAI*garden
Bronze ; seal . Has 73 ‘tree, wood’, and