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I came across an intriguing word:
過渡 (kato: (1) crossing; ferry; (2) transient; (3) changing old to new) to pass by + to go through (life)
It catches my attention for several reasons. For one thing, the spelling (but not the pronunciation) of the yomi reminds me of Kato Kaelin, made famous in the days of OJ’s trial, then quickly forgotten. I love finding words such as karen and shaun, whose romanized versions are first names in English.
Beyond that, I like that 過渡 has such disparate definitions: “ferry” versus “transient.” If you think poetically, this makes sense; as a boat glides across the water, its location is impermanent. Modes of transit are inherently transient! At the same time, the logical part of the brain resists seeing a ferry symbolically. It’s a bus on water.
The multidimensionality of 過渡 comes from 渡 (TO, wata(ru), wata(su)), which has a rich variety of meanings.
I began thinking about this character because it stars in the haiku on the November page of Alberto’s beautiful calendar. As you’ll see, the kigo (seasonal keyword) in that haiku is 鳥渡る (tori wataru: migrating birds, birds + to cross over). You may be more familiar with the inverse:
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