Sometimes when we search for meaning, it’s not a deep, aching quest. Rather, it’s along the lines of, “What the hell does this mean?” We might say such a thing if we’ve encountered kanji like 籐, 飄, or 聾.
Hang on. I can crank up the size on those for a better look:
籐 飄 聾
I’m guessing that clarity has come in one sense, but not in the other. Well, help is just around the corner.
For the Meanings of
These Head-Scratchers …
You may feel similarly stumped when you contemplate the arts. The following compounds can help you voice your confusion (or conversely your certainty of what artistic creations mean):
画意 (gai: meaning of a picture) picture + meaning
語意 (goi: meaning of a word) word + meaning
題意 (dai’i: meaning of a question) question + meaning
句意 (kui: meaning of a phrase) phrase + meaning
文意 (bun’i: meaning of (a passage)) written work + meaning
If a piece of art puzzles you, chances are good that the artist felt the same way during the creative process; with each passing hour, his or her thoughts likely became more convoluted. The following term describes this phenomenon:
意匠惨憺 (ishōsantan: agonizing over designing or creating
something) design (1st 2 chars.) + miserable (last 2 chars.)The first two kanji, 意匠, break down as meaning + artisan. (Doesn’t 匠 look strange, like an overprotected T?!) The last two characters, 惨憺, collectively mean “miserable, pitiful, tragic” and break down as miserable + peace of mind. These characters are so intricate that I’m going to magnify them a bit:
惨憺
There. Now you know how an artist’s misery looks!
