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arable soil, earth
Kanji 1421

Thank you for visiting this Character Home Page. Below you'll find a synopsis of the essay. If you wish to read the full text, the PDF of the essay is available for purchase to the right.

Synopsis

Japan is rich in agriculture now, but it once faced severe food shortages. Find out how people ingeniously transformed volcanic soil into arable farmland. Learn to talk about soil figuratively (as fertile ground for innovations) or literally, saying things like "Plants take in water from the soil" (Hint: There's a way to say "water" other than 水!) Also see what makes hydrangea flowers blue or red!

Revision history:

Nov. 17, 2023: p. 4 caption: Added parentheses around "climate" in 温暖少雨 (warm (climate) with little rain).

Feb. 2, 2022: 

  • p. 2, Etymology Box: Updated the Henshall etymology and the Sears link.
  • p. 13: Added a link to the Kanshudo games.

Oct. 31, 2014: Originally published.

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RADICAL土 (32: earth)
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