拙

unskillful; humble self-deprecation

Kanji 1487

With 拙, you can condemn art as crude, writing as unsophisticated, foreign policy as unskillful, and yourself as incompetent. But 拙 isn’t only about impossibly high standards. The essay shows that speed sometimes matters more than good results. Of course, maybe others won't see your shoddy work that way. Conveniently, the essay also teaches you to say, “I’m screwed!”

Revision history:

Nov. 23, 2021: 

• p. 1: Revised the photo caption a bit.
• p. 2, Etymology Box: Replaced the Henshall etymology with the new one and updated the Sears link.
• p. 6: Deleted a paragraph related to a dead link.
• p. 10: Added a link to the Kanshudo games.

Mar. 30, 2018: Originally published.