CHARACTER HOME PAGE

bee; hornet; wasp
Kanji 2109

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

Find out why some Japanese eat bee larvae and "royal jelly," what traditional Japanese beekeeping involves, how Japanese and Western honeybees differ, and where bees thrive in Japan. Learn to count bees and to say that they're buzzing or that a swarm has attacked! Read about "buzzing" in the ears and bee uprisings, and see why a figurative queen bee seems sexy and marketable in Japan.

Revision history:

June 3, 2021: 

  • p. 2: Added the Henshall etymology.
  • p. 5 sidebar: Slightly modified my comment about the surname 蜂巣.
  • p. 9: Slightly modified the discussion of 蜂屋柿 (hachiya persimmon).
  • p. 17: In the quiz answer, I changed Spizaetus nipalensis to Nisaetus nipalensis.
  • p. 18: Added a link to the Kanshudo games.

May 8, 2015: Originally published.

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Kanji PDF
Cover of Joy o' Kanji essay 2109 on 蜂 (bee), titled "All Abuzz"
Mini Profile
JOYO ON-YOMI
ホウ
JOYO KUN-YOMI
はち
STROKES13
RADICAL虫 (142: insect)
JLPTN1
HALPERN-/1247
HENSHALL-/1963
SPAHN6d7.6