香

fragrance, sweet smell; incense; perfume; "perfume" radical

Kanji 1255

With a plethora of photos, this essay shows how 香 conveys the scent of everything from coffee to flowers in signs from around the globe. This kanji also means "incense" (which has played an important role in Japanese culture and religion for centuries), as well as “perfume” (which hasn’t). On top of that, 香 factors into two notable place names and some food terms. It’s even a radical! 

Revision History:

Feb. 17, 2017: 

p. 2: Changed the definition of 好き from "liking; fondness" to "fond."

p. 13: Fixed a broken link. 

p. 24: Revised the caption for a sign.

Aug. 15, 2014: Made more small changes to the photo caption on p. 10.

Aug. 8, 2014: Fixed a problem with the sidebar formatting on p. 7. Also fixed the okurigana for 香ばしい in two places in the photo caption on p. 10.

Feb. 24, 2013: On p. 23, I changed the definition of 小豆郡 from "Shodoshima County" to "Shozu County."

Jan. 25, 2013: Originally published.