34. The "Winter" Radical: 夂

This radical subverts expectations. That is, I would expect a "winter" kanji to feature an on-duty "winter" radical 夂, but no! Although 冬 (182: winter) does include the "winter" radical 夂 as a component,冫(radical 15: "ice") is on duty.

Then, too, I was prepared to treat radicals 34 and 35 as separate entities, as has traditionally been done. I can't explain why that seemed more polite than jamming them into the same category. And the radicals initially struck me as having different shapes:

radical 34: 夂 ("winter" radical)

radical 35: 夊 ("go slowly" radical)

But that's true only in theory. In practice—that is, when they play roles in actual kanji—the two radicals look identical.

Here are the only Joyo kanji with an on-duty 夂 radical:

変 (581: change; strange; extraordinary event), which traditionally features radical 34

夏 (82: summer), which traditionally features radical 35

Can you see the slightest difference in the 夂 at the base of each? No, there is none, so it only makes sense to classify them both under radical 34. In fact, that's what Kanjigen, Nelson, and probably other dictionaries have done.

That means that the "summer" kanji features a "winter" radical! How about that?!

A Radical for the Seasons

What's going on with 夂 and the seasons?! Is it just coincidental that 夏 (82: summer) and 冬 (182: winter) happen to include 夂?

Henshall says in his newer edition that most scholars see early, complex forms of 夏 as showing someone dancing, "probably with mask." He cites one researcher's idea that the dance was held in summer and that 夏 acquired that meaning by association. 

As for 冬, one expert "sees persimmons on tree after leaf fall," says Henshall quite poetically! Another scholar perceives "tied rope ends" in the shape. (It's quite the Rorschach test!) And a third interprets the 冫as "ice" and the 夂 as the phonetic with the associated sense "freeze."

The Names of 夂

When it comes to 夂, we have a plethora of Japanese radical names to consider.

Radical 34 has traditionally had these names:

ちかんむり

ふゆがしら

なつあし

Because the non-Joyo autonomous kanji 夂 (foot) carries the on-yomi チ, we can understand the ち in the first name. The かんむり, the name for radical position 3, typically indicates that a radical sits atop a character like a "crown." (To understand this and other radical position names, see Radical Terms and check the "Radical Positions" section.) But in this case (and in a handful of other exceptions), かんむり means instead that the 夂 is the upper part of 冬. 

So ちかんむり applies to 冬, even though the 夂 is not on duty. That makes ちかんむり a rather strange radical name. The justification, I suppose, is that 夂 is quite visible in 冬, producing a ready association for people.

The radical name ふゆがしら also alludes to 冬, featuring its Joyo kun-yomi (ふゆ) plus an alternate name for radical position 3 (かしら), voiced here as がしら.

By contrast, the name なつあし combines なつ, the Joyo kun-yomi of 夏, with あし (foot), the name of radical position 4. That is, the radical 夂 lies in the lower part of 夏. 

Radical 35 has traditionally gone by this name:

すいにょう

The non-Joyo kanji 夊 carries the スイ sound and means "slow." When this radical is an enclosure running down the left side of a character, the radical 7 position name にょう applies. That would be the case in 処 (896: to deal with; place) if the left side were the on-duty radical, as some sources say it is. But I have filed that character under radical 16 ("table"), 几, just as Kanjigen has done, so it's a moot point.

Still, it's useful to consider 処 so that we can see what other shapes our radical can assume. Though it has a longer "tail" in 処, that doesn't qualify as a variant form. This three-stroke radical has no variants.

As for the English names of radical 34, we know all about "winter." Alternative names include "go" and "descend." I'm not sure of the provenance of that last option, except that Henshall refers to the radical as "descending foot." He has nicknamed it "crossed legs." And he calls radical 35 "walk slowly" or "drag foot" (really?!) but of course we can ignore those options now.

On 変

I've paid so much attention to radical names and the seasonal connection that I've ignored the only Joyo kanji that has featured radical 34 all along. Here it is again:

変 (581: change; strange; extraordinary event)

And now for another subverted expectation. Henshall says that this character originally included 攵, a variant of 攴 (radical 66: "strike"), not 夂, so our radical has no etymological connection to 変!