蜗牛 is actually the Chinese word for snail -- pronounced wōniú in Mainland Mandarin and (apparently) guāniú in Taiwan Mandarin. It's another case where Japanese has simply borrowed the graphic form of the Chinese word to "write" a Japanese word. It's wrinkles like these that make the Japanese writing system more complex (and more "fun") than textbooks, with their tidy explanations of on-yomi and kun-yomi, would have you believe. More broadly, of course, the historical interplay between Chinese and Japanese, as mediated by Chinese characters, is topic of never-ending fascination.
I like "denden-mushi" myself, but apparently it's dialectal (or partly so) and is gradually giving way to standard Japanese "katatsumuri" among the younger generation throughout Japan.
Hi Nishant, thank you so much for reading!! I really appreciate it so much! "Kigo" are the "seasonal words" 季語 that are conventions in poetry. For example, haiku is famously constrained by syllable 5-7-5 but a haiku almost always also uses a kigo... so snails are used in summer like frogs. Like if you wrote a poem about windchimes in winter people in Japn might not appreciate it as much since windchimes are a summer word. It goes beyond cherry blossoms in spring and autumn leaves in the fall....there are dictionaries of them. Speaking for myself, it is really a wonderful way to organize the world because (again speaking for myself) rather than a constraint it is like a reminder to not forget to notice certain things!! Like snails! xoxoxo
It has helped me a lot to pay attention now that I am back in California. In Japan, it is a big part of conversation, these seasonal words and well, it is a shared sentiment. I try to keep them in my mind and have a journal that is organized around the seasons... not so detailed but I just like to remember to notice what is happening in the backyard or my neighborhood. https://www.dewdropworld.com/ So, then I can get excited and be waiting for certain critters to show up again!!
The song of snails -- evokes something so sublime that hearing it requires the heart's own delight in the rhythm of a world in which sound and light pulse to a wonder of realms older than the sight of the moon.
蜗牛 is actually the Chinese word for snail -- pronounced wōniú in Mainland Mandarin and (apparently) guāniú in Taiwan Mandarin. It's another case where Japanese has simply borrowed the graphic form of the Chinese word to "write" a Japanese word. It's wrinkles like these that make the Japanese writing system more complex (and more "fun") than textbooks, with their tidy explanations of on-yomi and kun-yomi, would have you believe. More broadly, of course, the historical interplay between Chinese and Japanese, as mediated by Chinese characters, is topic of never-ending fascination.
I had no idea!!!! I assumed it was the same... I prefer the spiral in the Japanese version....
I like "denden-mushi" myself, but apparently it's dialectal (or partly so) and is gradually giving way to standard Japanese "katatsumuri" among the younger generation throughout Japan.
Me too! As I mentioned it was the first word for snail I learned....
See this article: https://weathernews.jp/s/topics/201805/280205/ about the trend away from "denden-mushi".
Now, I feel so young in my preference!!!
Loved reading this, thank you. I'm curious, you said - "In Japan, snails are a summer word (kigo)". What is a summer word??
Hi Nishant, thank you so much for reading!! I really appreciate it so much! "Kigo" are the "seasonal words" 季語 that are conventions in poetry. For example, haiku is famously constrained by syllable 5-7-5 but a haiku almost always also uses a kigo... so snails are used in summer like frogs. Like if you wrote a poem about windchimes in winter people in Japn might not appreciate it as much since windchimes are a summer word. It goes beyond cherry blossoms in spring and autumn leaves in the fall....there are dictionaries of them. Speaking for myself, it is really a wonderful way to organize the world because (again speaking for myself) rather than a constraint it is like a reminder to not forget to notice certain things!! Like snails! xoxoxo
I really like that. The idea of seasonal words makes us, as you say, more mindful of our world and keeps us rooted to its cycles.
It has helped me a lot to pay attention now that I am back in California. In Japan, it is a big part of conversation, these seasonal words and well, it is a shared sentiment. I try to keep them in my mind and have a journal that is organized around the seasons... not so detailed but I just like to remember to notice what is happening in the backyard or my neighborhood. https://www.dewdropworld.com/ So, then I can get excited and be waiting for certain critters to show up again!!
That sounds lovely!
Love this!
The song of snails -- evokes something so sublime that hearing it requires the heart's own delight in the rhythm of a world in which sound and light pulse to a wonder of realms older than the sight of the moon.