So the katakana of “ro ru” is roll, and the last kanji is “jinsei.” What’s the first kanji? There’s a kanji for “collar”? I’d assume that would be an imported English word.
Yes, the first kanji is eri ‘collar.’ Being a Chinese character, it originally referred to the part of an article of Chinese clothing that goes around the neck; by extension, it also refers to the collar-like portion of a kimono. It appears that the Japanese thought the collars on Western clothing were close enough to their eri to call them that.
So although collar did not get borrowed, another word did: haikara, from “high collar.” It means ‘stylish, fashionable,’ because wearing Western-style clothes, including the men’s high shirt collars popular in the latter half of the 19th century, was considered more fashionable than wearing traditional Japanese clothes. Informative article here.
Finally, the last character is not jinsei, but inochi ‘life.’
The collar roll: one religion that will never die in America. But a kanji discussion on Ivy Style? Perhaps the naysayers on these pages should start taking Japanese Ivy devotion a little more seriously.
The Japanese says, “the collar roll (is) life.” Very much a play on “I am the way and the truth and the life,” and similar statements in the Bible.
So the katakana of “ro ru” is roll, and the last kanji is “jinsei.” What’s the first kanji? There’s a kanji for “collar”? I’d assume that would be an imported English word.
The life of the flesh is in the collar.
Yes, the first kanji is eri ‘collar.’ Being a Chinese character, it originally referred to the part of an article of Chinese clothing that goes around the neck; by extension, it also refers to the collar-like portion of a kimono. It appears that the Japanese thought the collars on Western clothing were close enough to their eri to call them that.
So although collar did not get borrowed, another word did: haikara, from “high collar.” It means ‘stylish, fashionable,’ because wearing Western-style clothes, including the men’s high shirt collars popular in the latter half of the 19th century, was considered more fashionable than wearing traditional Japanese clothes. Informative article here.
Finally, the last character is not jinsei, but inochi ‘life.’
The collar roll: one religion that will never die in America. But a kanji discussion on Ivy Style? Perhaps the naysayers on these pages should start taking Japanese Ivy devotion a little more seriously.
Do they come with a copy of Harkness Tower magazine.
@C. Sharp
Thanks for the Watchtower/Harkness Tower pun.
It helped me start my day with a smile, which doesn’t happen often.
@ Dutch Uncle
Your Welcome. Glad you liked it.
Call me a pettifogging old pedant, but I can’t let it pass: you’re welcome.