穂
Let’s learn Japanese kanji 穂!
今回の漢字は『穂』ですよ！
穂 - ほ ear (of plant), head (of plant); point, tip; scion (in grafting)
稲穂 - いなほ ear (head) of rice
花穂 - かすい spike, ear (botany)
刈り穂 - かりほ harvested grain, harvested rice ears
垂り穂 - たりほ drooping ears (of grain)
穂先 - ほさき ear (e.g. of wheat); tip (e.g. of brush or spear)
落ち穂拾い - おちぼひろい act of picking up crop left after harvesting
黒穂 - くろほ, くろぼ smut (fungal disease of grain)
瑞穂の国 - みずほのくに Japan, the Land of Abundant Rice (poetic expression)
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P.S. Did you know that rice only became a staple food for most social classes after establishing regular imports from Korea and China during Meiji Period (1868-1912)? Japan simply wasn’t able to produce enough grain to sustain the unprecedented population increase of Edo period (1600-1868).
Find out more about history of Japan in East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History - we highly recommend it! 🌾
