AikiWeb: The Source for Aikido Information AikiWeb's principal purpose is to serve the Internet community as a repository and dissemination point for aikido information.
Hello and thank you for visiting AikiWeb, the
world's most active online Aikido community! This site is home to
over 22,000 aikido practitioners from around the world and covers a
wide range of aikido topics including techniques, philosophy, history,
humor, beginner issues, the marketplace, and more.
If you wish to join in the discussions or use the other advanced
features available, you will need to register first. Registration is
absolutely free and takes only a few minutes to complete so sign up today!
night by Takashi Ogino used under creative commons licence
you were dangerous and angry
red wrists and flashes of light
in the Hungarian bar
Jason Crane, Danger
"You must be indeed a brave man, Sir Priest," the peasant responded, "to lie down here. This place has a bad name - a very bad name. But, as the proverb has it, kunshi aya-yuki ni chikayorazu - the superior man does not needlessly expose himself to peril - and I must assure you, Sir, that it is very dangerous to sleep here."
Lafcadio Hearn, Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things
"Danger! What danger do you foresee?"
Holmes shook his head gravely. "It would cease to be a danger if we could define it," said he.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
Danger knows full well
That Caesar is more dangerous than he.
We are two lions littered in one day,
And I the elder and more terrible,
And Caesar shall go forth.
William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar act 2 scene 2
The language of Kyōto, the ancient capital of the country, and until the restoration the residence of the Imperial Court and of literary men, has been considered the standard and of highest authority; but since the restoration and the removal of the capital to Tōkyō, the dialect of the latter has the precedence. Dialectical differences are numerous, and provincialisms and vulgarisms abound. The dialect of Satsuma is said to be so different as not to be intelligible in other parts of the country. This subject, however, has not yet been fully investigated. A few of these differences may here be mentioned. In Tōkyō kwa is pronounced ka; kwan, kan; gwai, gai, as, gun-kwan is pronounced gunkan; kenkwa, kenka; kwaji, kaji; gwai-koku, gaikoku.
J C Hepburn, A Japanese-English and English-Japanese Dictionary, third edition
Rinzai Gigen distinguishes four kinds of "Katsu!" One of them is likened to the sacred sword of Vajrarāja, which cuts and puts to death anything dualistic appearing before it. When it is actually uttered by the zen people it sounds like "Kātz!" or "Kwātz!" ā somewhat like a in ah and tz like tz in German "Blitz." It is primarily a meaningless ejaculation.
D T Suzuki, Zen and Japanese Culture
I talked about the letter w before in W + aikibunnies. In Japanese it is shorthand for double. Two of something. But here it is again in romaji, the transcription of Japanese into Roman letters. It's in the name of the Budokwai, the first martial arts club in Europe. It was founded in 1918. The title of Lafcadio Hearn's book of Japanese ghost stories is Kwaidan. I intoduced Lafcadio Hearn in Daimyo - morning of battle. And the zen exclamation "Kwātz!" can be written with a w. Perhaps that silent w is not silent in some parts of Japan.
There is a phrase in Kwaidan: kunshi aya uki ni chika yorazu 君子危うきに近よらず a person of wisdom does not flirt with danger. If something happened because of your carelessness it could have repercussions far beyond yourself and your own family. So stay away from dangerous places and dangerous situations. And don't let yourself be goaded into any duels with swords.
I have an essay in a charity e-book put together by some writers and photographers to raise money for victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Tohoku on 11 March 2011. It costs $9.99.
11-25-2011 10:32 AM 
