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Ethan Weisgard wrote:
A little bit off topic, but still... It seems to me that the jury is still out regarding the etymology of the kanji for "Bu" in terms of "stopping the halberd". Looking at the kanji for "hoko" (halberd) which is the part of "Bu" that is meant to mean halberd, there is one less stroke than in the part of the kanji "Bu," where you find one extra stroke in the upper left hand corner. The kanji is close to, but not the same as the part of the "Bu" kanji. I am in no way an expert in these matters, but I have heard and read that the explanation of the etymology has been adapted to fit with the intended meaning /origin. Have others run across this opinion?
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Well, as I have mentioned, modern scholarship doesn't believe that it means "stopping the halberd". Not because of the "hoko" part, but because of the "tomeru" part, which represented "marching", not "stopping". Please read my post above for explanations why the "stopping the halberd" etymology gets spread.
The "hoko" is most definitely "hoko". The character does look different, but it's merely a variation.