Hi Dale. Hi Andy.

Dale notes:
... My kanji book lists "En" for garden AND "Tei" for
garden... I'm losing sleep over this! :)
_Teien_ in Japanese reference to gardens is a proper compound construction
which can mean "garden" or "park." It is composed of the characters _tei_
(can also be pronounced "_niwa_"), which is the early word construction for
"garden area" and _en_ (can also be pronounced _sono_), which can be
written using two different characters (one form without an enclosing square
is primarily used now for "Imperial garden" but was formerly used in the
sense of "garden" or "farm").

From _tei/niwa_, we also get:
_teizen_: "garden"
_sekitei_: "rock garden"
_niwaki_: "garden tree, shrub"
_niwashi_: "gardener"

From _en/sono_, we also get:
_engei_: "gardening, horticulture" (this could be
non-decorative gardening though I've not
traced the full character set to see)
_den'en_: "fields and gardens, rural districts"
_koen_ (long "o"): "park, public garden"
_hanazono_: "flower garden"
_sono_: "literary garden, institution"

.... using _en_ form for Imperial gardens:
_ gyoen_: "Imperial garden"
_naien_: "inner garden of Imperial Palace"
_bun'en_ : "literary world,
anthology, collection f literary masterpieces"
_geien_: "world opf artists & men of letters"
_kohien_: "name of coffee shop (where there
are gardens)"

Gardens as "fields for learning" and for a commercial invitation, I guess.
Now, I'll be losing sleep with you, Dale... :-)

Andy adds:
I remember a bonsai teacher telling me once
that the square around the "en" symbol denoted
a fenced garden? I dunno?
I tried to find the central character enclosed in the most common "_en_"
form with no success...
:-(

A square enclosure with the symbol of a tree centered inside forms the
character _kon_ (also pronounced _koma_ or _komaru_) meaning "be in
trouble." It was Lafcadio Hearn, I think, who noted that this character
arose from the folk belief that placing a tree in the center of an enclosed
forecourt invites spiritual trouble.

Best wishes,
Chris... C. Cochrane, , Richmond VA USA

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Evergreen Gardenworks++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++