The Chinese writing system, kanji, is an inseparable part of the Japanese language, the same way Latin or Greek is a part of Western languages, and this relationship with the written word pops up in the language in interesting ways. In Sazae-san, the long-running anime that captures in calming, peaceful tones the happiness of a traditional Japanese family, Sazae and her husband Masuo sleep on futons with their son, Tara-chan, sandwiched in between. This is called sleeping in kawa no ji style, literally “sleeping like the character for river” since it imitates the three flowing lines that make up the kanji for river. Back when my daughter was young enough to want to sleep with us, she would invariably lie in the center of the bed in a pose called dai no ji, or the shape of the character for “big”, with her arms and legs spread as wide as possible, leaving very little room for her mom and dad.
