matsubazue

what I love about the japanese language is the very visual way in which words are derived from nature. I'm fascinated with the origins of words and that's why kanji (japanese script) is so interesting and my grammar is so bloody awful. The bonus of the leg injury is that I've managed to learn words I would otherwise never have encountered. the word for crutches is 'matsubazue' - matsu being pine tree, ba meaning leaf (or here, needle) and zue meaning stick. for something so ugly and troublesome, it's a beautiful and delicate metaphor.

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